Abel's Song

By D.K. Leighfield and Melani Pyke

Long ago in the far-off Northern Lands

An egg is laid

A chick is hatched

And the adventure of a lifetime

Begins.

Abel was the son of the loon chieftain. He was bigger, stronger, and faster than any other chick in the colony. But there was one thing he couldnt do Abel could not sing.

Rejecting his father and his teachings, Abel sets out on the lake to prove his independence. But a danger awaits that will soon test the prodigal loon chick in ways that he could never imagine.

A story of rebellion, redemption, and the love of a father that defies all understanding

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Nov 14, 2013
• ISBN: 9781490813264

D.K. Leighfield

Dave Leighfield spent his summers growing up at his family’s cottage on Thunderfoot Island in northwestern Ontario. It was here in the summer of 2000 that he had an encounter with a hopelessly lost (and vocally challenged) loon chick and his long-suffering father. Abel’s Song was the result of this brief but profound meeting. Dave lives in St. Catharines, Ontario, with his wife and their three children. A portion of the sales of each book will benefit the Niagara Peninsula Children’s Centre, a nonprofit organization that provides therapy and support to more than three thousand children with exceptionalities in the Niagara region. Melani Pyke combines her natural artistic talent with college and private training to develop a beautifully unique yet adaptable style. Her heart for people, especially children, has seen her drawings and paintings develop into inspirational works that encourage all ages to live better and improve the world around them. Now in Abel’s Song, her love and talent combine to bring the characters to life.

Book preview

Abel’s

Song

Written by

D.K. Leighfield

Illustrated by

Melani Pyke

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Copyright © 2013 D.K. Leighfield.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4908-1327-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-1328-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-1326-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013918627

WestBow Press rev. date: 12/11/2013

Table of Contents

Chapter One: In Which a Most Unusual Egg is Laid

Chapter Two: The Old Gray Loon

Chapter Three: A Father’s Warning

Chapter Four: In Which Abel Holds a Private Practice

Chapter Five: Out on the Lake

Chapter Six: The Mysterious Island

Chapter Seven: The Wily Weasel

Chapter Eight: Abel’s Song

Chapter Nine: A Happy Reunion

Special Features

The Fall of the Weasel: A Tale of the Northern Lands

Only You Can Save Loonkind: Loon Preservation and You

We All Have A Song: A Story of the Niagara Children’s Centre

Websites of Interest

Acknowledgements

In memory of my father Tom Beal; he loved loons and this book reminds me of our many trips to Algonquin Park.

Melani Pyke

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Chapter One:

In Which a Most Unusual Egg is Laid

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Long ago, in the far off Northern Lands, between the high rocky hills and the low wooded valleys, there was a lake. It was a big lake, deep and wide, with waters that sparkled in the bright light of the sun by day and danced and shimmered in the cool moonlight by night. It had many islands, hidden coves, marshes, and deep, deep reefs, and at its very farthest end, nestled away from all the waves and winds, there was a sandy bay.

Along the shores of the bay lived a colony of loons. Every spring since the dawn of time the loons flew north to the bay to swim in its still waters, feast on its succulent fish and raise their chicks in its secluded shelter. Every fall, when the leaves turned golden-red and the sleepy bears headed off for their long winter’s nap, the loons would return to the warm waters of the Southern Lake. It was a cycle that had gone on for as long as any could remember.

As April melted into May and the great sheets of ice that had covered the bay retreated, the loons always returned. The squirrels and rabbits and birds that made their homes in the forests around the lake perked their ears up each day, hoping to catch the haunting sound of the loons’ songs, for there was no clearer sign of the long winter’s end than the echoing voices of the loons carrying across the lake.

The loons built high their nests along the rocky shore, where each year’s eggs were laid with care and fished in the still waters of the bay by day.

And every evening when the sun had gone beneath the horizon of the rugged hills to the west and the pale springtime moon had begun to gently stroke the surface of the waters with its long, luminous fingers, the adult loons would swim out into the darkness and sing the ancient songs of their people.

They sang of the news of the day, celebrating births of new chicks and remembering old friends sadly missed. They sang about the fish they had caught and the places they had explored. They sang about the beauty of the lakes and the trees and high rocky hills. Their songs rang out clearly, echoing over the still waters of the night.

As the days lengthened and May turned into June, the time of the nesting began. Each pair of loons, mothers-and-fathers-to-be, retreated to the nests they had so lovingly crafted over the past several weeks. There, in the safety of the mud and reeds, each mother loon laid her eggs.

For the next six weeks the mother and father loons never left their precious eggs alone. They took turns sitting on the nests, using their own bodies to warm the little chicks as they grew inside their blue-gray shells.

In one particular nest a very special egg was laid. Not only was it the egg of the chieftain of all the loons of the lake but it was also bigger and rounder than any that could be remembered. It was nearly twice as big as the other egg that was nestled beside it in the downy feather-lined nest and everyone who saw it agreed that the chick inside would be a very special one indeed.

Every day and every night as the mother loon sat on her eggs she sang softly to them. She sang to them the ancient songs of their people, that told the tales of all the great loons that had lived along the shores of the lake since the first days. She sang songs that told of the great love that she and her mate felt for their dear little ones still unborn in their shells. These were songs of peace and songs of comfort but most importantly they were songs of love. And as she sang, she was quite amazed to feel the giant egg gently rock back and forth beneath her as the baby chick inside responded to her calm and soothing voice.

This chick shall indeed be a special one, my dearest love, the father loon said one night as he and his wife looked upon the big blue-gray egg. All around them the sounds of the nightly concert of the lake filled the air with their beautiful songs.

Indeed, my dearest love, said the mother loon. Look! See how he moves when he hears the songs we sing! The big egg trembled and rumbled, shook and shaked, as the loons on the lake sang their songs. It is as if his heart leaps when he hears the voices of our people raised in song.

The music of the lake will indeed run deep in the heart of this chick, said the father loon. He nuzzled the egg with his big black beak and gently whispered a soothing lullaby until the egg slowly settled as the little loon chick inside drifted off to sleep.

As the days of June lazed into July and the waters of the great big lake grew warm with the summertime sun, the day that every parent loon longs for finally came. It was the day of the hatching!

All along the shores of the sandy bay the voices of all the loons were raised in a torrent of excited cries as the tiny eggs began to violently tremble and shake as the unborn chicks tried to break through their shells and enter the great big