Funnybones CBeebies Bedtime Stories

CBeebies Bedtime Story.

Hello, I'm Liz, and tonight's bedtime story

is a little dog who barks, "Foow!"

That's "Woof!" backwards to you and me.

Would you like to hear how it happened? You would?

The story is called Funny Bones, by Janet and Alan Ahlberg.

This is how the story begins.

On a dark, dark hill, there was a dark, dark town.

In the dark, dark town there was a dark, dark street.

In the dark, dark street there was a dark, dark house.

In the dark, dark house there was a dark, dark staircase.

Down the dark, dark staircase there was a dark, dark cellar.

And in the dark, dark cellar

some skeletons lived.

There was a big skeleton,

a little skeleton

and a dog skeleton.

One night, the big skeleton sat up in bed.

He scratched his skull

"What shall we do tonight?", he said.

"Let's take the dog for a walk", said the little skeleton,

"and frighten somebody."

"Good idea", the big skeleton said.

So the big skeleton, the little skeleton and the dog skeleton

left the dark, dark cellar, climbed the dark, dark staircase

and stepped out into the dark, dark street.

They walked past the houses and the shops.

They walked past the zoo

and the police station.

They went into the park.

The big skeleton scratched his skull.

"What shall we do now?" he said.

"Let's play on the swings",

said the little skeleton,

"and throw a stick for the dog and frighten somebody."

"Good idea", the big skeleton said.

So the big skeleton, the little skeleton

and the dog skeleton walked round the dark, dark pond,

past the dark, dark tennis courts and up to the dark, dark swings.

The big skeleton and the little skeleton played on the swings.

They threw a stick for the dog.

Suddenly, something happened.

The dog skeleton chased the stick, tripped over the park bench,

bumped into a tree...

CRASH!

and ended up as a little pile of bones.

DOG WHIMPERS

"Look at that", the big skeleton said.

"He's all come to pieces. What shall we do now?"

"Let's put him together again", the little skeleton said.

So the big skeleton and the little skeleton

put the dog skeleton together again.

They sang a song while they did it.

And then they got mixed up.

"Is that a toe bone?" the little skeleton said.

"Where does this one go?" said the big skeleton.

When they had finished, the big skeleton said,

"That dog looks a bit funny to me."

"So he does", said the little skeleton,

"We've got his tail on the wrong end

"and his head."

"Foow!" said the dog skeleton.

At last, the dog was properly put back together again.

The big skeleton and the little skeleton sang another song.

The big skeleton scratched his skull.

"That reminds me", he said, "we forgot to frighten somebody."

"Let's do it on the way home, then", said the little skeleton.

"Good idea", the big skeleton said.

So the big skeleton, the little skeleton

and the dog skeleton left the dark, dark swings,

went out into the dark, dark town and tried to frighten somebody.

"I wish we had a nice little boy to frighten", said the big skeleton.

"I wish we had a nice old lady", said the little skeleton.

The trouble was there wasn't anybody.

Everybody was in bed.

Even the policemen in the police station were in bed.

POLICEMAN SNORES

Even the animals in the zoo.

Of course, the skeleton animals were awake.

"Let's have a ride on the elephant skeleton", the little skeleton said.

"Let's have a word with the parrot skeleton."

The big skeleton scratched his skull.

"Let's keep out the way of the crocodile skeleton", he said.

CRUNCH!

When they were back in the street

and they could still not find anybody to frighten,

the big skeleton said, "What shall we do now?"

The little skeleton scratched his skull.

"Let's frighten each other!" he said.

"That's better than nothing."

"Good idea", the big skeleton said.

After that, the big skeleton frightened the little skeleton.

The little skeleton frightened the big skeleton.

The big skeleton and the little skeleton

frightened the dog skeleton.

And the dog skeleton frightened them.

"Woof!"

They hid round corners and frightened each other.

They climbed up lampposts and frightened each other.

They jumped out of dustbins and frightened each other.

All the way home.

And that is how the story ends.

On a dark, dark hill, there was a dark, dark town.

In the dark, dark town, there was a dark, dark street.

In the dark, dark street there was a dark, dark house.

In the dark, dark house there was a dark, dark staircase.

Down the dark, dark staircase there was a dark, dark cellar.

In the dark, dark cellar some skeletons lived.

They still do.

The end.

That story was called Funny Bones.

I hope you enjoyed it.

Now I think it's time for you to tuck yourself in

and float off to the land of dreams.

Night-night.