Maritime Ned by David Sheridan

This story begins one early morning in a small cottage on a rock somewhere off a maritime coast. Ned and his wife, Belle, live alone except for two puffins who've nested in their flower box, just outside their window. Ned rushes to meet the morning tide as Belle waves goodbye. The morning sky is a threatening red which is a warning Ned ignores. His catch is meagre but he stays out for just a little longer. Suddenly he and his dog, Mudder, are fighting for their lives in a deadly storm which leaves them stranded with a broken mast. Ned and Mudder fall into a deep sleep. Many days go by while Belle waits for her fisherman to come home. The puffins are also in distress with their nest in tatters. One decides to fly off in search of twigs to repair their tattered home. Time goes on, and finally the puffin finds a twig at the end of Ned's mast, way out at sea. Ned's beard has now grown long enough to wind up the broken mast only to be plucked up by the puffin while taking the twig. The tireless puffin heads home while towing Ned by the beard. Days and nights pass before the puffin reaches home. The twig mends the nest and the end of the beard is left on the window sill. Bell has been spending her time on the spinning wheel spinning flax into yarn. She reaches up to the bowl of flax on the window sill and grabs the beard instead. She spins and spins and spins and suddenly the love of her life is standing in her window with her holding onto the scruff of his chin. She hugs and kisses the man that she missed and that concludes this adventure of Maritime Ned.

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