0:00:06 > 0:00:08Hello. I'm Ken.
0:00:08 > 0:00:12What different things make you happy?
0:00:12 > 0:00:15How about when it starts to snow?
0:00:15 > 0:00:18Or when you can go outside and play?
0:00:18 > 0:00:20Or when you see lights sparkling
0:00:20 > 0:00:22on a Christmas tree?
0:00:22 > 0:00:24Well, I know two mice
0:00:24 > 0:00:26who feel very unhappy.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30Let's find out if anything will cheer them up.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32This story is called Jingle Bells.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36Christmas time - a happy time.
0:00:36 > 0:00:37Or so it should be.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40Why then, on this Christmas Eve
0:00:40 > 0:00:43did two small mice look so unhappy?
0:00:43 > 0:00:47"It's that cat," grumbled Lottie to her brother, Jack.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49"He always spoils things."
0:00:49 > 0:00:52Ah, yes. That cat.
0:00:52 > 0:00:57It should have been wonderful for the mice, living on a farm.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01There were games to play, places to explore and, usually, plenty to eat.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03There was one problem -
0:01:03 > 0:01:05that cat.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08The mice had been hiding food for Christmas dinner,
0:01:08 > 0:01:11but the cat had discovered the hiding place.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15He didn't particularly like grapes or cheese or cake,
0:01:15 > 0:01:20but still he had eaten every bit and left the mice with nothing.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22That cat.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24"Cheer up," said Jack.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26"Look what I've found."
0:01:26 > 0:01:27It was an old glove.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30Jack began to chew at it.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32"We can't eat that," said Lottie.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34Jack went on chewing.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38Soon he had gnawed off two of the glove's fingers. "There!" he said.
0:01:38 > 0:01:39"Christmas stockings!
0:01:39 > 0:01:42"We can hang them up for Father Christmas!"
0:01:42 > 0:01:45"Oh, brilliant!" said Lottie.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48"I've never had a Christmas stocking."
0:01:48 > 0:01:50As the mice went to sleep,
0:01:50 > 0:01:53they wondered what Father Christmas would bring.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56Lottie had put their names next to their stockings,
0:01:56 > 0:02:00so Father Christmas would know who they were for.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02Soon Lottie began to snore,
0:02:02 > 0:02:04Jack began to dream
0:02:04 > 0:02:08and the air was filled with the sound of sleigh bells.
0:02:08 > 0:02:09Christmas morning.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11It was fresh and bright
0:02:11 > 0:02:15as Lottie and Jack hurried to look at their Christmas stockings.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17They were empty!
0:02:17 > 0:02:19"Nothing," said Jack, sadly.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21"Not even a nut."
0:02:21 > 0:02:26Lottie picked up the note which she'd written the night before.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28"Look at this," she said.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30Underneath their names,
0:02:30 > 0:02:31someone had written...
0:02:36 > 0:02:39"I know who wrote that," said Jack.
0:02:39 > 0:02:40Well, they both knew.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44"It's time we taught that cat a lesson," said Lottie.
0:02:44 > 0:02:49"But what can we do?" said Jack. "He's so big and strong."
0:02:49 > 0:02:53"Well," said Lottie, "I think we should talk to Ton Chi."
0:02:53 > 0:02:56Ton Chi was a rat.
0:02:56 > 0:02:58His real name was Gavin,
0:02:58 > 0:03:01but he liked to be called Ton Chi.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04He wore glasses which had no glass in them
0:03:04 > 0:03:08and clothes he had borrowed from dolls in the attic.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11He also borrowed furniture from a doll's house,
0:03:11 > 0:03:14which he said made his own place more homely.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16Lottie and Jack made their way
0:03:16 > 0:03:19towards the barn where Ton Chi lived,
0:03:19 > 0:03:22when suddenly Jack spotted something.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24It was shiny and golden.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26"It's a bell," said Jack.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28"A sleigh bell." said Lottie.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31"Fallen from Father Christmas' sleigh!"
0:03:31 > 0:03:33"Oh, it's lovely.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37"Let's take it with us, we'll show it to Ton Chi."
0:03:37 > 0:03:40The mice reached the barn quite out of breath,
0:03:40 > 0:03:45but there was still a climb to make. But at last, puffing and panting,
0:03:45 > 0:03:48they came to the little door at the top of the barn.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51Before Jack could knock, the door opened.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55"Good morning and a very merry Christmas to you,"
0:03:55 > 0:03:56smiled the rat.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59The mice smiled and replied nervously,
0:03:59 > 0:04:01then they stepped inside.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03Ton Chi shut the door.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07Now, it's hard to say exactly what the mice and rat said to each other,
0:04:07 > 0:04:11but whatever it was, when the door opened again,
0:04:11 > 0:04:13all three were smiling.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17"Thank you very much," said Lottie and Jack, together.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19Ton Chi smiled.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21"The pleasure is all mine," he said.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24"Cats can be such a terrible nuisance."
0:04:24 > 0:04:28Later, after a Christmas dinner of borrowed fruitcake,
0:04:28 > 0:04:30which Ton Chi had given them,
0:04:30 > 0:04:33the mice could be seen wrapping a parcel.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36Later still, they tried not to be seen
0:04:36 > 0:04:40as they cautiously carried their parcel towards the farmhouse.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42Boxing Day.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44Mrs Mackie, the farmer's wife,
0:04:44 > 0:04:47swung her feet out of bed and into her slippers.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51At the foot of the stairs, the cat brushed past her legs.
0:04:51 > 0:04:56"Hello, Angus," she said. "What's this?"
0:04:56 > 0:04:59She picked up a parcel from the mat and read the label.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03"It's an extra present for you!" she said to the cat.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06Angus watched as Mrs Mackie opened the parcel.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08What could it be?
0:05:08 > 0:05:11"It's a little bell," said Mrs Mackie,
0:05:11 > 0:05:13"on a pretty red ribbon."
0:05:13 > 0:05:17Before he could escape, Mrs Mackie took hold of Angus
0:05:17 > 0:05:19and tied the ribbon on his neck.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22The little bell jingled under his chin.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25"There," she said, "you look lovely."
0:05:25 > 0:05:30Angus twisted his neck uncomfortably and the bell jingled again.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33He pulled a face and pawed at the bell.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36"Don't you dare!" said Mrs Mackie. "Keep it on."
0:05:36 > 0:05:39It was about tea-time in the afternoon.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42Lottie and Jack were having fun in the snow,
0:05:42 > 0:05:45when suddenly they stopped and listened.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49They could hear the jingling of a little bell.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51"Someone's coming," whispered Lottie.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53They ran to hide in the cart shed.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55As they peered out,
0:05:55 > 0:06:00they saw a very cross-looking Angus go stalking past.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04He looked from side to side and shook his head.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07The little bell jingled merrily.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09"Hmmph!" grunted Angus,
0:06:09 > 0:06:12and he stomped off, jingling as he went.
0:06:12 > 0:06:17The mice burst into a fit of the giggles and Lottie began to sing,
0:06:17 > 0:06:20# Jingle bells, jingle bells Jingle all the way
0:06:20 > 0:06:24# Now Angus can't sneak up on us when we go out to play. #
0:06:24 > 0:06:26They laughed and laughed.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30"It may not have been a very merry Christmas," said Jack,
0:06:30 > 0:06:33"but it looks like being a happy New Year."
0:06:33 > 0:06:36And that story was called Jingle Bells.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39Maybe we could put a bell on you, Ginger.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42I hope you have a very happy New Year too.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45Night-night and have happy dreams.