I love summer time by the sea! Thousands of holidaymakers flock to the coast, having fun on the beach and the amusements. They all need to eat… and so do I! Me and my pals have the best time in the summer. Food galore, everywhere. I’m not picky. I’ll scoff anything and steal my meals from anyone, even from the little hands of toddlers.

I do have a favourite food, though. Chips! Hot or cold, fresh or old, crispy or soggy, plain or with sauce. The moment I spot someone eating chips, I’m there like a shot. I’ll grab those delicious, greasy fries, before anyone has time to react. If I’m feeling generous, I’ll share my loot with my friends. If not, I’ll fight them off. I won’t deliberately hurt anyone, but sometimes accidents happen. When I decide I want your food, you’d better let me grab it.

Today is brilliant. The hottest day of the year! I hang out at the busiest beach, where every person holds an ice cream in their hand. Dodging swipes and kicks, I weave through the crowd, stealing delicious cones. While children cry over their lost treats, I scream with laughter. When my belly is full of ice cream, I take a dip in the sea. It’s so refreshing. I’m waiting for the sun to start going down, when my favourite beachfront café gets busy.

They have an open side, with an awning over, so I can storm right in and help myself to chips. This one time, an entire family abandoned their meal when they saw me coming. I had a fantastic feast before the owner threw me out. This owner is my nemesis. Fortunately he’s always busy and by the time he spots my invasion, I’ve always eaten a fair amount.

I feel a little sleepy. I wander the back streets until I find somewhere secluded to have a nap. I settle down and slip into dreams of the sea, and clouds, and food. By the time I wake, it’s evening. I realise I slept for too long. I must get to the café, right now! With any luck, a lot of customers will be there, tucking into fish and chips. I rush to the café and without stopping to observe the diners, I barge straight in.

Bam! Crash! Stunned, I fall to the ground. My head throbs and I feel confused. I don’t know what happened. I can hear my mates laughing in the background. I’ll show them! I try and get into the café again and bump my head. That’s when I realise the café owner has put up glass. It’s not open to the air any more. I look through the glass and the owner is right there, smug and very clever. He must have been waiting for me. I suppose I should feel honoured he put in the glass specially for me. Right now I feel angry. I yell at him and thump the glass. My mouth waters as I see people stuffing their faces with fried food. The owner points at me and laughs.

I have the last laugh, though. I go around the back to where the bins are. The lids are unlocked, so I wrench them open and pull out the contents. I eat some discarded food, which tastes great even though it’s cold and half-chewed. Then I scatter the rubbish around and make a total mess.

Pleased with my handiwork, I wing it to the seafront, where I boast to some mates of what I’ve done. We have a good chuckle about it. Then I perch on a sign which says DO NOT FEED THE SEAGULLS. Someone gives me a piece of doughnut and photographs me eating it.

The life of a gull can be tough, but summer is super!