Although the garden was beautiful, Algy knew that he didn’t really belong there. The time had come to find his way back home, but as he didn’t know how he had got there, he wasn’t sure which way to set off. He looked around for the tallest tree in the garden and flew up into its highest branches. From there he could see for miles, and in the distance he spotted the gleam of a very long stretch of water which he felt sure was the great sea loch.

So Algy took a deep breath, said farewell to the lovely garden, and launched himself towards the loch so that he could follow its shores for a while. He took comfort from the thought that as he now knew where the garden was hidden, he could return again next spring, as the other birds do.

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Algy spent a wonderful day in the garden. He knew that he could not stay long in such a Paradise, and would soon have to start the arduous journey home. The sun was sinking down low in the sky, so Algy found himself a beautiful bed for the night, with a counterpane of soft pink petals which had fallen to the ground. He wondered if he would ever have such a bed again …

Algy gave his feathers a good shake and set off to explore the garden. There were beautiful flowering shrubs everywhere, with bluebells carpeting the ground and tall trees overhead. He found a bush with bright yellow flowers which seemed to be especially fragrant, and perched there happily in the sunshine, listening to the other birds singing all around him.

Algy wasn’t quite sure what had happened. The last thing he could remember was sitting in the gorse, waiting for the rainstorm which was rushing across the loch. But now he seemed to be caught on a branch in a gorgeous bush smothered in huge scarlet flowers. When he had untangled himself a wee bit, he looked around from side to side. All he could see was a beautiful garden, full of sunshine and colour. He thought perhaps the storm had swept him away to Paradise…

Algy loves flowers, so when the winter sun came out for a while he decided to plant a pot full of daffodils.