0:00:07 > 0:00:12Hello! I'm Tom and - oh, dear - I've never done this before.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16It's called ice-skating, apparently. It's all new to me.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20I'm sure there are lots of things that are new to you as well.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23Things you may never have done or seen before.
0:00:23 > 0:00:28Let me tell you a story all about a little mole and the first time
0:00:28 > 0:00:30he ever saw something.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32Something that was new to him.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34It's called Diamond In The Snow.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37"Cold-diggety!" gasped Mole,
0:00:37 > 0:00:40as he burrowed out of the ground one afternoon.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43"Whatever's this?" It was the middle of winter
0:00:43 > 0:00:47and the woodland was covered in a thick blanket of snow.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50Mole had never seen snow before.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53It made the woodland look strange and beautiful.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57So Mole left his hole and set off to explore.
0:00:57 > 0:01:02It was so quiet, as if everything had fallen under a magic spell.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06Mole wandered on, enchanted,
0:01:06 > 0:01:11until he suddenly found himself sliding down a steep snowy bank.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14"Wow!" cried Mole, as his paws slipped from under him.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18"Whee!" he shouted, as he sped down the slope.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22"Oh!" he groaned, as he crashed into a tree trunk.
0:01:22 > 0:01:27Mole picked himself up and then gasped in surprise.
0:01:27 > 0:01:32Something smooth and sparkly was sticking out of the snow beside him.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36Mole was sure that it hadn't been there a moment ago.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39"It's as if it appeared by magic!" thought Mole.
0:01:39 > 0:01:44"It looks like a diamond," he decided. "I must take it home."
0:01:44 > 0:01:48Mole carried the diamond back up the steep bank.
0:01:48 > 0:01:49It was hard work.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52The diamond had become wet and slippery
0:01:52 > 0:01:54and it was difficult to hold.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56"Drat!" said Mole,
0:01:56 > 0:02:00as he stumbled and the diamond shot up out of his paws.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03"It's as if it were trying to escape," gasped Mole,
0:02:03 > 0:02:05as he chased it down the slope.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09"Perhaps it's a magic diamond," he thought.
0:02:09 > 0:02:15"Phew!" panted Mole, when he finally reached the top of the bank.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17He was hot and tired.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20But he hurried on, anxious to get home.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23By now, he was sure that the diamond was magical,
0:02:23 > 0:02:26because it was changing shape in his paws.
0:02:26 > 0:02:32He was almost home when he suddenly realised that his arms were empty.
0:02:32 > 0:02:37The diamond had disappeared right from under his nose.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40Just then, a snowball came whizzing through the air,
0:02:40 > 0:02:44closely followed by Hedgehog, Squirrel and Rabbit.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48"Hello, Mole!" said Hedgehog cheerily.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51"Do you want to come snowballing with us?" asked Squirrel.
0:02:51 > 0:02:56But Mole was still staring unhappily at his empty paws.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59"What's wrong, Mole?" asked Rabbit.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02So Mole told them all about the magic diamond,
0:03:02 > 0:03:05how it had appeared from nowhere
0:03:05 > 0:03:07and changed shape and tried to escape
0:03:07 > 0:03:11and how it had finally disappeared from under his nose.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15But Mole could tell his friends didn't really believe him.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18So he took them back to the tree trunk
0:03:18 > 0:03:20where the diamond had first appeared.
0:03:20 > 0:03:25"That's where I found it," said Mole, pointing down into the snow.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29Rabbit, Hedgehog and Squirrel were all smiling.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32"Look," said Rabbit, pointing up into the tree.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36Mole squinted up and then he saw them.
0:03:36 > 0:03:41The tree above them was filled with hundreds of diamonds.
0:03:41 > 0:03:46They were hanging from every branch. "They're icicles," said Squirrel.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49"They're just frozen water," said Hedgehog.
0:03:49 > 0:03:54"The one you found must have melted in your paws," explained Rabbit.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58"So it wasn't magic, then?" said Mole sadly.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01"Not really," said Rabbit kindly.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06The four friends set off up the bank again.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08But when they got to the top,
0:04:08 > 0:04:12Mole glanced back to take one last look at the icicle tree.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16"Wait a minute," he said excitedly. "Look!"
0:04:16 > 0:04:20The sun was setting over the snowy woodland,
0:04:20 > 0:04:23casting its rays into the branches of the tree,
0:04:23 > 0:04:28making each icicle shimmer with a beautiful golden light.
0:04:28 > 0:04:34It was the most spectacular thing that any of them had ever seen.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38Mole, Rabbit, Hedgehog and Squirrel
0:04:38 > 0:04:41stood staring at the tree, enchanted,
0:04:41 > 0:04:44until the last of the light had died away.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47"That was marvellous," sighed Rabbit,
0:04:47 > 0:04:51as they made their way back through the woodland.
0:04:51 > 0:04:53"Wonderful," agreed Hedgehog.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56"Fantastic," added Squirrel.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00"You see?" said Mole, grinning proudly.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03"I told you they were magic."
0:05:05 > 0:05:09And that story was called Diamond In The Snow.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13Now, if only a little magic could happen and I could skate properly.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16Hmmm. Let's see.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26Oh, dear. Well, without any magic,
0:05:26 > 0:05:30it looks like I'm just going to have to practise my ice-skating
0:05:30 > 0:05:34if I'm going to get better at it. Bye!
0:05:34 > 0:05:37Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:05:37 > 0:05:39E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk