The Long Way Home

By Marty Love

Welcome to the Adventure for Kids and Other People...

Hopper the penguin is on his way home, or so he thinks. He hasn't counted on storms, sharks, squids, seals, and many other things that might not start with "s" trying to change his plan. He wants to see his family, not expecting the dangers, as well as the the friendships and lessons along the way.

What are readers saying about Fly Like a Penguin?

An eleven-year-old: “The book was so good that it only took me a few days to read. I couldn’t put it down! My mom liked it so much that it only took her two or three hours!”
A ten-year-old: “I was really into the book and I didn’t want to put it down! Hopper’s adventure seemed so real, it seemed like they were actually happening before my eyes!”
A mom of two preteens: “We are reading this book as a family and are all loving it! A great animal story with Biblical truths, excellent narrative, good vocabulary words for expanding a child’s vocabulary, real geographical locations and facts about animals woven in. I highly recommend it!
Wisconsin Christian News: “It’s an endearing story of Hopper the Rockhopper Penguin, whose discoveries about friendship, honor, and the Creator keep the reader enthralled page after page...Filled with humor, excitement and adventure, Fly Like a Penguin not only teaches important life lessons about honesty, hard work and integrity, but also shares with readers the importance of living for and relying on God as the Creator and Sustainer of all living creatures.”
The Long Way Home is Volume 1 of the Fly Like a Penguin book series, a humorous, somewhat educational adventure for preteens and their families.
It’s a great addition to the homeschool library or for anyone who likes penguins.
Find out for yourself what happens to Hopper as he makes his perilous journey and whether or not he actually makes it home!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Marty Love
• Release date: Feb 18, 2012
• ISBN: 9781465862310

Marty Love

One day Marty Love looked out at the water in front of his home on Puget Sound and saw a penguin floating by on a log. Many years later it hit him, "Hey, what was that penguin doing there?" Penguins don't belong in Puget Sound. Thus began the long quest to find the history of that traveling penguin. Much research and writing resulted in what has become the Fly Like a Penguin book series for middle grade readers and other people who like adventure and laughs.

Book preview

Chapter 1

A Prophecy

Just a small ray of sun from the East broke through the gray clouds covering the Falkland Islands as Cliffider and Cliffidee jumped from rock to rock up the cliff from the ocean to their home. They were penguins, Rockhopper penguins.

Their life, up to this time, had been spent doing the usual penguiny sorts of things, such as raising a number of little ones from the egg to maturity. As the time now drew near for another one to enter their world, they couldn’t have imagined how their lives and that of their whole colony could change. Life had been as it was for as long as they could remember, and it seemed it had been that way for their parents and grandparents.

But on this morning, something felt different, and they didn’t know why. After finishing their breakfast in the ocean, they were on their way to visit Cliffking. He was a very old and wise penguin who was considered a patriarch of their colony. Some, however, thought he was strange.

As they drew nearer to the top of the cliff the sound of the many Rockhoppers in their colony drew louder. It sounded like they were all talking at once. They could hear playful shouting, arguing, singing, and just regular conversation. It didn’t seem unusual to Cliffidee and Cliffider. That’s just the way it was, and always had been, just like the constant crashing of the waves on the rocks below them.

Finally, after reaching the cliff’s summit, they hopped and waddled through the multitudes of their folk and came out on the other side. Climbing uphill for a while, they came to the little rock cave where Cliffking usually stayed. It was a quieter place where he could think.

Welcome, good friends, he said. How was the krill? (Krill is a favorite food of penguins. It is a tiny shrimp-like creature that is very abundant in these southern waters. To us it may sound like swill, but to them it is just swell.)

Just swell, answered Cliffider. I would have brought you some, but I didn’t have a good way of carrying it up the cliff.

That’s okay. I have plenty—all I need. So, what’s on your mind today?

Cliffidee answered, We came to see what’s on your mind. We have an uneasy feeling that something is about to change for us all. We were directed to come to you, because you have been given some wisdom about it. You have a message for us, don’t you?

