Becca Fair and Foul Deirdre Baker Groundwood Books House of Anansi Press Toronto Berkeley
All torment trouble wonder and amazement inhabits here The Tempest Act V Scene 1 for Robin Lily and Ariel
1 Seabird WE NEED a better boat said Becca Gull was slow She was cracked and she clanged in the waves because she was made of aluminum Even with a clumsy boat sailing was good but what would it be like to sail in a ship really made to fly One in which she and Jane could sail away have adventures and come home when they were good and ready Shift to port she told Jane The sail flapped as if it hadn’t quite woken up yet and Becca sailed Gull out of Gran’s bay But it was more like crawling than flying What’s wrong with Gull Jane asked Uncle Martin and Auntie Meg say she sails like a gumboot Like a gumboot chiton Jane laughed because gumboot chitons were sea creatures that stuck onto rocks and never went anywhere much Just a regular gumboot Becca said A wellie A rubber boot That’s what Auntie Meg said And for a moment she remembered last summer and Auntie Meg singing sea shanties and rowing through mountainous seas Where should we go asked Jane How about Seal Rock Yes Seal Rock said Becca The tide’s on the ebb We’ll see if there are any seals there today We learned about sailing in school Jane said We did a play
