by Gary Rostock
but she also loved her granddad very much and he was very exciting to be with as he was always up to something, and he made her happy, as did his big, flowery, pink house.
"Hello there Kiki" said her granddad "what are you in such a rush for?"
Granddad's head was stuck through a first floor window, he had no hair on top of his head but plenty at the sides and a big belly that Kiki used to like to sit on when she was little, he was wearing big dungarees and an old holey t-shirt; nana would go mad if she could see him thought Kiki to herself. Kiki explained as quickly as she could that the little polar bear needed their help and that mummy had said only granddad could fly the balloon. Once granddad understood and he looked at the sad, little polar bear he knew he had to help him.
"Come on everyone back to the balloon, but not so fast, my legs are not the foot-balling legs they once were."
And it was true that when granddad had been young he'd been a very good footballer who could run like a leopard and score goals that little boys dream of, but now he was, well how do you say it? a bit fat, I suppose, but only a bit. He liked to scoff cakes and was always eating something whenever you met him but would always pretend he'd had nothing to eat all day. So after a little while with everyone huffing and puffing, and especially granddad who hadn't huffed and puffed s much for fifty years, they arrived in the back garden with the balloon all ready and waiting for them.
"Quick everyone" said granddad, "jump in the basket."
And they all did except little Erik who was hanging over the basket with Charlie trying to pull him in and granddad pushing him in.
"Oh you are heavy" exclaimed granddad, but with one almighty push he pushed Erik over the side of the basket and then he quickly undid the rope that kept the balloon anchored to the ground and joined Kiki, Charlie and Erik in the basket. Even though he was quite old, sometimes his foot-balling past could be seen in the way he jumped as if he'd just scored a goal.
"Yiha!!" he shouted "now everyone, let's go"
And off they went, up, up and up into the air, they passed the chimneys of the houses, the spire of the church and upwards they went.
"Weeeeeeeeee" shouted Erik "I'm the first flying polar bear."
And you know what? He probably was.
On they flew, over the houses and the shops and then out past the town and into the countryside. Kiki loved it here in the balloon and Charlie and Erik were just too excited.
"Erik, come here and put your head through this hole in the side" said granddad, for he'd made a little hole for all the children and small animals to put their heads through.
"Look at that, that's our country, all green and lovely," and he was right too. The country was all lovely and green from up in the sky. Erik loved it with his head through the hole looking down on everything and once again he shouted "weeeeeeeeee" because that's what little polar bears shout when they're happy or excited.
"Now to get some help" said granddad and with that he pulled out from under his chair a big trumpet, but this was no ordinary trumpet this was his bird-SOS trumpet, when he blew it all his bird friends came to see what they could do to help him, because many times in the past he'd helped them with broken wings and hurt legs and the such.
"Booooooouuur" went the trumpet as granddad blew and almost at once a little pigeon called Drako flew up to them.
"Hello grrranddad Stan" said the pigeon, but he was not the usual type of pigeon he was a racing pigeon who had settled in England now he was getting older. He spoke with a bit of a strange accent because he was from a country called Slovakia which was a long, long, long, way, away.
"Oh Drako my old mate, how are you? How's your wing?" Asked granddad.
"Ahhhh, it eez verry nice now thanking you. Is grrranddad Stanislav having some of the prrroblems?".Asked the friendly Slovakian pigeon.
"Well Drako, as a matter of fact yes we are, this little polar bear here has lost his mum and dad and they're in a truck on the way to a big city zoo but we're not sure on which road."
"Aaah is not good to be without mama and papa," said Drako. "I help, you fly here slowly and I go and get all frrriends to check all rrroads."
Even though he spoke a little strangely he was a lovely little pigeon and everyone said hello and thank you to him before he flew off.
"Is nothing, I help Stanislav, he help me, I help you, is good no?"
And they all agreed it was good.
"I go now, bying the bye," he shouted and off he flew.