Well, you know I hate to be a bearer of bad news, but the one who directed you to come here is the one who speaks to me, and what he speaks is the truth, whether we like it or not.

What has he told you? asked Cliffider.

I know my days are getting short, and soon I must lay myself down before our Creator. Soon after that a time of trouble will come to our peaceful islands. Do you see those birds up there?

They looked up to see the brown gull-like birds flying over the colony with watchful eyes. The caracaras?

Cliffking continued, They are, as you know, our natural enemies, but not that big of a concern to us. They’re mainly a nuisance, trying to steal our eggs and looking for opportunities to take away the weak or young ones among us. But a time is coming when they will become a terrible enemy. They will increase in number, attack us, and carry many of us away.

How do you know these things? asked Cliffider.

Well, son, I’ve hopped along on the rocks of these islands and swum the ocean around us for many years. All along I’ve been with the one who knows. He has shown me some things because I listened to him.

How long will this attack go on?

Until the one comes who will lead us in victory.

Who will that be?

Then Cliffking stood up straight, lifted up his right wing, and his voice, saying,

When the trouble comes from the skies

He of yellow crest and eyes

Swims from the north.

He will suddenly come forth

With his mate by his side

And a seal as his ride.

Soon the flying ones will flee

And the Falklands become free.

Hey, not bad! said Cliffider to his mate out of the corner of his beak, and such an old fellow, too.

Ay, what’s’at? If I was a bit younger, I would have heard that! said Cliffking. You think poetry is only for the young? I was composing it before you were an egg, and I was already old then!

Cliffider laughed, Sorry about that, old-timer, but I think you were born old. Then he grew more serious and said, Are you saying the one who will lead us to victory will be a yellow-eyed Rockhopper? We all have beady red eyes beneath our yellow crest feathers!

Cliffking answered, Many things are possible that we wouldn’t expect, but perhaps there is a Yellow-eyed penguin from New Zealand in his family line.

Cliffidee asked, Is there anything we can do to prepare for those days?

The most important thing is to remember the one who made us and to keep looking to him for wisdom and help.

Cliffider and Cliffidee visited with Cliffking until late afternoon and then returned to their place in the colony. One of their neighbors asked, What did old Methuselah have to say today?

Cliffidee related the prophecies of the old penguin. Some laughed, some listened, and some said, We’ll see.

Others said, Things have always been as they are. Why should it change? But the prophecies remained in their minds.

In the days that followed, Cliffider and Cliffidee spent more time outside the colony in lonely places, listening and calling for help. One morning they each knew they were given a command, a message from their maker.

That hour they left their secure home on the rock and dove into the sea, heading south.

Chapter 2

An Answer

Emily sighed a long and deep sigh and said to her mate, Emmett, It looks like we’ll never get to have children. Everyone else in the colony thinks there is something wrong with us, and they look down on us. Tears flowed from her eyes, turning to ice at the end of her beak. Emmett put a wing on her shoulder, saying nothing. He didn’t know what to say. It was true. They were becoming too old to have any children. They were penguins, Emperor penguins.

They lived in a colony of proud Emperor penguins in Antarctica, on the great peninsula that juts north toward South America. In their colony it was very important to remain proud and to pass on the proud tradition to the children. After all, they were Emperors.

For Emily and Emmett, most of their pride had been taken away by the years of waiting and the many times they’d heard their friends whisper as they passed. The sadness they now felt wasn’t from what others thought or said, but because they had no children.

Emily looked up and cried softly, Oh, help. I know if we had a child, we would raise him to be a special penguin.

Emily and Emmett stood gazing at the children playing at the center of the colony. Normally they enjoyed watching them play because they loved children, but today it saddened them all the more. All the children looked so much alike. Certainly each had his or her own looks and personality, but they seemed to learn to be so much alike. They had to waddle the same way and talk the same way. If anyone accidentally said something that was considered unfit for an Emperor to say, he was soon made to feel like one of the lower breeds of penguins.

