The weather birds – perhaps to instill a sense of optimism among those who consulted them – had proclaimed that it would definitely not rain on Friday. But of course they were entirely wrong…
The day dawned as best it could, smothered in dark, dense Scotch mist and persistent rain, but it offered an appearance so dreich that – as soon as they looked out of the window – even the most hardened Scot would be bound to start thumbing through brochures advertising travel in faraway lands bathed in glowing sunshine and warmth.
Algy, however, was a surprisingly fluffy bird… and so, undeterred, he collected his rainbow umbrella from its place of storage and propped it up carefully among the branches of the fallen fir tree which had been uprooted in the big October storm. Reclining on the broad trunk of the tree, he tucked himself well back beneath the sheltering rainbow and began to sing "Oh, what a beautiful morning, Oh, what a beautiful day!" at the top of his voice, although it was evident to all who might be listening that in fact it was nothing of the sort.
Unfortunately, however, he had failed to take account of the wind, which rarely stops blowing in the wild west Highlands of Scotland, and so Algy had barely finished the first chorus before he found himself reluctantly chasing his treasured umbrella across the garden in the drenching rain, instead of singing happily beneath it…
