‘Hey! Hey look over there! There’s something caught in a net!’
Spot awakes to the sound of strange animals. They call to each other, using funny noises he can’t understand.
SPLOSH!
Slowly he opens his eyes. He’s dazed and confused.
Something’s tugging at the invisible material he’s trapped in. For a minute he thinks it’s a seal, it’s shiny black skin and flippers suspending it in the water.
He starts to thrash and honk.
‘Woah it’s okay little penguin! We’re going to get you out of here!’
It’s not a seal, it has a funny, fleshy face with fur growing on top of it. Something sharp glints in its hands, cutting through the material dug deep into his flippers and spotty chest.
Squirming and honking, he’s passed up onto a floating platform - into the hands of another of the animals.
Spot panics and cries and wriggles in their hands as together they get him free. He can move his flippers again! All the better for getting away from these new scary creatures!
But they hold on tight to him.
‘You’re a long way from the beach little penguin - let’s get you home.’
Tucked under one of their arms, Spot has no choice but to watch as the strange moving platform starts to move across the ocean. In the distance a tiny slither of land starts to get bigger and bigger.
As the platform gets closer to land, jagged rocks emerge from its coast. In the foam of the waves, little black dots jump in and out of the sea. Penguins!
Spot starts to honk loudly and wriggle in the animal’s arms. Until… suddenly, he’s free! Hopping and jumping over the platform, onto its edge, until…
SPLASH!
He dives into the sea. Zooming underwater, closer and closer to the beach. He shoots out of the water and hops across the rocks.
All around him are penguins, hopping and waddling around. Honking to each other - chicks de-manding to be fed. The whole beach smells like lovely, cosy, penguin poo - the whole beach smells like home.
He waddles up the shore and there it is. His burrow. Looking a little bit worse for wear. It’s been completely washed out by the storm, the entrance hole partly collapsed.
He pokes his head in to the empty nest, recognising its smell. The eggs are gone.
HONK!
He knows that sound! He turns to see Mum. He squarks as they greet and she preens him, his ba-by fluff almost completely gone.
They get to work digging out the burrow with their beaks before nestling in and waiting for Dad to return - with a bill full of glorious stinky fish.