The Loon and the Necklace

Brizbee loses Grandpa Raccoon's necklace. Will she ever get it back?

On a chilly, misty morning, Grandpa Raccoon and his granddaughter, Brizbee walked along the lake shore looking for tasty crawdads. Crawdads liked to hide under rocks and were hard to catch as they had lots of legs and a flapping tail. 

Brizbee heard a sound far away in the distance " La-hooloohoo. La-hooloohoo. 

“Grandfather,” she asked, “what creature makes that sound?” 

“It’s a bird called a loon,” he answered. 

“Why does it sound so lonely?” 

“Some say that loons are sad because they do not know where they belong.” 

“What does that mean?” Brizbee asked confused. 

“Loons swim like a fish in the water, are awkward flyers and don't like walking on land. It is as if they do not know where they belong.” 

Brizbee spotted a crawdad and scooped it right out of the water, “Bingo!” she cheered. 

One day Brizbee was out playing in the woods with her brothers, Jobee and Cameel. Their Mother called them home. Brizbee saw the worried look on her Mother’s face. “Your Grandpa is in his bedroom,” Mother said. “He is very ill. Go speak to him before we have dinner.” 

Jobee and Cameel were pushing and shoving, daring each other to go first. They said a quick, “Hi Grandpa,” and left. Brizbee was more serious. She entered the room, gently alight by the setting sun through the window. 

“Hi Grandpa,” she whispered. He looked at her painfully. “I don’t want you to be sick. When are you going to feel better?” 

Grandpa let out a sigh, “I don’t know. Hopefully soon, but don’t you worry. Here, I have something for you.” Grandpa leaned over to the side table and took out a necklace that had a gold coin attached to it. “Look,” he said. “It has an image of a loon on it.” 

Brizbee took the necklace and put it around her neck. Just then there was a knock on the door. It was the doctor. “Go and have dinner,” Grandpa told her. 

Grandpa was sick for many days. Brizbee kept the necklace close to her. Everyone at school envied her coin and tried to trade her things like a comb, a doll, and a sandwich for it, but she never gave it away. 

She was walking home from school one day and her brothers were playing around as usual. That is when a crow appeared sitting on top of a tree overlooking the lake. What Brizbee didn’t know was that crows loved shiny things and that crow spotted her coin a mile away. 

Jobee and Cameel made faces at the crow and called it names, but it just sat there watching. Just then Jobee started to pick-up a rock. “No Jobee!” Brizbee hollered. She reached-out to stop him and tripped. The necklace caught on Jobee’s ear and flew off her neck onto the ground in front of her. The crow flew off  the tree and swooped-up the necklace. Up he went into the air, his cawing sounded like laughter. 

Cameel tried to help. He jumped-up and swatted the crow, tail feathers flew everywhere. The crow zigzagged upward and then dropped the coin necklace. Down it went toward the lake, but suddenly, it got caught on the limb of a tree. It dangled there shining in the sun. 

Cameel said he’d climb the tree, but Brizbee said not to. “It will fall into the water and then we’ll never get it.” 

Brizbee began to cry. How will she ever get the necklace back? How will she ever tell Grandpa what happened? “Just tell Grandpa,” said Cameel. “He always knows what to do.” 

Brizbee went home very sad. She went into Grandpa’s room and sat down. Grandpa seemed to be asleep. His breathing was hard. His eyes opened and he saw Brizbee crying. “What is wrong, little one?” he whispered. 

“I, I lost your necklace,” she said. She told him the whole story. 

“It sounds like that necklace doesn’t know where it belongs,” said Grandpa. 

Brizbee looked-up, smiled and said, “Just like a loon.” 

“Go find the loon. She will know what to do.” 

It was evening when Brizbee went out to the lake. She waited and waited, but no loons. When she went home, her whole family was visiting. Everyone was there for Grandpa. Brizbee hardly slept that night. In the morning she made her way to the lake. It wasn’t long before she heard a familiar sound in the distance " La-hooloohoo. La-hooloohoo. 

“Loon!” Brizbee yelled into the mist. Silence. “Loon!” she yelled again and waited and waited. From beneath the water, with hardly a sound, a bird appeared. His feathers were black and white with piercing red eyes. 

“Loon,” said Racoon. “I need your help! Up on a tree branch is a necklace with a gold coin. If I try to get the coin it will surely fall into the water. Tell me, how can I get it?” The loon floated in circles. Brizbee wondered if the loon understood her. Suddenly he disappeared under the water, came out with a sudden splash flapping his wings, slowly lifted, and took-off flying into the air. It circled around toward the tree. His wing knocked the necklace off the branch and into the water. He dived into the water and reappeared with the necklace in his beak. He dropped it in the shallow water at Brizbee’s feet. 

Brizbee reached down and she got it saying " “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She ran toward the house. Her heart dropped as she saw the doctor knocking at the door, her mother let him in. Not far behind, Brizbee ran inside startling everyone. There on a chair at the dining table sat Grandpa eating oatmeal and honey. 

“Grandpa is finally feeling well,” her Mother said. 

“Grandpa, look!” Brizbee held-up the necklace. “The loon helped me. You should have seen him.” She put the coin in his paw and they looked at the image of the loon. “Loon wasn't sad at all, he was smart and clever. This is a lucky coin.” 

Grandpa hugged Brizbee and said, “Just like me sweetie. Just like me.” 

 

Reviews

[Christine]

Lovely story, with a message, nice and simple. Enjoyed it.