Edith Bowman - No Such Thing As Nessie CBeebies Bedtime Stories

Hello. I'm Edith. Have you ever heard about the Loch Ness Monster?

It's a mysterious creature

that some people believe lives at the bottom of Loch Ness, which is

a lake in the Highlands of Scotland.

Finlay, in tonight's bedtime story, definitely believes in

the Loch Ness Monster and he really wants to see it with his own eyes.

Shall we find out how he gets on?

OK.

The story is called "No Such Thing As Nessie!"

and it's by Chani McBain and Kirsteen Harris-Jones.

Finlay loved dinosaurs.

He loved triceratops and Stegosaurus and Tyrannosaurus rex.

But his favourite dinosaur was the Loch Ness Monster.

Finlay's gran had once seen Nessie,

a big head had popped out from the water of Loch Ness and

watched his gran eating her lunch back when she was a little girl.

Finlay's gran hadn't been surprised

because she'd always believed in the Loch Ness Monster.

She'd thrown Nessie some shortbread.

Nessie had chomped it all up and then, splash!

She was gone.

Now, Finlay was going on holiday to Gran's house

and he was planning his very own Nessie hunt.

Mum drove them along the twisty roads towards Loch Ness.

Finlay saw a dark shape over the hill. It had two humps just like...

"Mum, Nessie!"

He yelled. Screech!

Mum slammed her foot on the brake.

"Finlay, don't shout like that, it's dangerous!"

"But, Mum, there's Nessie!" Finlay pointed.

"Loch Ness Tractor Repairs."

Mum read the sign.

"There's no such thing as Nessie, silly,"

said Finlay's big sister Sarah.

"Don't worry, Finlay, I'm sure Gran will help with your Nessie hunt,"

said Mum.

When Finlay arrived at Gran's house,

she agreed they could start looking for Nessie right away.

Finlay packed his Nessie hunting kit, which had his camera,

pencils, a notepad and a net in it.

And he wrapped up some of Gran's shortbread too, just in case.

They all went for a walk along a pebbly beach.

Finlay skipped a stone across the loch.

Ssssss...

"What's that noise, Gran?"

Sssss...

It was coming from a big pile of rocks down the beach.

Sticking out from behind the biggest rock was a strange shape.

It looked a bit like a tail.

"Gran, Nessie!" Finlay shouted and he ran towards the tail.

But this Nessie was rather floppy.

Ssss...

"Sorry, Finlay," said Gran,

"it looks like someone's forgotten their blow-up Nessie.

"It must have a hole somewhere."

"There's no such thing as Nessie," said Sarah, sticking her tongue out.

The next day, Gran took Finlay and Sarah on a boat trip.

Finlay stood right at the front, holding on tight to the rail.

All the passengers were distracted by an osprey swooping down,

hitting the water with a big splash and flapping off with a fish.

Rising a little bit further away was a grey shape with a long, grey neck.

"Everyone, it's Nessie!" shouted Finlay.

They all rushed to see.

The long, grey neck slowly lifted out of the water.

Its body was dark and shiny and...

square?

"Sorry, folks," shouted the boat skipper,

"that's one of the research submarines doing her rounds."

"Ugh," the tourists groaned.

"Told you, there's no such thing as Nessie," Sarah said again.

The skipper gave Finlay's shoulder a squeeze.

"Better luck next time, eh, son?"

The next day, Finlay, Sarah

and Gran were exploring the woods near the loch.

They heard leaves rustling.

"Well, I don't think that's Nessie," his gran smiled,

let's find out what it is.

They tiptoed through the trees towards the edge of the loch

and they keeked out from behind a tree.

A beautiful stag was having a drink.

As they watched the stag, Finlay noticed a long,

dark shape on the water

getting larger and closer. It was huge.

He started to feel a bit nervous.

What if Nessie wasn't friendly after all?

"G-g-g-g-g-ran? N-n-n-n-nessie!"

He stuttered.

A red crane rolled out from the trees, casting its long

shadow across the water. The stag leapt away back into the woods.

"There's no such thing as..."

"Shh now, Sarah,"

said Gran. She gave Findley's hand a squeeze. Finlay sighed.

"Can we go home now, Gran?"

On the last day of their holiday, Sarah went shopping with Mum

while Finlay and Gran visited Urquhart Castle

and then headed off for a picnic.

Finlay put his hands deep in his pockets and walked around,

kicking the grass.

"What's wrong, Finlay?"

His gran asked.

"There's no such thing as Nessie."

His gran looked at him.

"Och, Finlay, I bet she's just shy."

Finlay picked up a big chunk of shortbread

and chucked it as hard as he could into the loch behind him.

It made a big plop.

"Nessie doesn't exist!" he yelled.

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

"Finlay, Nessie!" Gran shouted.

He whirled round, a big head

and a long thick neck rose out from the bubbling loch.

She had little black eyes and a wide face and she was chewing.

Finlay stared at the Loch Ness Monster.

Nessie stared back.

Quick! His camera, he had to get his camera!

He turned round, grabbed his bag, turned back,

but Nessie was gone.

Finlay started to laugh and Gran joined in.

"I don't care that I don't have a picture!" Finlay exclaimed.

"I saw Nessie, Gran, I saw the Loch Ness Monster."

His gran laughed so hard, she could hardly talk.

"And she still likes my shortbread!"

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

That story was called "No Such Thing As Nessie!"

Finlay got his wish. He actually spotted Nessie.

She couldn't resist a tasty piece of Scottish shortbread.

I wonder if anyone will believe Finlay

when he tells them what he saw.

Now, I think you'd better get yourself tucked up in bed

and I hope you have sweet dreams.

I'll be back again very soon with another bedtime story. Night-night.

SNORING