Sally-Ann at the seaside
Granny had come to stay. ”What shall we do today Sally-Ann, shall we go down to the beach?”Sally-Ann ran to the window. The sky was very cloudy and the wind was blowing hard enough to make a whistling sound.
“Don’t be silly Granny, we can’t go to the beach today, the sun isn’t shining so I won’t be able to build sandcastles or paddle”.
“Granny laughed. “When I was a little girl, I used to go to the beach with my Granny even when it was cold or raining, sometimes even when it was snowing. She showed me so many wonderful things and I want to show them all to you.”
Sally-Ann was not really sure. “Nobody else is on the beach” she looked out of the window again. “All I can see is one lady with her dog”.
“Put on a warm jumper and your raincoat, come with me and I will show you how much there is to do at the seaside even during winter”.
“First” Granny said as they were walking on the sand. “Look out to sea. Can you see all those big ships way out on the horizon? See all the little boats nearer to the beach, look at their bright colours, those are fishermen busy catching fish for your tea. Can you see the surfers riding on the waves?” Sally-Ann watched for a while, the sea was very busy if you looked closely.
Walking down to where the waves lapped over the sandy beach, Granny suddenly stopped and bent down.
“Look at these beautiful sea shells. Did you know that they have travelled hundreds of miles from Africa?” Sally-Ann had heard about Africa, she knew it was a hot country a long way away and as she held the shell she thought about the long journey and all the adventures the shell must have had.
Granny held one of the big shells to Sally-Ann’s ear so she could listen to the sound of the sea. Sally-Ann thought it was wonderful. Sally-Ann put the shell in her pocket so she would still be able to hear the sea when she got home.
Granny found a little rock pool and showed Sally-Ann all the different crabs and darting fish hidden in the weeds. Sally-Ann even found a star fish and when she touched it gently with her finger it curled up, which made her laugh.
“Did you have a nice time dear?” Mummy asked when they got home.
Sally-Ann’s cheeks were rosy red from the wind and her eyes sparkled as she told her Mummy about all the wonderful things she had seen.
Mummy smiled at her. “It sounds as if you have really enjoyed yourself, so Granny was right, there is a lot to do on the beach even in the winter”
Sally-Ann jumped up and down with excitement. “Granny, please can we go to the beach again tomorrow?”
Granny smiled. “Yes of course we can, as long as Mummy says yes, I still have a lot of wonderful things to show you”.
In bed that night, Sally-Ann listened to the sound of the sea in her shell. She dreamed of it making magical voyages from foreign lands and in the morning she couldn’t wait to get back to the beach!
