Chapter 1

Ah! This is a perfect way to start the week, I thought blissfully as I snuggled down further beneath my warm blankets. I'd been given a well-earned half-day off work, which meant that I had the rare opportunity to sleep-in for as long as I liked. And on a Monday too! How lucky can I get? Naturally, I'd awoken at my usual time, but I knew it wouldn't be long before I drifted back off to sleep again. To ensure that I wouldn't be disturbed, I'd turned my mobile phone onto silent, and taken the landline phone off the hook.

I had just reached that blissful moment when I was about to drift off to sleep again, when someone rang the doorbell. Startled, I jumped awake.

Oh daro!*

With much reluctance, I got up. After I'd put on some casual clothes, I headed downstairs.

"Who is it?" I asked through the letterbox.

"It's just us, Sam," Bronwyn replied.

Sighing heavily, I unlocked the door. Bronwyn and Charlie were standing there, along with Sarah and James. "What's up?"

"We couldn't get you on the phone, Sam," Charlie said. "Is everything all right?"

"Everything's fine. I was just trying to get some extra sleep, so I turned my phone off."

"Oh. Well, Bronwyn and I want to go to Newtown today, so we were hoping you'd be able to look after Sarah and James for us, please."

"Sure, I can do that. But I am on duty after lunch."

"Don't worry," Bronwyn said. "I'm sure we'll be back by then. If not, I've also asked Helen to keep an eye on them when she's not busy."

"Oh! We don't need looking after, mum!" Sarah retorted indignantly.

I smiled. "Come on in, you two. You can watch TV while I get some things done."

"Yay!" Sarah and James cheered as they dashed past me.

"They'll be fine," I assured Charlie and Bronwyn.

"Thanks, Sam," Bronwyn said. "We'll phone when we're about to leave Newtown."

"You'd better turn your phone back on, Sam," Charlie advised with a wink.

"I will. Bye now. Have fun." I closed the door, and I headed into the kitchen to prepare my breakfast. I looked at the clock on the wall above the stove. It was nine o'clock. So much for sleeping-in…

After I'd turned my mobile phone back on and put the landline back on the hook, I set about preparing my breakfast. I'd just sat down to eat it, when Sarah and James entered the kitchen.

"I thought you two were watching TV?"

"We were," James replied. "But we've see it all."

"Can we go down to the beach, please Uncle Sam?" Sarah asked hopefully.

I glanced up at the clock again. I have enough time before my shift starts. "All right. We'll go as soon as I've finished my breakfast."

"Yay!" Sarah and James exclaimed in unison.

…

When we arrived at the beach, we found Norman, Mandy and Hannah already playing there. They were building sandcastles.

"Hello, Fireman Sam," the three of them said in greeting.

"We're having a competition to see who can build the biggest sandcastle," Mandy explained.

"Cool! Can we join in?" Sarah asked.

"Of course!" Norman agreed. "Er, but that's my bucket. You'll have to go and fetch your own."

"You could share the bucket, Norman," Hannah suggested.

"But that's my bucket, and I want to have the biggest sandcastle!"

I rolled my eyes. As I did so, I caught sight of the ruins up on the cliff above us. "I know! Why don't I tell you all a story?" I suggested, hoping to diffuse the situation.

"But stories are sooo boring!" Norman protested.

"Uncle Sam's aren't," James retorted. "He knows loads of stories about Pontypandy!"

"I'd like to hear one!" Hannah said.

"Me too!" Mandy agreed.

I chuckled. "All right! Can I borrow you bucket please, Norman? Thanks!"

"Hey! I needed that," Norman grumbled.

"Come and sit down, kids," I invited as I sat down on the upturned bucket. "And as soon as we're all comfortable, I'll begin. Are you going to join us, Norman?"

"Oh, all right!" And Norman knelt down in the sand on my left.

"Now, what story should I tell you?"

"Why don't you tell us the one about Pontypandy Pete, Uncle Sam?" Sarah suggested eagerly. "You haven't told us that story in ages!"

"Okay."

And so, I began to tell the story of the legend of Pontypandy Pete. The kids listened intently, completely enthralled.

"…And it was somewhere near these very shores that Pontypandy Pete's ship, the Pontypandy Pearl, sank to the bottom of the sea…"

"Was it ever found, Uncle Sam?" James asked anxiously.

"No, James."

"But what happened to Pontypandy Pete's treasure?" Norman asked as he stood up.

"Nobody knows, Norman. Because when the Pontypandy Pearl sank, Pontypandy Pete's treasure map was lost forever!"

"Oh, no!" Sarah exclaimed in dismay.

"Oh! I bet I could find it!" Norman said in his usual self-confident manner. And he started running towards the edge of the ocean. He paused behind a rock, so he could look out to sea. "I'll be the best treasure hunter ever!"

But Norman wasn't watching where he was going, and as he took his next step forwards, he slipped on the rock, tripped over and splashed into the sea. I instinctively stood up to go and help him, but I sat back down again when I saw that he was all right.

"Oh!" Norman exclaimed in disgust after he'd spat out a mouthful of seawater.

James giggled. "You couldn't find treasure if it was right in front of your nose, Norman!"

"I wonder if anyone ever will find it," Mandy said, turning to face me.

"Well, who knows?" I said. "Stranger things have happened in Pontypandy." My watch beeped out an alarm then. I glanced at it. "Sorry, Sarah and James. I had no idea it was getting this late, and I need to have some lunch and get ready for work. Your parents should be back soon anyway. Come along."

"Eh! But what about me?" Norman shouted. He was still in the water.

"Maybe you should've brought a towel instead of a bucket, Norman," Sarah teased.

I went over to Norman, and I lifted him out of the water.

"Urgh! Thanks Fireman Sam."

"You're welcome, Norman." I turned towards my niece and nephew. "Let's go now, you two."

"Race you back to town, Uncle Sam!" Sarah challenged. And she took off sprinting down the beach. James and I ran after her.

* Daro – A Welsh word meaning 'darn it'.