Raymond Sheppard and Captain Kai

"The eagle looked very fierce and fine"
The Very Thing! Frontispiece

The Winner Book of Stories is another of those books reprinted with different contents. The Blackie and Son Ltd edition looks to be from 1954 and includes the story "Captain Kai" by Beryl Gee which is illustrated by Sheppard as the last story. 

The Winner Book of Stories - Blackie & Son

I also own the Peal Press version of this book which would normally have no interest to me as there is no Raymond Sheppard in it. However, I have to confess my version is missing a 'signature' of pages in the front but still I suspect it does not have the "Captain Kai" story

The Very Thing! - Blackie and Son Ltd.

The third book I have in my collection is The Very Thing! by Blackie & Son (c.1952) which confusingly contains the same story again "Captain Kai" with the same black and white illustrations - shown here - but also a colour plate frontispiece! Confused? - so was I!

CAPTAIN KAI

The story is told by the son of Niels Valdemar when his Dad lived on the little island of Taasinge, Denmark and how he had to take the ferry (a rowing boat taxi service), to Fyn rowed by Peter Jensen when going to school. The journey could take 30-50 minutes but also sometimes three hours and on some occassions he would be alone with the man and hear tales of the Danish Royal Navy. One March morning Niels and Peter are surprised to see an eaglet land on the oar-stock looking for some of Niels' breakfast. Greedily it consumes all of his breakfast and on the way home that evening Niels had forgotten it, but the eaglet had not forgotten him!

"Niel gives up his breakfast"

It came and perched on his shoulder and shared his bun and the boy and man called it "Captain Kai".  The inevitable conversation took place - that the bird should not be tamed, therefore they shooed Captain Kai away with a gun shot. 

"Peter fired a wild shot"

One of Peter's worries was that he might have housewives to transport, selling their wares on Fyn and that the eaglet was not to be encouraged. However one May evening on the return journey, the eagle, which had grown, did not hesitate and landed on Niels' shoulder. Niels told the ladies it was tame and eventually after their initial fear they fed the bird with bread and cheese and shared the story with their men at home. Niels' father was angry when he heard of the eagle

"

"The ladies clutched their basket and screamed"

He swore if it flew over his farm he would shoot it as he feared the eagle would take some of his baby livestock.  Gunnar Johannsen was not so kind, he wanted to kill it straight away and joined a party travelling with Peter, no-one telling Niels. The weather was rough and as the eagle descended out of the thick mist and alighted on Niels' shoulder, Gunnar fired but missed due to the waves. The women were angry with Gunnar as they said, if he hadn't been so anxious to shoot the bird, Peter would have kept the boat on shore for fear of the heavy mist. Peter asked Niels to release the bird who could guide them home - which it did, and Gunnar promised as a result never to shoot the bird which grew big and strong and was respected by all the islanders of Taasinge (Tåsinge).

BERYL GEE BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. "Captain Kai"  in The Very Thing!, Glasgow: Blackie and Son Ltd., [1952]; reprinted in The Winner Book of Stories, Glasgow: Blackie and Son Ltd., [1954]
2. Chance Encounter (Lily Stories #630), Pickering & Inglis, 1965?
3. A Storm is Stilled (Lily Stories #637), Pickering & Inglis, 1965?
   

The Lily Stories were a periodical 16-page evangelical romance magazine for young adults published by Pickering & Inglis in Glasgow from c. 1965/66