David Hasselhoff - My Friend Nigel CBeebies Bedtime Stories

Hello, I'm David.

Do you like magic?

Oh, you do!

And do you like...

..animals?

Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! That's fantastic!

Because tonight's bedtime story is full of both magic and animals.

It's called My Friend Nigel

and it is by Jo Hodgkinson.

Billy's dad and Billy's mum thought magic was a lot of fun.

You might think Bill would like it too,

but quite the opposite was true.

The spells were always going wrong,

Mum's potions made a nasty pong.

While they liked magic quite a lot, Billy certainly did not.

Billy peered at all the strange supplies.

Jellied bugs and pickled flies,

bubbling potions and lizard scales.

And what was this?

A little snail.

"Oh, Mum. Please, no.

"Don't tell me he is for a magic recipe.

"To do that would be so unkind.

"I have a better plan in mind.

"Instead, why don't you say you'll let

"me keep the snail as my new pet."

Bill gave him Nigel as his name.

He taught him how to play new games.

Said Dad to Mum, "Oh, just give him time,

"he'll soon get bored of all that slime.

"These spells will help us show our boy

"some other pets he could enjoy."

"We know you're fond of your pet snail,

"but have you thought about...

"a whale?!

"If not a whale, now, let me see, perhaps a giant dancing bee.

"This elephant does tricks, you know,

"unlike your snail, who's rather slow.

"This tiger here could be your guy, while Nigel is a little shy."

But, suddenly, Bill shouted,

"Whoa! I'm sorry, but they'll have to go.

"Oh, Mum and Dad, why can't you see? It's Nigel who's the pet for me."

But what Bill said, he said too late.

And Nigel didn't hear his mate.

As Billy turned to see his snail,

he saw instead a slimy trail.

It read, "I think it's for the best. I'm not as fun as all the rest.

"I hope you find the perfect pet

"and I'm so happy that we met.

"I'm sorry that it had to end.

"Lots of love from your friend."

"Nigel!"

Meow!

As Billy shouted Nigel's name,

Dad's magic spells went wrong again.

Things got crazy, things went bad!

The tiger tried to eat Billy's dad!

The elephant was tickling Mum,

the bee stung Billy on his bum!

As Nigel reached to call the lift,

he heard Bill's crying and, being swift,

he pulled the skateboard from its case

and whizzed along at a lightning pace, catapulted through the door

and slid across the hallway floor. But no-one noticed Nigel snail

or saw his super-slimy trail.

The tiger slipped onto his back

and knocked Mum's potions off the rack.

And, suddenly, a puff of smoke

made everyone cough and choke.

But, as the smoke began to clear,

those crazy beasts had disappeared.

Well, Mum and Dad were pleased as punch.

And made their snail a hero's lunch.

Mum giddily patted Nigel's shell and said,

"This snail beats any spell.

"And now with magic we are through,

"we'll soon find something else to do."

You see, at last, we know it's true.

A friendship can be magic too.

And that story was called My Friend Nigel.

Friends like Nigel are magic.

We are all very lucky

to have lots of friends here at Cbeebies, aren't we?

Maybe we'll dream about our friends tonight.

I'll see you soon for another bedtime story.

Good night.