Kes Page #6

Where'd you get it from?

- I found it, sir.

- Where?

- lnt' woods.

- Where d'you keep it?

- In a shed.

- What do you feed it on?

Beef. Mice. Birds.

lsn't it cruel to keep it in a shed?

Wouldn't it be happier flying free?

I don't keep it int' shed all the time, sir.

I fly it every day.

- Doesn't it fly away?

- Course it don't fly away. I've trained it.

Are you gonna tell us about it?

How do you train a hawk?

You have to be right careful wi' 'em,

sir, right patient.

You've got to feed 'em

when they're hungry.

You can only do owt at feedin' time, sir.

- Yeah?

- Got these jesses on, sir, all t'time.

- These what?

- Jesses, sir.

- How do you spell that?

- J-e...

All right. Come out here.

You'd better show us on the board.

"Jesses". That's a new word to me.

Hands up those who've

heard of jesses before?

Nobody. Go on, write it up there.

Right. Now tell us what it is.

They're leather straps, sir.

And they attach to t'bird's feet.

Say I've got t'bird on me hand. Straps

come down there. Then there's t'swivel.

"Swivel". Write that on the board.

- Then you've got your leash.

- "Leash". On the board.

I fed it on me hand first.

Then, when it got to know me,

I fed it on me glove.

And after a while,

I put it two inches away from its claws.

And, er... Like that, right?

lt started to jump for t'meat. When it

started to jump, I could move me hand.

- Hold your hand up, so we can see.

- I could move me hand away, like,

to four inches and six inches. And when it

were doin' that, I started it wi' t'leash.

Do they need water? When you've got

a budgie, you put water in the cage.

Do they need water like that?

Well, it, like, has a bath. lt has a bath

right early on int' morning, like.

When do yer feed it?

How many times a day?

To start off with,

three or four, to get it plump.

- You make it sound very exciting.

- lt is.

Most exciting thing was

when I flew her free first time.

- Do you wanna hear about that?

- Yes, sir.

Aye. Come on.

Well, l'd been using t'creance

for about a week,

and it had been goin' 30 or 40 yards.

And it says when birds

are goin' 30-40 yards, it says int' book,

it's time that it can start to fly free.

Well, l'd been...

l'd been wantin' to fly it free, but I daren't.

I were frightened it'd fly off or somethin'.

This had been goin' on

for four or five days.

And I keep on to missen,

sayin' that "Fly it free next day."

Anyway, I got right mad wi' missen.

I says "Right, I'm flyin' it free tomorrow."

Anyway, that night -

that Friday night it were -

I didn't feed her up, so that

she'd be sharp set next mornin'.

And I went to bed that night, Friday night,

and I didn't get an hour's sleep at all.

I were frightened about t'bird,

that she'd fly off or summat like that.

Anyway, when t'mornin' came,

I kept on sayin' to missen

"lf she flies off, she flies off,

and it can't be helped."

So I took t'swivel off

and let her hop onto t'post.

There were nowt stoppin' her, she could

fly off. All that were on her were jesses.

I thought "She must fly off.

She's forced to fly off."

But she didn't.

She just stood there. I were terrified.

She was stood there, and I walked off

into t'field, and she were lookin' round,

and when I got about 70 yards from her,

in middle of t'field,

I called her.

"Kes. Kes. Come on, Kes. Come on, then."

Nowt happened. So I thought

"l'd better walk back and pick her up."

So while I were walkin' back,

I saw her flyin'. She came like a bomb!

About a yard off t'floor, like lightning,

head still, and you couldn't hear t'wings.

There weren't a sound from t'wings.

And straight onto t'glove. Wham!

And she grabbed me for t'meat.

I were pleased wi' missen,

and I didn't know what to do.

So I thought I better do it again,

just to prove it weren't luck.

So I took her back onto t'post,

and walked up into t'middle of t'field,

and called her again.

And she came just as good as first time,

straight onto t'glove, grabbin' for t'meat.

Well, that were it, sir. l'd trained her, sir,

and that were all I could do.

I think you've done enough.

Well done, Billy. Big hand of applause.

- Got owt, Casper?

- Nay.

Tha never has. Tha just cadges. Casper

the Cadger, they ought to call thee.

- I wouldn't give thee owt if I had.

- I'll give thee summat.

What tha goin' for?

Don't tha like company?

They say thi mother does. Tha's

got more uncles than any other kid.

- Shut thi mouth!

- Make me.

- Tha wouldn't say that to our Jud.

- Your Jud's nowt.

What? He's cock of t'estate.

- I know somebody who could do him.

- Who? Thi father?

- He in't even thi brother.

- What is he? Me sister?

They don't even call him Casper.

Course he's me brother!

We live int' same house, don't we?

Get him! Get him!

Fight!

Right, you lot!

Ten seconds, out of my sight!

One! Two! Three!

Right, come here, you two. Come on.

- What's goin' on?

- lt was him, sir. He started it.

- He's been chuckin' coal.

- Ah, shut up. Shut up!

It's always the same tale; somebody

else's fault, nobody's to blame.

Look at the mess you're in!

Look at the state you've made!

- Casper, you're not dead yet.

- He will be when I've had him.

Oh, yes! You're a big lad, aren't yer? He's

just about your size, Casper, isn't he? Eh?

Pick on somebody your own size.

What if I rubbed your nose in the coke?

You'd say I was a bully, wouldn't yer?

And you'd be right. Cos I'm bigger

and stronger than you, aren't I? Eh?

- I'll fetch me dad.

- Oh, yes. And I'll fetch mine.

My dad's heavyweight

champion of the world,

so what will your dad do then, eh?

That's what it's like to be bullied.

You don't like it, do yer?

You'll like it a bit less if I ever catch

you at it again. Do you understand it?

Yes, sir.

Get it shovelled up. Come here a minute.

Have you been smoking?

- No, sir.

- You have! I can smell it on your breath.

- No, sir.

- See me afterwards. Get it done. Go on.

What's it all about?

He keeps callin' me names, and sayin'

things about me dad and me mam and...

All right, all right, all right. Calm down.

They all seem to pick on you. Why is it?

- Don't know.

- ls it because you're a bad 'un?

Maybe I am sometimes,

but I'm not that bad, sir.

I know stacks of other kids that's worse

than me, but they seem to get away wi' it.

Why else do you think, eh?

There must be some reason.

Well, take this mornin', sir.

I came in and just dozed off.

I weren't doin' nowt wrong.

l'd been up since six. I had to do t'papers,

then I had to rush home to look at t'bird,

and then run to school.

You'd be tired, wouldn't yer, sir?

l'd be exhausted.

You shouldn't be caned for that, sir.

And you can't tell Mr Gryce that.

And this little lad, sir. He'd only brought

a letter from a teacher, and he got t'cane.

It's nowt to laugh at, sir.

Afterwards, he was sick as a dog.

And teachers, sir.

They're not bothered about us, sir.

lf we're 4C, they think

we're numbskulls, owt like that, sir.

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