Bruny Youth Stories Prize

Suddenly a flash of lightning lit up the sky. The sea eagle flapped her wings as 
hard as she could and flew blindly away into the blackness of the swirling storm. 
The wind had been raging for two days and the sea eagle needed to find an island 
soon. She had been swept up into the storm and had been flying for so long her 
wings were getting tired. 
She had been out exploring when she saw a big fish that she wanted to catch to 
eat. She dove down to grab the fish with her talons but the fish was so slippery it 
slipped out of her grip and swam out to sea. She could still see it under the 
surface and followed it, flying further and further away from her home. Suddenly 
she noticed the clouds getting darker, a storm was dropping in but she realized 
she was too far out at sea to find her way home. 
Through the blackness she kept on flying, she knew she was a great explorer and 
had to fly until the storm was over. She believed that she could find an island if 
she just kept going. She felt like her wings were going to drop into pieces but just 
then a huge gust of wind picked her up and carried her along until the storm 
started to die down. It started to get lighter and the sea eagle could see a beautiful 
island from her view up above. She swooped down and down and up again in 
celebration and screeched an ear piercing screech as she soared down to the 
island and perched in a towering gum tree leaning out over the ocean. Finally she 
could rest. 
As she was resting she saw a nearby lighthouse and knew she would regret not 
exploring it, so when she woke up she soared around the lighthouse. Then she 
spotted Mt Mangana, covered in ferns and trees. She couldn't resist flying off to 
explore between the ferns. The ferns were soft and the brightest green she had 
ever seen. She flew all the way up to the top of the mountain and then she saw 
the neck, the tiniest sliver of land that was calling her name. She folded her 
wings and shot down the mountain like a rocket and landed on the softest sand. 
Then she heard a little noise coming from a hole in the sand dunes. She walked 
up 
the dunes and peeked in the hole and saw two little fluffy balls peeking out at 
her. They screeched and she fell back sliding down the dunes giggling like she 
would never stop. She laughed as the mama penguin returned to feed her chicks. 
She knew that she had found somewhere special and she could stay for a while 
before she set off on her next adventure. 
The End 
 

Winners of the Bruny Youth Story Prize will be announced at The Bruny Island Bird Festival on Sunday, the 22nd of March at 12 pm in the Adventure Bay hall. This prize is proudly brought to you by The Bruny Kids and Nature Project, led by Claire Boost and the Tasmanian Community Fund.