Tom Hollander - Captain Wag and the Polar Bears CBeebies Bedtime Stories

CBeebies Bedtime Story.

Hello, my name's Tom.

Are you here for a bedtime story?

You are?

Great, you're just in time.

Tonight's story is set out at sea,

so climb aboard and get yourself comfy.

Ready?

This story is called Captain Wag And The Polar Bears

and it's by Michael Terry.

Captain Wag and his crew, One-Eyed Jack and Old Scratch,

were working on their new ship, The Saucy Paw,

when Old Scratch saw something floating in the water.

"Look, Captain, there be a bottle

"and it looks like it's got a note inside," shouted Old Scratch.

"Fish it out, shipmate, let's see what it says," ordered Captain Wag.

Old Scratch pulled the bottle out of the water, took out the note

and handed it to Captain Wag. "Shiver me timbers, lads!

"It's from that dastardly cove pirate, Ginger Tom,"

cried Captain Wag.

He read it out loud to his shipmates.

"To whom may be reading this letter....

"And, oh, help! We're surrounded by hungry-looking polar bears.

"Yours terrified, Pirate Ginger Tom.

"PS, help!"

"Stow everything we need on board and make sure there's plenty of food

"and warm clothes," said Captain Wag.

"That varmint Pirate Ginger Tom and his motley crew are in trouble

"and we're the only ones who can rescue them."

As they sailed north, the weather got colder and colder

and then it started to snow so hard it became a blizzard.

The snow started to settle and cover the ship

but as they desperately scraped the snow,

throwing it overboard, the blizzard died away

and the sky cleared.

Now they could see that they were surrounded by a sea of ice.

Not a sound was to be heard in the freezing air,

but straight ahead was a boat-shaped channel in the ice.

"That must be where Pirate Ginger Tom went," declared Captain Wag.

They sailed between great sheets of ice,

just avoiding being crushed by towering icebergs.

Sometimes they would see a walrus or a seal sitting on the ice,

or swimming by their side.

And then they saw Pirate Ginger Tom's ship in the distance.

As they got nearer,

they could see a crowd of polar bears trying to climb on board.

"Come on, lads! It looks like we're just in time," cried Captain Wag.

Ginger Tom's crew were running around the deck

and up and down the rigging in fright,

as the polar bears crowded round the ship, growling.

Then Ginger Tom spotted The Saucy Paw. "It's a ship, lads!

"We're saved." Captain Wag and his crew came alongside.

"Get away from that ship, you varmints!"

shouted Captain Wag to the polar bears.

The polar bears stopped what they were doing

and moved towards The Saucy Paw.

Captain Wag, One-Eyed Jack and Old Scratch shook with fear

as the polar bears came closer and closer.

One enormous polar bear growled.

"Who are you calling varmints?"

Captain Wag spoke up, bravely,

"I am Captain Wag and we are here to save Pirate Ginger Tom

"and his crew from being eaten by you polar bears."

"Eaten?" roared the bear,

"Eaten? We don't want to eat those daft cats,

"we just want to get this wreck off the ice, it's making such a mess.

"Bits of wood, here, bits of rope, there, you can't move without

"tripping over something and all those cats do is mew at us."

Captain Wag was relieved and called up to Ginger Tom,

"Ahoy, there, Ginger Tom, you old fool.

"These bears are trying to help you, not eat you," he said, laughing.

"If you come down, lend a hand,

"we should be able to get your ship off this ice."

So Ginger Tom and his crew sheepishly climbed down and,

together with polar bears, Captain Wag, One-Eyed Jack

and Old Scratch, they managed to push the ship off the ice.

Ginger Tom turned to Captain Wag, "Thank you for coming

"to our rescue, Wag. I will not forget such a brave deed."

"You're a rogue,

"but I couldn't leave you out here to freeze,"

said Captain Wag, putting his arm around Ginger Tom's shoulder.

And Captain Wag and Pirate Ginger Tom laughed heartily and long,

together.

THEY LAUGH

That story was called Captain Wag And The Polar Bears,

I hope you enjoyed it.

Now it's time for little shipmates like you to get to bed.

So off you go, get tucked up and warm and cosy,

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

Sleep tight. Night-night.