Tabby McTat CBeebies Bedtime Stories

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No, no, sorry, I haven't seen Samuel Spratt.

I've seen Tabby McTat and Soames and Susan,

but I...

Oh, hello. I'm Josie.

The cats were just telling me that they haven't seen Samuel Spratt

for a very long time and they wondered if I'd seen him.

Have you seen him?

He's small, grey and stripy and he wears a little red tartan collar.

Well, maybe tonight's story will help us find Samuel, hmm?

This story is by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler

and is called Tabby McTat.

Tabby McTat was a busker's cat

with a miaow that was loud and strong.

The two of them sang of this and that

and the people threw coins in the old checked hat

and this was their favourite song.

# Me, you and the old guitar

# How perfectly, perfectly happy we are

# Meee-you and the old guitar

# How purr-fectly happy we are. #

One morning, while Fred ate some bacon and bread,

McTat took a stroll round the block

then stopped, for there on a doorstep sat

a gorgeously glossy and green-eyed cat.

She was black with one snowy white sock.

Sock and McTat had a cat-to-cat chat

and that's how their story began.

For while they were chatting of this and of that,

a thief had his eye on the old checked hat.

He eyed it, he snatched it, he ran.

The busker gave chase, but he tripped on a lace

and crash! In a flash he was down.

He broke his leg and he banged his head

and he ended up in a hospital bed in a far away part of town.

"Goodbye," McTat said, "I must go back to Fred,"

but where had the busker gone?

The sun went down and the sky grew black.

The stars came out but he didn't come back.

McTat lingered on and on.

A week later, Sock took a stroll round the block

and found her new friend looking thin.

"He's gone off and left me," said Tabby McTat.

Then Socks said, "My people, Prunella and Pat,

"would gladly find room for a fine tabby cat."

She was right and they took McTat in.

Next morning, Old Fred left his hospital bed

and found his way back to the square.

But a brass band stood where the pair once sat

and the band played this and the band played that

and Fred looked all round for his loud-miaowed cat

but Tabby McTat wasn't there.

Now McTat had a wife and a very full life

with plenty of things to do,

like washing Prunella and pouncing on Pat

and hiding the car keys under the mat

and keeping the newspapers nice and flat

and giving the pens an occasional bat

and nibbling this and nibbling that

but he dreamed of his friend with the old checked hat

and he always woke up with a, "Miaow?"

And often he said, "What's happened to Fred?"

And his paws took him back to the square

but a conjurer stood where the pair once sat

and he pulled out this and he pulled out that

and the people threw coins in the tall black hat.

But the busker was never there.

One morning Socks said, "Look, under the bed

"and see the three kittens I've had."

And Soames looked like this

and Susan like that

and the littlest kitten, called Samuel Spratt,

looked exactly the same as his dad.

The three kittens grew and they learnt how to mew

and McTat sometimes sang them his song.

And Samuel Spratt, with his tabby-grey fur,

had a deafening miaow and a very loud purr

and he simply loved singing along.

# Me, you and the old guitar

# How perfectly, perfectly happy we are

# Meee-you and the old guitar

# How purr-fectly happy we are! #

When Susan and Soames found very good homes,

their parents were happy and proud.

There was one home like this and another like that

but nobody wanted poor Samuel Spratt.

They all said, "His voice is too loud."

Now, Tabby McTat was a home-loving cat

but he couldn't stop dreaming of Fred

and one day he called for his wife and his son

and told them, "There's something that has to be done,

"I must go and find him," he said.

So up and down and all over town

he wandered a whole week long.

For many a morning and afternoon

by the light of the sun and the light of the moon

till he heard a familiar song...

# Just me and the old guitar

# If I had a cat I'd be happier far

# Just me and the old guitar

# With my cat I'd be happier far. #

"It's Tabby McTat! It's my old long-lost cat!"

Old Fred was ecstatically glad.

Then the two of them sang of this and that

and the people threw coins in the new checked hat,

but why did McTat feel sad?

He was missing his wife and his comfortable life

and the dozens of things to do

like washing Prunella and pouncing on Pat

and hiding the car keys under the mat

and keeping the newspapers nice and flat

and giving the pens an occasional bat

but how could he tell the busker that?

Then out from a shadow sprang Samuel Spratt,

"Oh, please let me be the busker's cat,"

he said with a deafening mew!

Now Samuel Spratt IS the busker's cat

with a miaow that is loud and strong.

The two of them sing of this and that

though Samuel sings just a little bit flat

and the people throw coins in the old checked hat

and this is their favourite song...

# Me, you and the old guitar

# How perfectly, perfectly happy we are

# Meee-you and the old guitar

# How purr-fectly happy we are! #

And that story was called Tabby McTat.

So, that's where Samuel is,

he's off singing with Fred.

I wonder where they're busking tonight.

I'm going to tell the other cats about Samuel and Tabby's adventures

and while I do, it's time for you to go to bed.

I'll see you soon for another story.

Night, night.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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