Granddad flew the balloon nice and slowly and then Charlie decided it was time to run up a rope, he'd been dying to do it but knew Kiki and Stan would be a little worried, but he was a monkey after all and that's what monkeys do; they climb. Off he went right up one of the ropes that led up from the basket to the balloon "oo oo look at me," he called, and with that he swung right from one rope to another, but he hadn't realised that all the beans and bananas he'd been eating had made him a bit heavier and a bit clumsier and as he jumped he made the basket shake from side to side "woooooosh" went the basket as the air went up into the balloon, and "whooooooooa" went everyone as the basket swayed from side to side.
"Charlie, come down now at once," shouted Kiki in her strictest voice.
Now Charlie was a naughty monkey but he knew that when Kiki shouted it meant that she was really angry or upset and he didn't like her to be either, so he hopped down back into the basket.
"Sorry Kiki," he said, "I just really needed a nice big swing, sorry."
Kiki looked at the little monkey with his lovely ears and big eyes and just gave him the biggest hug she could.
"I"m sorry to be angry with you Charlie but it's a bit high here even for a monkey and we did get a fright when the basket swayed, can you promise not to swing, at least until we get onto solid land?"
And of course, because he was a nice but naughty monkey he said his swinging in the balloon was over but that later he and Kiki would have to go to the big woods and have a good old swing on some good old trees. Kiki agreed. Just after the panic with Charlie was over Drako came flying back but with lots of friends with him.
"Vee will find your mama and papa little polar bear," he said and all the pigeons cooed in agreement with him.
"Now, my friends vee must find this little bear's mama and papa , Otto, you go dat way, Cyril, you go dat way, Jana you dat way…," and he went on like this to over twenty pigeon friends who all knew about granddad Stan and the help he'd given pigeons in the past and all of whom were happy to help. They all knew they were looking for a big city zoo van with two crates in the back and as they were all racing pigeons they were very fast and would be able to get back quickly and tell the balloonists where the van was. After about ten minutes Jana, a lovely white pigeon, almost like a dove, came flying back:
"The truck is on the big road to the north," she cooed, "the truck is going quite slowly as there is a big traffic jam there, so hurry and you'll catch them."
Just then all the other pigeons started to arrive back and heard Jana's news.
"Vee vill fly behind the granddad Stanislav and protect him," said Drako, and this they did.
Granddad Stan pulled levers and did things granddads do and Kiki helped him and soon they were above the big road to the north.
"Soon you'll see your mum and dad," said granddad and everyone including the pigeons shouted "yipeeee."
Not long after this, Kiki, using her granddads big binoculars, saw a city zoo truck about 1 km away from the balloon.
"Everyone, I can see it, granddad, it's over there" and she pointed in the direction of the big truck."
Granddad did all sort of clever things that granddads can often do to make balloons go faster, and even the racing pigeons had to try hard to keep up. Little Erik was so excited he could now see the truck with the two crates on the back.
"Mummmmy" he shouted as the wind made him look like a little punk rocker polar bear.
Granddad was right over the truck when he started to
let the balloon go down but as Kiki said they would have to be a bit in front of it so they could stop the driver. So granddad went up again and even more quickly. Everyone was so excited but granddad told them, nicely, but firmly not to jump around as now they needed to land. And land he did, and a very nice soft landing it was, he jumped over the side, like a young footballer again and then pulled Kiki, Charlie and Erik out of the basket.
"Kiki help me tie this down and then we can go," so they tied down the balloon and then a little happy polar bear, a monkey swinging a satchel round his head, as monkeys do, a little girl with big brown eyes and the longest eyelashes in the world and a granddad who was running like he was twenty and not seventy all ran along the pavement by the road shouting "stoppppppppp!!!!" to the truck coming up the hill very slowly in front of them. The driver jumped out and granddad explained what had happened and when he knew he took Erik round the back and showed him to his mummy and daddy. They had been so worried and had roared and roared until they could roar no more. But a nice pigeon called Drako had come and told them not to worry and that a balloon was following them with their son in it and even though mummy polar bear was a bit worried that Erik was flying in the air, because polar bears didn't normally fly, she knew they didn't need to roar anymore. When everyone had said their hellos it was time to say their goodbyes. Little Erik with a tear in his eye, gave Kiki, Charlie and granddad Stan a big lick
