A Direct Hit
Billy Davidson had an air-gun and he was envied by all the other boys in the school. He went down to the shore every evening and he would aim at targets in the water. He even tried to hit seals when they chanced to surface. Jonathan was just a little boy who thought he would like to have a gun too, so he decided to ask his parents to give him one for his birthday. This they duly did, it was a much smaller gun than Billy Davidson’s, just a toy one in fact. Even so, they impressed upon him that he must not aim it at animals or birds and he had to be very careful that no other person was in his line of fire. Jonathan gladly agreed, secretly hoping that if he aimed at the foulak or a skarrow now and again no one would ever know.
He was happy with his gun, although he didn’t knock down any of the cans or bottles which he set up on the rocks and on the garden wall. One day, however, a whopper of a target came to present itself. Units of The Fleet were in the vicinity and one of the ships was anchored out in the firth right in front of Jonathan’s house. He surely couldn’t miss this one! Getting his gun he went to the open window and took careful aim. Just as he pulled the trigger there was a great flash from the side of the ship and a loud bang as its gun was fired at that precise moment.
Wee Jonathan was aghast, he thought that he had hit the ship. Dropping the gun he burst into tears and ran to tell his mother. “Oh Mam” he cried. “Don’t tell them it was me. Please don’t tell them. You can say it was Billy Davidson!”
Katie Ross
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