The Humming Feather

Chapter 1: The Feather That Hummed

Afternoon light comes in through the ⟨home⟩ windows and lies in warm stripes across the floor, where a big pile of feathers waits to be sorted.

⟨Character 1⟩: Right. Pigeon ones here, seagull ones in this box, and the shiny black one on top because it’s the best. There. That’s nearly all of them. Wait. What’s this one at the bottom? It’s blue. Proper canal blue, like the water when the sun comes out.

⟨Character 1⟩: Ooh. It’s soft. Softer than the others. And it’s warm, like it’s been sat in the sun. Hold on. Is it making a noise? It is. It’s going hmmm. Like a bee that’s had a nice lunch. This feather hums! Listen!

Mr. Bell: Ahoy below! Is that the good ship Tilly? I can hear someone talking to a feather from halfway down the towpath.

⟨Character 1⟩: Mr. Bell! Come and look. I found it right at the bottom of my collection and it hums. Put your ear near it. Can you hear? Hmmmmm. It’s doing it right now. Nobody’s squeezing it or anything. It just does it.

Mr. Bell: Well, now. That’s a special feather. Blue as a kingfisher’s back, and humming like a kettle that’s not quite boiled. You found it. So it’s yours to follow. Follow it, and blow this whistle if you need me. It’s brass. It’ll carry along the water.

⟨Character 1⟩: A real whistle! Look at it shining. I’ll follow the hum and I’ll blow this if I get stuck. Bye, Mr. Bell! The hum’s getting louder when I walk this way. It’s leading me somewhere.

The towpath runs green and narrow beside the canal, and the feather hums in Tilly’s hand like a small happy engine.

Mrs. Gorse: Is that a kazoo? No, it’s a feather! Ha! Here, love, are you in the band? Because we’ve got a singer on tonight and he’s terrible, so you’d be an improvement.

⟨Character 1⟩: It’s not a kazoo, it’s a clue. I’m following it. It hums louder when I go this way and quieter when I go back, so it knows where it’s going. This is my bread crust now? Thank you. The ducks will like it. Listen. Hmmmmm. That’s it getting louder again. It’s leading me somewhere.

Mrs. Gorse: Well, off you go then, clue-follower. Mind the edge. And if that feather starts a tune, tell it to come back tonight and sing instead of our singer.

Chapter 2: The Humming Nest

The light turns gold, then pink, and the reeds stand in tall green bunches at the edge of the canal, whispering when the wind moves them.

⟨Character 1⟩: I followed the hum past the stile and through the grass, and now it’s humming a lullaby. A soft one. Like the one on my boat. Shhh. There’s a nest in the reeds. Three little ducklings in it, all tucked together, and a big mother duck beside them. She’s looking at me. She’s quacking, but it’s a tired, quiet quack. Listen. The hum is coming from the nest! It’s the ducklings’ tummies rumbling. They’re hungry. That’s what the hum was all along.

⟨Character 1⟩: Here’s some bread. That should help. Mrs. Gorse gave it to me, so it’s good bread. I’ll crumble it small so it floats and they can get it. There. Look at them go. One, two, three. Little beaks going like this. Your mother’s eating too. There you are. Keep going.

⟨Character 1⟩: You gave me the feather? Thank you! The mother duck just nudged it toward me with her bill. She pushed the blue feather right at my hand. It’s mine to keep? But it came from your nest. It’s a present. A present from the ducks. I found it and I followed it, and it led me here to you. Thank you, ducks. Big thank you.

Mr. Bell: Tilly! I heard that brass whistle from the lock and I rowed along to see what you’d found. And look at your face. You’ve found them. You found the nest, you followed the hum, and you solved the riddle. Well done, Tilly. That’s a proper riddle solved, that is.

⟨Character 1⟩: The feather belongs here, really. It should stay by the nest. Here you go, ducks. Goodnight, ducks. The moon is on the water and it looks like a big yellow feather. My whistle’s too loud. My eyes are heavy. I’ll just sit on your boat, Mr. Bell. The feather’s in my pocket and it hums nice and quiet. Goodnight.

Mr. Bell rowed them home slow and easy under the moon, and the humming feather sang a small sleepy tune in Tilly’s pocket all the way back.