The Blinking Lamp

Part One

An old lighthouse stood by the bay. No one lived in it. It was dark and still.

Pia and Grandpa sat on the porch. They looked at the tower. It was quiet.

Then, one night, the lamp blinked. It went on, then off, then on again.

“Look, Grandpa!” said Pia. “Someone is up there!” Grandpa put down his tea.

The lamp blinked all night. Pia could not sleep. She sat at the window.

In the morning, the sky was blue. “Let us go and look,” said Grandpa. Pia said yes.

They went up the long stairs. Pia counted the steps. There were a lot.

At the top, the door was open. The big lamp sat in the room. It was still.

Then Pia heard a sound. Click, click, click! It came from a box by the wall.

Grandpa went close. “Shh,” he said. “Look at the top of the box.”

A nest sat on the box. A big gray gull sat in it. She moved her feet.

Each time she moved, the switch clicked. “It is not a ghost!” said Pia. “It is a gull!”

Grandpa made a shelf by the window. He put the nest on it. The gull sat still.

Now the lamp is safe. The gull has a home. And Pia has a new friend.