0:21:50 > 0:21:57.
0:22:06 > 0:22:11Nothing out there. What about in here? No.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14Oh, hello! I'm Shappi.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16Have you had a lovely day?
0:22:16 > 0:22:19I've been outside in the garden exploring
0:22:19 > 0:22:22and looking for something very, very small,
0:22:22 > 0:22:25like the children in tonight's bedtime story
0:22:25 > 0:22:28who go looking for very small things.
0:22:28 > 0:22:33They find someone very special. Shall we find out who?
0:22:33 > 0:22:36This story is by Jeanne Willis and Gwen Millward,
0:22:36 > 0:22:39and it's called The King Of Tiny Things.
0:22:41 > 0:22:46One summer, when we were small, we went to stay with Nana and Grandad.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49There was a tent in Grandad's shed.
0:22:49 > 0:22:54"You could camp under the stars," he said.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58It seemed like a brilliant idea, until bedtime.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01We'd only ever slept indoors with the light on.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04"Night-night, sleep tight," they said.
0:23:04 > 0:23:09We didn't. Daren't. Too dark.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13I shone my torch. "Don't!" said Chrissy.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16"Creepy crawlies will come and get us."
0:23:16 > 0:23:21There was a fuzzy shadow. Something mothy crept in through the flap.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25Chrissy screamed. She swatted it onto its back.
0:23:25 > 0:23:30But it wasn't a bug. It was a boy - no bigger than a beetle.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34He looked at us in the eye and he sang this lullaby.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37# I am the King of Tiny Things
0:23:37 > 0:23:40# Who creep and crawl or buzz their wings
0:23:40 > 0:23:43# Mine is the magic that night-time brings
0:23:43 > 0:23:46# Follow me, follow me, follow me. #
0:23:46 > 0:23:50He led us up the garden path and disappeared under the shed.
0:23:50 > 0:23:55We looked and there he was, oiling a slug who'd lost its slime.
0:23:55 > 0:24:00"Oooo," said Chrissy. "How can you care for creepy crawlies?"
0:24:00 > 0:24:06"How can you not?" he cried. "They turn the soil, so seeds can sow.
0:24:06 > 0:24:11"They visit plants, so crops grow. We need them more than you can know."
0:24:11 > 0:24:14# Follow me, follow me, follow me. #
0:24:14 > 0:24:18So when the King of Tiny Things found a worm drying on the path,
0:24:18 > 0:24:21we carried it to the compost heap to recover.
0:24:21 > 0:24:26When he found a caterpillar trapped under a pot, we set it free.
0:24:26 > 0:24:31And when he found a daddy-longlegs, missing a leg, we made it a new one.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35The King showed us many marvellous, moonlit things -
0:24:35 > 0:24:39weevils with copper wings, chubby grubs, badger cubs,
0:24:39 > 0:24:41baby bats and furry hats.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45But best of all, he showed us that, even in the shadows,
0:24:45 > 0:24:48the night was bright with magic.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51And he sang... # Follow me, follow me, follow me. #
0:24:51 > 0:24:54We didn't follow him straight away.
0:24:54 > 0:24:59We were too busy being brave but we should have. His boat had sunk.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01We fished him out of the pond.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04If his heart was beating, I couldn't feel it.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06It was smaller than an apple pip.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10I tried to give him the kiss of life but Chrissy said,
0:25:10 > 0:25:14"Stop, he's no bigger than a beetle. Nurse him the creepy crawly way."
0:25:14 > 0:25:19She found a reed, no wider than a whisker and put it to his lips.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23"I'll give him little puffs," she said, "you pinch his nose."
0:25:23 > 0:25:26I pinched and she puffed. She pinched and I puffed.
0:25:26 > 0:25:31And he spluttered, sat up and looked very pleased to be alive.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35As we tucked him into bed, he shivered and he said,
0:25:35 > 0:25:40"For the love of tiny things, will you be my creepy crawly queens?"
0:25:40 > 0:25:47"Yes!" we said. But you must rest, little man. Night-night, sleep tight.
0:25:48 > 0:25:53We woke early. We went to say goodbye to him before Dad came to fetch us.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55Chrissy got there first.
0:25:55 > 0:26:00She was kneeling by his bed with her head in her hands.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04All that was left of him was his crown, his cloak
0:26:04 > 0:26:05and his crumpled skin.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09"Fetch a matchbox," she cried, "and a trowel."
0:26:09 > 0:26:12We buried the matchbox under a marigold,
0:26:12 > 0:26:17but as we turned to leave, something flew down and landed on my hand.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20At first, I thought it was a beetle but it wasn't.
0:26:20 > 0:26:26It was the King of Tiny Things, only bigger, bolder, brighter,
0:26:26 > 0:26:30as if he'd shed his skin to get his new, grown-up wings.
0:26:30 > 0:26:35And by the light of the moon and the stars, he smiled and he sang...
0:26:35 > 0:26:38# Follow me, follow me, follow me. #
0:26:38 > 0:26:43And on those magical summer nights, when we stayed with Nana and Grandad,
0:26:43 > 0:26:45that's just what we did.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49That story was called The King Of Tiny Things.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53I'm glad the King of Tiny Things taught the children
0:26:53 > 0:26:55to care about those creatures.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59It must have been fun, sleeping under the stars.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03And it's time for you to go to sleep and I will say night-night.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06I'll see you again soon for another story.
0:27:06 > 0:27:10Maybe I can find something special over here.
0:27:10 > 0:27:11Hello?
0:27:13 > 0:27:14Hello?