The Ship With the Silver Lantern – Read and Print

By Rachel Dunstan Muller, copyright 2022

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Have you ever heard of the ship with the silver lantern? They say that on moonlit nights, it sails the starry skies. They say that the ship’s captain is a friendly badger, always ready to welcome one more passenger. “Ahoy there,” she calls out, as the ship glides through the dark. “Who will come and join us?”

They say that a boy named Conor once answered that call. Oh, yes he did. He stood at his window, and he reached for the rope ladder that Captain Badger and her brave crew sent over the side. And then up Conor climbed into the night, out his window, over the railing, right onto the deck of the ship with the silver lantern.

“Welcome aboard,” said Captain Badger. “Welcome aboard,” said the rest of the crew. Oh, but they were a colourful bunch! There was a white rat, a brown otter, and a red fox on deck, and two black crows perched high up in the rigging – and they all looked very pleased to see Conor.

“You’re just in time,” said the Captain. “We’re off the Milky Way to fill our nets with stardust. What we need is one more look-out in the crow’s nest – in case we run into pirates.”

Well, that sent a shiver down Conor’s spine – pirates! But still, he snapped his hand to his forehead in a perfect sailor’s salute. “Aye, aye, Captain,” he said bravely.

The two crows helped him find his way up the rigging to a half-barrel at the very top of the ship. And when Conor was all settled in his perch, Captain Badger gave the signal to raise anchor.

“Heave ho,” called the Captain. “Heave ho,” called the crew.

And off they sailed – the ship with the silver lantern. Conor held on tight as they rose through the night sky, higher than the tallest trees, higher than the highest mountains. The Earth got smaller and smaller beneath them, until it was no bigger than a blue-green marble. Past the moon they went, past Mars, and Jupiter, and Saturn, too, with the solar wind in their sails.

And all the while, Conor was keeping watch – up and down and all around, searching for signs of danger. They had just reached the first of Neptune’s 14 moons, when a comet came streaking past.  And riding the tail of that comet – were pirates!

Conor tried to warn the Captain, but it was too late. Those pirates were already leaping aboard. Two, four, six, seven – there were too many to count. The deck was spilling over with them, some black, some white – great, big, woolly, four-legged pirates. That’s right: four-legged, woolly pirates. They were sheep! But don’t think that made them any less fearsome. Oh, how Conor trembled as he looked down from the crow’s nest.

Captain Badger stood and faced the pirate sheep bravely. “Come to plunder us, have you?” she said. But then, to Conor’s surprise, she let out a hearty laugh, and clapped the nearest sheep on the shoulder. “You scallywags. You always know exactly when to show your faces. You’ve come aboard just in time for tea – as usual.”

Well, it didn’t take long for the ship’s crew to set up a long table on deck. And what a table it was – piled high with good things. There were tiny cakes, and plump berries, and thick cream. There were sweet biscuits, and sour cherries, and salty pretzels. There was smoked eel and pickled herring, and tea and honey to wash it all down. And for the pirate sheep – the Captain’s good friends and most honoured guests – there were heaping platters of red and white clover.

And when the last crumb was gone, and the last drop of tea had been licked up – the ship with the silver lantern sailed on, past Neptune’s 14 moons, past asteroids and meteors and comets, all the way to the Milky Way.

They say that with Conor, and the ship’s crew, and the pirate sheep all working together to fill the nets, they hauled in more stardust than ever before.

And that was wonderful news for all the children asleep back on Earth. Because they say that the very best dreams come from a sprinkle of stardust. And back to Earth is exactly where the ship with the silver lantern sailed, past moons and planets and asteroids and meteors. And when they reached the Earth, they opened their hold and sprinkled a pinch of stardust over every city, and every town, and every village – and every cottage and cabin and houseboat in between.

And then at last the ship came to rest beside Conor’s own bedroom. Over the railing went the rope ladder, and down Conor climbed, through the open window, into his room and his own cozy bed. And before the Captain could say “Anchors aweigh,” Conor was fast asleep.

They say that on moonlit nights, the ship with the silver lantern still sails the starry skies. And if you never get a chance to go aboard with Captain Badger and her crew, well, you can at least dream about them.

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