Puffling and the Egg

A helpful little puffling lives on Skellig Michael.

But the wind is blowing the egg down the hill!

Can the animals of Skellig help her get the egg home?

PUFFLING AND THE EGG

When she finds a lost egg, she must get it back to its nest.

O’BRIEN

ERIKA McGANN

‘gorgeous’ Sunday Times

‘a stunning book’ Irish Country Magazine

‘a pure treat for young readers’ RTÉjr’s Book Club ISBN 978-1-78849-248-5

CHILDREN’S FICTION 9 781788 492485

Also available

GERRY DALY

Praise for Where Are You, Puffling?

Erika McGann

Gerry Daly

Puffling And The Egg

Story by Erika McGann

Illustrations by Gerry Daly

For Lír – EMcG For Karen, Grace, Lauren and Damon – GD

Acknowledgements To Seán Daly who set the ball rolling, to our editor Eoin O’Brien, designer Emma Byrne and all the wonderful folk at The O’Brien Press, and to family and friends for egging us on.

First published 2019 by The O’Brien Press Ltd, 12 Terenure Road East, Rathgar, Dublin 6, D06 HD27, Ireland Tel: +353 1 4923333; Fax: +353 1 4922777 E-mail: books@obrien.ie Website: www.obrien.ie The O’Brien Press is a member of Publishing Ireland.

Published in

Copyright for text © Erika McGann The moral rights of the author have been asserted Copyright for illustrations © Gerry Daly Copyright for layout, editing and design © The O’Brien Press Ltd ISBN: 978-1-78849-248-5 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilised in any way or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher.

87654321 22 21 20 19 Printed and bound in Poland by Białostockie Zakłady Graficzne S.A. The paper in this book is produced using pulp from managed forests.

Puffling and the Egg receives financial assistance from the Arts Council

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The sun was shining over Skellig Michael, and it was a very windy day. A puffling popped her head out of her burrow.

‘What’s this?’ she cried. ‘You must be lost, little egg.

Don’t worry, I’ll help you get back to your nest.’

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Just then a gust of wind blew and the egg went rolling down the hill.

‘Oh no!’ cried the puffling.

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5

The puffling spied the egg in a cormorant’s nest.

‘I only had three eggs,’ the cormorant said, ‘and now I’ve got four. Isn’t it marvellous?’

‘That’s not your egg!’ the puffling said.

‘It’s lost, and I must get it back to its nest.’

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‘Oh dear,’ the cormorant replied.

‘Then tie this bit of seaweed

around it. Maybe that will help.’

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The puffling pulled and

pulled the egg up the hill.

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But then the wind blew, and the seaweed slipped out of her wings.

‘Oh no!’ cried the puffling.

9

She spotted the egg in a rabbit’s burrow.

‘My baby bunnies just love their new toy,’ the rabbit told her.

‘That’s not a toy!’ said the puffling.

‘It’s an egg, and I must get it back to its nest.’

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‘Oh my goodness,’ said the rabbit.

‘Then maybe this bit of fluff will help keep it warm in the meantime.’

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