Charlie Condou - Little By Little CBeebies Bedtime Stories

CBeebies Bedtime Story.

Hello. I'm Charlie.

I'm here to tell you a story all about a little otter who's

worrying about the one thing that he can't do.

Would you like to find out what it is?

OK. I hope you're sitting comfortably.

Tonight's story is called Little By Little

and it's by Amber Stewart and Layn Marlow.

Scramble was making a list.

A can-do and a can't-do list.

The can-do side was much longer than the can't-do side.

On it was - forward roly poly, backward roly poly,

being kind to frogs, mud sliding,

making very good sand castles, slippery rock hopping.

The can't-do side was much shorter. It just said, "swimming".

"Whoever heard of an otter who can't swim?" asked Beaver.

"What, not at all?" said Bear.

"Not even a little? At your age?

"All your friends can swim. Whatever next?"

"Obviously, being kind to otters is not on Bear

"and Beaver's can-do list", Mummy said crossly when Scramble told her.

"And I bet their sand castles are rubbish," muttered Scramble's sister.

Sometimes, Scramble would pretend he could swim,

but really he was hopping very, very quickly along the riverbed.

Other times, he would run along the river bank, trying not to be

left behind by his friends as they tumbled through the water.

But most days, Scramble would sit on his favourite slippery rock,

wishing and wishing from his whiskers all the way down to his toes

that he could swim.

Every day his mummy would say,

"Today's the day you're going to crack it!"

And every day...

..it wasn't.

Then, one sunny Monday, Scramble

and his sister were watching their friends jumping

off the highest-ever rock into the deepest-ever pool below.

"You have got to start small", his sister said. "Small?" said Scramble.

"Yes, small", she said. "Come on.

"Today really is the day to start small. Believe it, little brother.

"Starting small turns can't-do into can-do."

So, on that Monday, Scramble started small.

He hopped along the riverbed,

keeping his toes off the bottom just that bit longer every time.

On Tuesday, he did higher hops and floating, with holding on in between.

On Wednesday, Scramble did floating with no holding on, and on Thursday,

he did a little kicking, and then a lot of kicking, to the halfway stone!

On Friday, Scramble splashed and kicked and swam the whole

width of the river, from one bank to the other, all by himself.

And very soon, over Saturday and Sunday, really, that width became the

length of the river, from Scramble's rock to the deepest-ever pool.

Then the splashing and kicking turned into gliding,

and the roly polies on the river bank became underwater tumbling!

And on Sunday evening, as all his friends

and family gathered along the river bank to cheer him on,

Scramble jumped off the highest-ever rock into the deepest-ever pool.

"I did it!" said Scramble to his sister, "I can really swim!"

"You really can!"

laughed his sister, hugging her very wet little brother.

"You see? You started small and finished big."

That story was called Little By Little.

I'm glad that Scramble had his big sister to help him.

Perhaps tomorrow they'll enjoy swimming

and splashing together with all of their friends.

Now it's bedtime, so off you go to get tucked up and have sweet dreams.

I'll see you again very soon.

Night-night.

SNORING