Manish Bhasin - Football Fever CBeebies Bedtime Stories

He goes past one, he goes past the ladder, he goes past Teddy.

Hello, I'm Manish.

I know I shouldn't be playing with a football inside, Teddy. I'm sorry.

William, in tonight's bedtime story, loves to play football

as much as I do. He has football fever!

Would you like to hear it?

Well, the story's called Football Fever and it's by Alan Durant

and Kate Leake.

My little brother used to be normal.

He did the normal things that little brothers do.

He dressed up as a pirate,

he snuggled up on the sofa and watched cartoons.

He played games with me...

and lost.

Then, he caught football fever.

I think he caught it off Dad.

Mum says Dad's had football fever since he was a boy.

She says there's no cure.

My little brother doesn't have spots or a rash.

He doesn't really look any different,

but he acts crazy!

He can't stop kicking things.

He rolls up his socks and kicks them up and down the hall.

He kicks stones along the pavement.

He kicks balls in the garden.

Sometimes, he kicks me.

But he doesn't mean to.

That's just the way it is when you've got football fever.

All he talks about is football, football, football.

Extra time, free kick, offside,

red card, penalty, corner, open goal.

"And he hits a screamer past the keeper into the roof of the net.

"What a goal!"

"William, you're making my head spin," says Mum.

"He can't help it," I say. "He's got football fever!"

Dad said, "I think it's time I took you to a club to play

"proper football." "Yes!" shouted my little brother.

He punched the air and put his shirt over his head.

Last Sunday, Dad took my little brother to a football club.

I had to go, too.

"The fresh air will do you good," Dad said.

There were lots of children there.

Some were my little brother's age, some a bit older, like me.

First, they did some training.

They practised passing and shooting and kicking a ball

between a line of cones. My little brother wasn't very good at this -

he knocked most of the cones over.

Then, the children were put into teams to play a match.

My little brother was very excited.

His team wore red shirts.

My little brother ran up and down.

He chased and he chased, but he couldn't catch up with the ball.

But he was still grinning like crazy.

"This is great!" he yelled.

Then, my little brother started to kick the ball.

But not always in the right direction.

Once, the ball hit him...

in the face.

After that, he stopped running for a bit.

But then the fever came back and he started chasing the ball again.

At half-time, the score was 0-0. No-one had scored a goal.

In the second half, my little brother ran about more than ever.

The ball went up one end and then down the other

and my little brother went with it.

"Come on, William!" I shouted.

I really wanted the reds to win.

Suddenly, one of the big boys in my little brother's team got

the ball and ran up the field.

My little brother ran up the field behind him.

The big boy passed the ball to my little brother,

he was right in front of the goal.

"Shoot!" Dad shouted.

I wanted to shout, too, but I was too excited.

My little brother kicked the ball...

and fell over.

But the ball rolled in!

"Goal!"

Dad and I jumped up and down and hugged each other.

My little brother ran around the pitch, waving his hands in the air.

It was his first goal and it was the winner!

The Reds had won the match.

Now, my little brother's got football fever worse than ever.

But guess what...

next Sunday I'm going to play at the club with him.

Because I've got football fever, too.

That story was called Football Fever.

William's big sister caught it, as well. I think they'll enjoy

playing football together, don't you?

Maybe we can play football tomorrow, Teddy. What do you think?

It's time now to snuggle up and go to sleep.

Sweet dreams. Night-night.