0:00:06 > 0:00:08Hello, my name's Michael.
0:00:08 > 0:00:12It's time for a bedtime story so I hope you're sitting comfortably.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16Tonight's story is about a friend of mine named Elmore.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19It's called The New Small Person and it's by Lauren Child.
0:00:20 > 0:00:25Elmore Green started off life as an only child, as many children do.
0:00:25 > 0:00:30He had a room all to himself and everything in it was his.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32He was very proud of his room.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36He watched all his favourite cartoons on his own little TV set,
0:00:36 > 0:00:38no-one ever changed the channel.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41He could line up all his things on the floor
0:00:41 > 0:00:45and no-one moved them one millimetre.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48When his Uncle Cecil gave him a jar of jelly beans,
0:00:48 > 0:00:51Elmore could eat every single bean all by himself
0:00:51 > 0:00:54in whatever order he liked.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57There was no worry about anyone eating the orange ones
0:00:57 > 0:01:02because Elmore Green's parents did not eat jelly beans.
0:01:02 > 0:01:03Whee!
0:01:03 > 0:01:06Elmore's parents thought he was the funniest,
0:01:06 > 0:01:10cleverest, most adorable person they had ever seen.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13Elmore liked that because it was nice to be the funniest,
0:01:13 > 0:01:17cleverest, most adorable person someone has ever seen.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20But then, one day, everything changed.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22Somebody else came along.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24GURGLING The new person was small
0:01:24 > 0:01:27and didn't do much but still people
0:01:27 > 0:01:31picked it up and smiled at it and gave it things to chew.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33They all seemed to like it.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37Maybe a little bit more than they liked Elmore Green.
0:01:37 > 0:01:39CRYING The new small person
0:01:39 > 0:01:41didn't like watching Elmore's
0:01:41 > 0:01:45favourite TV cartoons and would squawk until the channel was changed.
0:01:45 > 0:01:50Elmore did not find shows for small people at all stimulating.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53But everyone said the small person couldn't help it
0:01:53 > 0:01:55because it was only small.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59Sometimes, the small person would come into Elmore's room
0:01:59 > 0:02:03and knock things over and sit on things that didn't want to be sat on.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07Once, it actually licked Elmore's jelly bean collection,
0:02:07 > 0:02:10including the orange ones!
0:02:10 > 0:02:11As anyone knows,
0:02:11 > 0:02:15jelly beans that have been licked are not nearly so nice.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18But everyone said Elmore could not be cross
0:02:18 > 0:02:21because the small person was only small.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27Elmore wished the small person would go back to wherever it came from.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31But Elmore's parents explained that this was not possible.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35The small person got bigger. And things got much worse.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40One day, Elmore found the small person wearing
0:02:40 > 0:02:44his fourth most favourite outfit, without asking!
0:02:44 > 0:02:47"That's mine," said Elmore.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49"It is not for small people."
0:02:49 > 0:02:53"I want to be the same as you," said the small person.
0:02:53 > 0:02:58But Elmore Green did not want to be the same as someone small.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01The small person followed Elmore Green everywhere.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05It wanted to sit next to him, it wanted to copy everything
0:03:05 > 0:03:09that Elmore did, it wanted to be everywhere that Elmore was.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12"Where are you going?" said the small person.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14"Nowhere," said Elmore.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16"Can I come?" said the small person.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19When the small person said things like this,
0:03:19 > 0:03:22Elmore Green would go and sit up in a tree.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25He did not want someone small following him around.
0:03:27 > 0:03:33One awful day, the small person moved its bed into Elmore Green's room.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36Now, Elmore couldn't get away from it.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38It was always there, looking at him.
0:03:38 > 0:03:43Sometimes it would stretch out its arms and say, "Huggle!"
0:03:43 > 0:03:46But Elmore didn't want to cuddle up to someone small.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50However, one night, everything changed.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54Elmore Green had a bad dream. It was very upsetting.
0:03:54 > 0:03:59A scary thing was chasing him, waving its grabbers and gnashing its teeth.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03Elmore screamed and the small person bravely got out of bed
0:04:03 > 0:04:04and clung onto him.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08"Go away, scary!" shouted the small person.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12It was nice to have someone there in the dark when the scaries were about.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16A few days later, Elmore was lining up all his precious things
0:04:16 > 0:04:21so they reached from his bedroom door to all the way down the stairs.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25It was a very long line of things. The small person was very amazed.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28"Ooh!" it said.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30"I could make them reach the front door
0:04:30 > 0:04:32"if I had more things," said Elmore.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36"I have more things," said the small person.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39"I have at least five or three things. You can have them."
0:04:39 > 0:04:42It felt good to have someone there who understood
0:04:42 > 0:04:45why a long line of things was so special.
0:04:45 > 0:04:46GIGGLING
0:04:46 > 0:04:50The next evening, Elmore was laughing at the TV.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53The small person looked at Elmore and then at the TV
0:04:53 > 0:04:57and then he laughed, too. It was very funny.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01More funny, somehow, with two people laughing than just one.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05Elmore opened his jar of jelly beans.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08"You can have a jelly bean if you like, Albert."
0:05:08 > 0:05:12His brother, Albert, smiled. Elmore smiled back.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16"Whichever colour you like," said Elmore.
0:05:16 > 0:05:17"Except for orange!"
0:05:19 > 0:05:23I think Elmore and Albert are going be very good friends, don't you?
0:05:23 > 0:05:25I hope you enjoyed the story.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28It's time for you to get tucked into bed now.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32Sleep tight and I'll be back again soon with another bedtime story.
0:05:32 > 0:05:33Night-night.