The King of the Birds: Beyond the Stars. Michael Scott

      

       Other short stories from Beyond the Stars collection, also available as e-books:

      The Star Dogs by Roddy Doyle, illustrated by Steve Simpson

      The Hero of Drumree by Derek Landy, illustrated by Alan Clarke

      The Brockets Get a Dog by John Boyne, illustrated by Paul Howard

      How to Help Your Grandda by Judi Curtin, illustrated by Chris Judge

      The Lookout by Eoin Colfer, illustrated by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick

      The Snow Globe by Marita Conlon-McKenna, illustrated by P J Lynch

      The Battle of the Ice Queen by Gordon Snell, illustrated by Michael Emberley

      The Last Cat by Celine Kiernan, illustrated by Tatyana Feeney

      Across the Cold Ground written and illustrated by Oisín McGann

      Ice Fairies by Siobhán Parkinson, illustrated by Olwyn Whelan

      Discovering Bravery by Emma Brade, illustrated by Niamh Sharkey

       The King of the Birds

      Michael Scott

      Illustrated by Chris Haughton

       Copyright

      First published in Great Britain and Ireland by HarperCollins Children’s Books and Fighting Words Ltd. as a story in Beyond the Stars: Twelve Tales of Adventure, Magic and Wonder

      HarperCollins Children’s Books is a division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd,

      77-85 Fulham Palace Road, Hammersmith, London W6 8JB

      Fighting Words Ltd. Company Registered Charity CHY 18262

      Visit us on the web at

       www.harpercollins.co.uk

      and

       www.fightingwords.ie

      ‘The King of the Birds’ text © Michael Scott 2014, illustrations © Chris Haughton 2014

      Cover design © HarperCollins Children’s Books, cover image © Shutterstock

      Michael Scott and Chris Haughton assert the moral right to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work.

      All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins ebooks and Fighting Words.

      Visit our websites at: www.harpercollins.co.uk and www.fightingwords.ie

      Source ISBN: 9780007578467

      Ebook Edition © 2014 ISBN: 9780008103385

      Version: 2014-09-15

      CONTENTS

       Cover

Other e-Shorts in Series

       Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

The King of the Birds

       The Write to Right

       About the Author and Illustrator

       About the Publisher

      

      Beyond the Stars is unique.

      Why did twenty-three stellar children’s writers and illustrators band together to show their love and support for Fighting Words, a creative writing centre in the heart of Dublin city?

      That’s easy. Because, like this book, Fighting Words is unique. As Roddy Doyle, the centre’s co-founder, says, “It’s a big bright room. In an area that needs a big bright room. In a climate that needs a big bright room.”

      Fighting Words is a remarkable place that provides free tutoring in creative writing to all ages, but most especially to children and teenagers. It gives young writers a voice and helps them to reach their creative potential. And above all, it’s fun.

      In January 2009 I volunteered at Fighting Words’ very first Primary School Workshop. The room was so full of creativity, joy and optimism I thought my heart would burst. With the help of a storyteller, an illustrator and a team of volunteers, each of the children involved wrote their own book. On the back of each book (every young writer was given their own copy to take home – complete with wonderful full-colour illustrations) was a photograph of the child’s smiling face and a blank box for them to add their very own writer’s biography. Leaving the centre, their faces shone with happiness.

      Since that first workshop, I have volunteered at Fighting Words whenever I can. I have