Emily and Emmett decided to take a walk away from the others. Emmett, who had been deep in thought for a long time, broke the silence, We’ve been shown an important thing, my dear. If we had had a child before now, he would have grown up like all the other children, and like us—proud and selfish. But if we were to have one now, we would teach him love and humility; but perhaps now it’s too late.

They spent a long time surrounded by the white, icy landscape, talking together and calling out to their Creator for help and wisdom.

As they were returning to their place in the colony, they were met by two strange creatures. Drawing near, they realized they were penguins, but not Emperors, and they weren’t Adelies or Gentoos, the neighboring species of penguins in Antarctica. These two were kind of stumpy looking, not even half as tall as they were, and they had yellow feathers sticking out above their beady red eyes.

They looked tired with a certain sadness in their eyes, but they straightened up as the Emperors approached. Emily and Emmett said a polite Hello as they were passing, and would have continued on if one of the little penguins hadn’t said, Excuse me, I believe you are the Emperor penguins we’ve been directed to visit. Are you Emmett and Emily?

Emily answered a little nervously, Yes, but wh…who are you?

My name is Cliffider, a Rockhopper from the Falkland Islands, and this is my good mate, Cliffidee. Not many days ago we were told to come here to meet you, and if you will have us, to stay with you for a while.

If the Creator has led you here, you are certainly welcome, answered Emmett. Come along with us to our place in the colony, and tell us about it.

As Emmett and Emily waddled back toward home, the Rockhoppers hopped along beside them, telling them about their visit with Cliffking and his prophecies about the coming battle with the caracaras. And as we were calling for help in the days that followed, finally we each received an answer, said Cliffider. We were to come here to find you.

But why? asked Emily.

Cliffidee answered, I’m going to be laying an egg any day now, and this little penguin is to be raised with the Emperors, while we return to our home to prepare for the war. We are to leave this egg in your care. We know there couldn’t be a better set of parents for our child.

The Emperors were stunned into silence. Thoughts and emotions waged war in their minds, joy over their answered prayer, but sadness for their new friends. They wondered what the other Emperors would think, having an egg in the summer when Emperors always have theirs in the dark of winter. In the end came the calm assurance that this was the answer they had been waiting for. They would finally be able to have an egg and then a baby penguin.

When the time came for the laying of the egg, Cliffidee put it on the feet of Emily to keep it warm, and she whispered to the egg, Goodbye, little one, and always remember your Maker, and come see us if he so leads.

Knowing they must now return home, the Rockhoppers thanked the Emperors for receiving them and for taking their egg. Cliffider finished with these words, I’m sure you realize that your new baby will be different from the rest of the children in your colony. Some will laugh at him. Some won’t understand him. You have been chosen because you will be able to keep loving him no matter what anyone else says. At home we’ll be having a war. He may have his own here, but it won’t kill him, and with your help it will strengthen him. To him you will be his mom and dad, yet someday he may decide to find where he came from. He may be called to help in our battle. We leave that to the great one who made us all. May he be with you in all you do.

So Cliffidee and Cliffider said goodbye and headed north to their home. Perhaps I don’t need to mention how many times they looked back toward the feet of Emily.

Chapter 3

Hopper

Since the days of their courtship, Emily and Emmett hadn’t been so happy. Emily huddled over the egg on her feet while Emmett waddled back and forth exclaiming every now and then, Wow! We’ve got an egg. We’re going to have a chick! We called for help, and here it is!

During this time of waiting for the hatching, they talked over many things, like how they would walk proudly among their fellow Emperors with their new little one, and what the name should be. They decided on Peter or Penelope.

Finally the day arrived when the little penguin began poking his beak through the shell of the egg. They could hardly contain their excitement as they watched that beak pecking the hole bigger and bigger.

Then out popped a little gray head with two beady eyes that were also radiant with joy and determination. Then the whole egg split apart as a little male penguin hopped out onto the ice at Emily’s feet. He didn’t look at all like them and was much smaller than the usual babies they had seen among their acquaintances.

