'How would you like to have a picnic today? asked Grandma at breakfast time.
Thomas and Bethan's eyes sparkled.'That would be great, where shall we go?' asked Thomas.
'I thought we could walk along the river bank and take the binoculars to see the Kingfishers' said Grandpa.
The children were delighted so as soon as the breakfast dishes were washed and put away they began making the sandwiches.
'I've only once seen a Kingfisher and it was beautiful' said Bethan as she put a slice of cheese on to the bread.
'Oh, I've seen lots of them' teased Thomas busily slicing the cucumber.
'When?' shouted Bethan, and pushed him.
'Now then, no pushing and being silly in the kitchen' said Grandma, 'Especially when someone has a knife in their hand'.
'No fighting, otherwise no picnic' decided Grandpa.
Bethan made a face at her brother who immediately grimaced back but then giggled. It was far too nice a day to squabble and he did want to see a Kingfisher as he had never seen one before!!!
When the basket was packed with sandwiches, pies, cakes and flasks they set out. It was warm and sunny and as they walked Grandpa pointed out all sorts of interesting things - delicate dragonflies; beautiful butterflies; plants and trees, and the water animals which could be seen if all was quiet. They even saw a small field mouse when they were having lunch.
'He must have known you make lovely pies and cakes Grandma' said Bethan. 'I think I'll leave him a little piece.'
'I'm afraid he can't have any of mine' laughed Thomas. 'It's all gone, not even a crumb left!'
'You are like the dog in one of Grandpa's stories' laughed Bethan. 'You know, the one who was always hungry!!' and they all laughed.
Then 'Ssh!' whispered Grandpa. 'Look over there - on that branch of the tree'.They looked and saw ... a Kingfisher!The sun was glinting through the leaves and catching the brilliant blue, green and red of his plumage.
Bethan caught her breath 'He's beautiful' she said. 'He must be the most beautiful bird in the country.’
'Lots of people would agree with you' nodded Grandpa. ' They really are glorious birds.' So they watched as he dived into the river, coming up with a fish then flying away.
'Grandpa and I sit here for hours watching the birds' Grandma told them ' but I'm afraid the picnic is over now for the day.'
The children were reluctant to leave but they had been promised tea at a lovely thatched tea garden on the way home so Thomas was quite looking forward to that!
That evening when it came to storytime Thomas asked 'Have you a Kingfisher story tonight, Grandpa?'
'I just may have' Grandpa answered thoughtfully. 'Would you like to hear it?'
'Yes!' they shouted eagerly, the memory of those glorious colours still fresh in their minds, and they settled down quickly, waiting to hear the story of the beautiful bird.

The stable seemed to be awash with colour and beauty. The evening sun was casting a golden glow over the animals as they gazed in wonder at the two birds who had just flown in. They had never met before, and the birds stood rather uncertainly in the centre of the stable.After a moment or two one of them spoke.
'We were supposed to meet the pigeons here' he said. 'It IS the story-stable, isn't it?' and they both looked at Donkey enquiringly.
Donkey found his voice at last. He had never seen anyone as beautiful as the two Kingfishers whose glowing colours shone in the rays of the sun.
'Yes, it is' he replied at last. 'You are very welcome, to join us.'
The Kingfishers looked around and were just about to settle themselves when in flew the pigeons, apologising for their lateness.
'They are always late' cawed Crow. 'You can never trust them to be on time' and again he cawed noisily.
'Don't mind Crow' said Donkey hastily.
'We are so sorry' the pigeons quickly walked over to their friends. 'We had intended being here to introduce you, but we see you have already introduced yourselves.' They were quite flustered but the Kingfishers assured them they had been made most welcome.
'We haven't really been introduced' said Owl. 'Please tell us a little about your friends.'
'Let us get comfortable first, please Owl, and then we can talk' the pigeons answered him. Then turning to their friends the Kingfishers they added 'There is room on the rafters for us all.'
'Not really' cawed Crow. 'But there soon will be' and he pushed a sparrow off the rafter.
'Really, Crow, that was most unkind' said Donkey angrily.
'Throw him out' growled Mr. Cat. 'I certainly would it this were my stable'.
'Oh, dear' thought Donkey. 'Whatever will our new friends think of us.'
But the Kingfishers and pigeons were talking amongst themselves and hadn't seemed to notice what had been going on. The sparrow flew up to the rafter again and then all was quiet.
'Our friends live on the banks of the River Jordan' one of the pigeons began, 'And it was there that we met. We told them of our story hour and were delighted to hear that they also had a thrilling story to tell. Knowing how much we all like our stories we invited them along - and here they are.'They paused, well pleased with themselves.
'Well done, pigeons' and Mr. Dog, and praise came from all around the stable, making the Kingfishers feel very welcome indeed.
'Would you like to tell us your story tonight, Kingfishers?' asked Donkey.
'Yes, we would love to, and thank you for making us feel so much at home with you' they replied as they smiled at everyone. And so they began their story.
'As you have heard, we live in the bank of the River Jordan, and we fish there every day. It is very pleasant and also very interesting. I expect you have heard of John the Baptist?' 'Yes' they had all heard
.'He wore strange clothes made of camels hair with a big leather belt' said the second Kingfisher. 'You couldn't miss him, he certainly stood out in a crowd.'
'People would come from miles around to hear John preach, and be baptised'the first Kingfisher told them. 'But one thing always puzzled us.'
'What was that?' asked Owl. 'If you don't mind my interrupting.’
'Not at all' they both answered. 'It was when John said "Someone far greater than I is coming, in fact I'm not even worthy to be his slave".'We often wondered what he meant, didn't we?' and he turned to his friend.
'Yes, that's true' he answered then took up the story. 'We found out one day though. John had been talking to the crowds when he suddenly pointed and said "Look, there is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He is the One I've been talking about".'We were so excited, we flew above the crowds to see who it was.'
'And did you?' asked a gruff voice.
'Yes, hedgehog' he answered 'We saw Jesus! And we also heard what He said. He asked John to baptise Him.'
'Jesus asked to be baptised? queried Owl in a puzzled tone.
'John was surprised too' said Kingfisher. 'In fact he didn't want to do it, but Jesus said "Please do it, for I must do all that is right".
'Oh, how wonderful He is' murmured one of the doves.
'So John baptised Jesus then?' asked Owl.
'Both Kingfishers answered 'Yes. Then a most wonderful thing happened'They looked at each other joyfully 'As Jesus was coming out of the water the heavens opened and a ....I think I can best describe it as a dove ..... yes, a dove, came down from heaven and rested on Jesus. And God's Voice said "This is my beloved Son, and I am wonderfully pleased with Him".
The Kingfishers fell silent. No-one spoke. The Glory of that moment seemed to fill the stable as the animals sat and watched the sun sinking lower and lower in the sky.
Eventually Donkey said 'Thank you so much for your story,Kingfishers. We are so glad you came.'
'Please visit us again' spoke up the others.
'We would love to' they replied.
'Glorious birds for a glorious story' Donkey said softly as, with a flash of their brilliant colours, the Kingfishers flew homewards into the sunset.
Elizabeth Aynsley ©

Matthew CH.3 Vs.13 to 17