Free Kirabo by Ronnie Rowbotham Page B

nearby or any friends. He has tried to make friends with the people who live in the village but they are unkind to him.”
    Brady looked up at Cedric. Now that he had got over the shock of meeting a giant for the very first time, Brady saw how sad he looked.
    “Hello, Cedric,” Brady said. “I’m sorry people are unkind to you.”
    Cedric smiled a great big smile. “Thank you.”
    “I think it’s because they are scared of you. I’m sure if people got to know you they would like you,” Kirabo said.
    “The people in the villages just have to see me and they scream and run away,” Cedric said, giving a loud sad sniff. “Some even throw stones and wooden spears at me.”
    “I can go and make friends with them and tell them how kind you are. Then they will be your friends and you won’t be all alone,” Kirabo said cheerfully.
    “Really? Would you do that just for me?” Cedric asked.
    “Yes, of course I would,” Kirabo said.
    “I’ll help too,” Brady added.
    Kirabo frowned. “But why? You haven’t been very nice to me or made me feel very welcome.”
    Brady thought about how he hadn’t wanted Kirabo to come and live with him and his mum and dad. For the first time he thought about how sad Kirabo must feel at having her mum and dad so far away and living in a strange house. He felt very bad about the way he had acted.
    “I’m sorry,” Brady said, going red. “And I really would like to help.”
    Kirabo looked at him for a long time. “Okay,” she said. “Let’s go down to the village and see if we can talk to the people there.”
    Cedric tried to stand up but as he did he hit his head on the roof of the cave.
    “Ouch!” he said, rubbing his head. “The entrance to the cave is this way,” he said, showing them the way. “You can see the village from up here. It shouldn’t take you too long to get there,” Cedric explained as they walked.
    Kirabo and Brady came out of the cave and into bright sunlight. They saw a magical land filled with lots of beautiful colours.
    “Wow!” Brady said, taking a deep breath.
    “It’s so beautiful,” Kirabo agreed.
    There were fields that were filled with flowers of every colour they could imagine and mountains that stretched high into the pale blue sky.
    “Look, there’s the village,” Cedric said, pointing.
    The village stood close to a large lake that sparkled in the sunlight. The houses were large round buildings made of wood and stone and each had a thatched roof. From so high up Kirabo and Brady could see the smoke from the chimneys rising high into the air.
    “Okay, let’s go,” Brady said.
    Togo gave an excited bark and wagged his tail as they set off down the cliff.
    “I don’t understand,” Brady said quietly. “We were in the attic. I saw you climb inside a box. How can we be here and how can your dog be alive?”

    Kirabo gave a little laugh. “My grandparents are from Togo, a place in Africa. It’s why I called my dog Togo. My grandmother knows a lot about magic and she tried to teach my mother all she knew but she said my mother didn’t have the gift. When I was born my grandmother said that the gift had been passed on to me. That is why they called me Kirabo – it means gift. So when I play, my games come to life,” she explained.
    “Wow!” Brady said in amazement. “So you can go anywhere, and do anything?”
    Kirabo smiled and nodded. Suddenly a bright blue butterfly fluttered by.
    “Hello,” it said, turning to look at them. “I’m so glad you are helping poor Cedric. He’s been so lonely hiding away in that cave. I try and pop by most days to see how he is.”

    Brady’s mouth fell open in shock.
    “Hello,” Kirabo said, as if talking to a butterfly was the most natural thing in the world. “I’m glad Cedric has someone who cares about him. We are off to the village to see if they will be friends with him.”
    “Be careful,” the butterfly said, frowning. “The villagers are not very friendly. They are much