When it came time for him to venture outside of the warmth of Emily’s feathers, he did something else that surprised them, although it probably shouldn’t have. Instead of waddling as they did, he hopped around as he explored his new world. He hopped over to Emmett and rubbed his beak on his feet, and then hopped back to Emily.

Well, Emmy dear, said Emmett, I think we had forgotten what he was here for. He’s not here to make us proud Emperor parents. He’s here as a gift and for us to teach him the right way, loving him as he is, even though he’s not much like us. He’s a Rockhopper, and Hopper will be his name.

Emily smiled as she cuddled the baby penguin and said, We’re glad you’re here, Hopper. I don’t know why you were brought to us, but I’m sure you’ll grow up to be someone special.

News traveled fast about the hatching of old Emmett and Emily’s baby, and soon their place was surrounded by friends, relatives and others from the colony. Many came to offer congratulations as a matter of social courtesy, but when they saw Hopper, they would say something like, We just wanted to say how happy we are for you, that you were finally able to have a chick. He’s such an interesting-looking little fellow, isn’t he? Then they would leave, whispering rapidly to each other.

Others were more honest about what they thought and said things like, He’s really quite small, is he not? or You’ll have to teach him to waddle, I can tell you that right now, or Where’d he get those beady eyes?

By the end of the day, Emily and Emmett were feeling crushed. The most important event in their life, and no one really cared. They’d rather find fault. But they decided they wouldn’t let it bother them. Hopper would be their son, and he would be a part of the colony. He would learn to love others who didn’t understand or care about him.

Chapter 4

Hopper’s Early Education

Under the care of Emmett and Emily, Hopper learned the ways of the Emperors. At this time he didn’t realize he was different. Emily and Emmett were his mom and dad, and parents are always bigger.

But as they waddled among the other Emperors, Hopper would happily waddle and often hop along between his parents. They received looks of disgust from others as they passed and many not very friendly remarks about Hopper’s size. He was much shorter than the smallest Emperor chick. Also they didn’t like Emily and Emmett’s breaking with the tradition of hatching chicks in winter. However, the light season was a much better time for a Rockhopper to be born. So he grew up among the Emperors with the best of Emperors for his parents.

In his younger days, Emmett had been a great swimmer and diver. Hopper loved the stories he told about his adventures in the oceans and under the sea. What incredible things he had seen and done!

There were stories about his brother, Emp, who was a great traveler whom he hadn’t seen for years. Is he still alive? asked Hopper.

I hope so, answered Emmett. I would really like to see him again, and to know he’s all right.

Emmett loved to tell of his times with his friend, Bhill Blue, who was a whale. He was the greatest swimmer and diver I’ve ever seen, and also the greatest friend a penguin could ever have.

Where is he now, Daddy?

He’s still traveling the oceans.

Does he ever come home?

Emmett answered, To Antarctica, you mean? Well, he comes by once in a while, but then he’s off traveling again.

By himself?

Usually, but I don’t think he’s lonely. He swims with the Creator, and he meets friends along the way, and it seems he’s always helping someone. And he’s not afraid of anything. Once I saw him look at the Great White Seal who was railing at him and threatening him, and what did Bhill Blue do? He laughed at him and swam away. I was hiding behind Bhill, hoping the Great White wouldn’t see me or my tail might be gone.

Who is the Great White Seal?

He is actually a sea lion, and the biggest one you’ll ever see. He rules over much of the Pacific Ocean, and he thinks it’s his. I think he would like to rule all the oceans. Some say he’s been alive for hundreds of years, and they say in his lair he has countless trophies, the tails of those creatures who got in his way or bothered him in some way, or those who opposed him.

Where is he? asked Hopper.

His headquarters are on the coast of what people call California…

Hopper found himself shaking, and not about the Great White Seal, and he asked, What are people?

"People are the greatest of the