Fan I wis a bairn, aboot 12 , oor faimily flitted tae the wee toon o’ Strichen. I min’ it wis durin’ the Easter holiday! I wis sent be ane o’ my aul’er sisters t’buy flooers in a shoppie, gin I cwid fin’ ony. Ach, weel, I fun’ the flooers, nae bather. Bit I cwidna fin’ my wye hame tae the new hoose far we were gyan’ tae be bidin’! A’ there wis only aboot fower streets in the hale o’ the village! Bit I won hame at last, wi’ a bunch o’ daffodils tae cheer ma mither fan she arrived frae Aiberdeen, aince she hid tidied up the aul’ hoose, ready for the new occupants. Syne we hid tae jine a new squeel! My last ane had been a big squeel in Aiberdeen, an’ here I wis pitten intae a class o’ aboot 12 bairnies! Man! Fit a winnerfu’ chance ‘at wis! Near as guid as a teacher a’ til yersel’! Nae that I wis a saint… far frae it! I hid a freen’ fa’s faither taught us music, an’ ilka time he cam’ in tae tak’ the class, afore we sung ae note, he gar’t me move awa’ frae my chum, an’ awa frae my sister an’ a’! Nae caperin’ here!
Noo ae day, this freen’ wid show me a fine short-cut ower the river Ugie, b’wye o’ a raw o’ steppin’ stanes. I thocht I wis Airchie, hoppin’ fearless-like frae ae stane til e neist. Bit alas! My fit slippit, an’ doon on my doup I gaed! Right on a weet stane! I sat there, wi’ the river rinnin’ a’ ower the stane. An’ I wis a gey drookit craitur, fan I reached the ither side. Aye, an’ feart tae ging hame, for the row I wis sure tae get. Bit my freen’ wis a richt freen’, an’ hid an answer tae the problem. She took me hame til her dad’s place o’ work, (aye, as weel as deein’ oor music at squeel, he wis a true lad o’ pairts!) Syne she plunkit me doon on a het radiator, an’ I sat there, wi’ the reek risin’ in cloods aboot me, till I wis respectable eneuch tae ging hame! I juist aboot got awa’ wi’t! Nae ower muckle said, an’ that wis a gey relief!