Harry and the Jaggedy Daggers CBeebies Bedtime Stories

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CBeebies Bedtime Story.

Hello. I'm Stephen.

Mm. That's a lovely cup of tea.

A cup and saucer, a bit like these,

come in very useful in tonight's bedtime story.

It's called "Harry and the Jaggedy Daggers".

It's by Jan Fearnley.

Not very far away, there's a place where the winding river

flows into the big wide sea.

There are boats on the water, ships in the harbour

and interesting animals all around.

It's a busy place.

A special place, and its name is Bottlenose Bay.

Harry, the harbourmouse,

lived in an old boathouse on the winding river.

His whiskers were salty

and his eyes were twinkly, like the sea.

Every day, Harry transported cargo in his boat.

He liked river life -

people coming and going,

big ships, ferries, sailing boats and tugboats.

He loved the magical way the sea and the wind

brought people and things from faraway places.

But the wind and sea can make mischief too.

One night, when Harry was asleep, something terrible happened.

Zephyr, the wild wind,

rose up and loosened the rope that fastened Harry's boat.

The boat drifted away into the harbour out to the sea

right onto...

the Jaggedy Daggers.

The Jaggedy Daggers were dangerous, mean, old rocks.

They lay just below the surface of the sea, waiting.

Many ships had been wrecked on their cruel spikes.

Harry's boat was smashed to smithereens.

Like ginormous dinosaur teeth, they crunched that poor boat up.

In the morning, there was nothing left

except for a few pieces of broken wood.

Harry was heartbroken.

But, as well as mischief,

the wind and the sea can bring surprises and treasures too.

One day, as he walked along the seashore,

Harry found a strange thing washed up by the tide.

It was an old, chipped china teacup

with stars painted around the rim.

Harry had an idea.

"This will make a wonderful boat," he said.

"What a silly thing", scoffed the river rats.

Harry didn't care.

And in no time at all, he was back working on the river

in his new boat.

He delivered a cargo of shells to Olivia the otter

for her magic spells.

"A teacup. How unusual!" she said.

He ferried Mama Bun to visit the grandchildren.

He took the pond children to school.

They wriggled about so much, the cup nearly capsised!

"It's too squishy," they said.

It was true.

The teacup boat was very small

and Harry had to avoid the big ships.

Phew!

One night, another storm came.

Huge waves crashed against the pier.

The wind howled and whistled.

And a huge gust of wind

blew Samina Songbird's nest right out of the tree.

Out fell the eggs onto the stormy water.

"Help!" cheeped Samina. "My eggs!"

The waves swept the eggs way out to sea.

The current was so strong that it carried them

straight towards the Jaggedy Daggers.

"Help!"

The river boats were too big to go near the Jaggedy Daggers.

They would be smashed and bashed to pieces.

Only Harry, in his tiny boat, could save the eggs now.

Harry rowed as fast as he could.

The sea was rough.

Huge waves tossed him this way and that way.

It was hard work, but Harry was determined.

At last, he reached the eggs.

Then, carefully,

he used the spoon to scoop each one out of the water.

His boat tipped and spun.

Harry came dangerously close to the deadly Daggers

but he kept going until every egg was saved.

At the jetty, a fantastic flotilla of friends welcomed Harry home.

"What a hero!" they cheered.

"Hip-hip-hurrah for Harry!"

Harry was presented with a special reward.

A shiny, big, red tugboat.

So, every day, Harry carried cargo and passengers

all around the river.

He liked his red tugboat very much.

But on special days, like the day Samina's eggs hatched,

Harry would leave his big boat at home

and sail out in his little teacup

because, even though it was small and chipped

and he paddled it with a rusty old spoon,

the little teacup boat was Harry's favourite boat of all.

And that story was called "Harry and the Jaggedy Daggers".

What an exciting adventure Harry went on!

Thank goodness he found that little old china teacup.

Maybe you can go on an adventure in your dreams tonight?

It's time to snuggle up and close your eyes

and I'll see you soon for another bedtime story.

Goodnight.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media