Pesky Pirates
Note: We are reaching out to storytellers, parents, and children all over the world to collect stories that bring a little healing and levity to the coronavirus outbreak.
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To be clear - these stories, articles, and resources are intended to help parents guide young children and ease anxiety in the household after the serious work of preparation has been done. They are not intended to make light of the illness. While this and other stories can be shared directly with children, we believe you will find the greatest comfort in crafting stories of your own with the help of your child.
This story comes from Max Strong, aka Salty Pete, a storyteller in Australia. You can find more of his stories in The Troo Adventures of Salty Pete the Pirate.
Pesky Pirates
Copyright 2020 by Max Strong
The story of how eight kids came to be out at sea on a sailing ship unsupervised is a very long one. I don’t have the time to tell it today but I can tell you about one scary thing that happened to us. We were attacked by pirates!
When a very old looking sailing sloop flying a skull and crossbones flag came at us out of the mist we were a bit shocked. No-one had heard of pirates in those waters for over two hundred years. Some of us thought it must be a ghost ship or one of those figments of our imagination thingies.
But as that dark boat came closer we could see a crew of dirty looking men with scraggly hair and beards staring at us. They certainly looked real. Not to mention the fact that they were armed to the teeth with cutlasses, pistols and knives.
Now our sailing boat was an old Pearling Lugger called the New Broome. These days she was being used to train Sea Scouts. But that’s part of the longer story.
I was just thinking that maybe the pirates thought the New Broome still had lots of pearls on board when the pirate captain took up his loud hailer and yelled,
“Hand over all yer treasure or we’ll come aboard and send yers down to Davey Jones Locker!” in a very bossy voice. (I noticed later that he was wearing bossy boots as well.)
We knew we were in a bit of trouble because the only weapons we had on board were butter knives, forks and spoons. Some of the kids thought we should surrender and some thought we should dive overboard and swim for the shore but my friend Clever Mick said,
“I have a plan. But we are all going to have to work together as a team and work quickly.”
He led us over to a big sea chest with the words “Spare Soap” burned into the lid. Funny, none of us had noticed this chest before but there it was…... a whole chest of spare soap.
“Quick,” said Mick. “Everyone grab two cakes of soap and follow me!”
Mick ran to the railings and began to smear soap all over them. We kinda thought he had lost his marbles but we copied him anyway cos no one else had a plan.
By this time the pirates were almost upon us. We could even see their red eyes. They looked hungry for treasure or maybe even slaves.
When we had rubbed soap on every railing, Mick yelled “Now get more soap and mix it with water! Swab the decks with it!”
It was actually almost fun sliding up and down the decks while mopping them with lots of soapy water. Lastly Mick called, “O.K. now smear soapy water all over your bodies!”
Try not to get it in your eyes!”
“Duh!” We all chorused back cos we already knew about that last bit.
Some of the pirates tried to climb aboard the New Broome but as soon as they touched the railings they slipped off and dropped like stones into the water weighed down by their weapons.
Other pirates tried to swing across on ropes. When they landed on the deck most of them went skating straight across to the far side and tumbled over board, yelling out words I wouldn’t like to repeat...in public.
They say that when you turn pirate you are on a slippery slope, but this time the pirates were on a slippery soap.
A couple of pirates including their Captain Salty Pete tried to grab a hold of us but we were far too quick and slipped away quite easily so to speak.
The battle was soon over. In the wash up it would be fair to say that pirates are really not used to soap and soapy water, so we sort of had an unfair advantage. They soon retreated to their sloop The Ace of Spades. We were very pleased to have washed our hands of those pesky pirates.
We felt like hugging our hero Clever Mick but we didn't do it until the pirates were gone over the horizon.
From that day on our Sea Scout Motto became Keep it Clean and Work As A Team.
Announcing The Coronavirus Storytelling Challenge
Schools are closing their doors. Parents are feeling anxious. Social distancing and empty shelves have us gasping for normalcy. We need skills for handling the disease, but we also need tools for managing the anxiety that treads in its footsteps.
That’s why we created The Coronoavirus Storytelling Challenge. As the nation struggles to catch up with the disease, let’s help parents and children connect and calm at home.
PS - We want stories from parents and kids too!
Stories from kids and parents empower others to share at home. That’s the goal! Pass it on.
The Storytelling Loop is a newsletter bringing you tips, science, and real-life examples of how storytelling builds the connection between parent and child. It is a joint project of Silke Rose West and Joseph Sarosy, authors of How to Tell Stories to Children. Originally published in August of 2019, a new edition is due out from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2021. You can find more from Joseph Sarosy at Fatherly. Are you involved in storytelling? Join Us.