The Thief and the Thunderstorm. Part One.

Part One: How storms are made

This is the story about the thief and the greatest thunderstorm that ever erupted over Galway Bay. The thief was not a bad man, just ignorant. The thief believed that if you want to be admired and loved you had to bestow gifts on those around you. And if you could not afford to buy gifts - well then, just steal them. He was also ignorant of many other things. He did not know, for example, that the weather in Ireland and Scotland is very different from the weather in every other part of the world.

In England, and China, Peru and Pakistan, in every country in fact in every part of the world, thunderstorms are created when hot and cold clouds bang together. The clouds push and shove and roll and tussle like giant wrestlers making the air around flash and bang and pour with rain. However, in Scotland and Ireland storms are not only born from the arguments of clouds. Many storms, in fact, are created when seawater mixes with the blood of a Selkie.

Selkies are magical creatures that live in the north Atlantic, and are mostly found along the western shores of Ireland and Scotland. They look exactly like seals. However, in the summer Selkies enjoy coming ashore, taking off their big sealskin coats, turning into humans and sunbathing. In Galway they can be seen up by Black Rock, near the Golf Course. They look almost exactly like you and me, lying there in their swims suits and goggles, with the little ones building sanding castles and throwing stones into the sea. But if you look carefully you might just see their seal skin coats lying amongst the rocks. You have to look very carefully though because the coats are the same colour as the big stones they lie on.

Now read: The Thief and the Thunderstorm. Part Two