Samuel West - The Bear and the Piano CBeebies Bedtime Stories

Hello. I'm Sam.

There's a concert tonight, and everyone's invited.

It's about to begin,

so take your seat.

Are you comfy?

Good.

The concert is in tonight's bedtime story,

which is called The Bear And The Piano,

and it's by David Litchfield.

One day, in the forest,

a young bear cub found something he'd never seen before.

"What could this strange thing be?" he thought.

Shyly, he touched it with his stubby paws.

Plonk!

The strange thing made an awful sound.

So, the bear left.

But the next day, he came back.

And the day after that, too.

And for days and weeks

and months and years.

Until, eventually,

the sounds that came from the strange thing were beautiful.

And the bear had grown big and strong and grizzly.

When the bear played, he felt so happy.

The sound took him away from the forest,

and he dreamed of strange and wonderful lands.

It wasn't long before the other bears in the forest

were drawn to the clearing.

Every night, a crowd gathered to listen to the magical melodies

coming from the bear and the strange thing.

Then, one night, a girl and her father came across the clearing.

They told the bear that the strange thing was a piano,

and the sounds it made were music.

"Come to the city with us," they said.

"There is lots of music there.

"You can play grand pianos in front of hundreds of people,

"and hear sounds so beautiful they will make your fur stand on end."

The bear knew that if he left the forest,

the other bears would miss him very much.

But he longed to explore the world beyond the woods -

to hear more wonderful music and play better than ever before.

And, before long, the bear's name was up

in big, bright lights in the big, bright city.

He played sold-out concerts in giant theatres.

Every night, he performed with such passion and such grace

to wild applause and standing ovations and huge admiration.

The bear recorded albums that went platinum.

He was interviewed for magazines. He won awards.

He met new people every day,

and created headlines everywhere he went.

The city was everything he had hoped it would be.

But, deep down, something tugged at the bear's heart.

He had fame and awards, and all the music in the world.

But he missed the forest. He missed his old friends.

He missed his home.

So, the bear decided to go back.

He speedily crossed the river,

and excitedly bounded into the forest.

He couldn't wait to tell his friends about his time in the city.

But when the bear reached the familiar clearing,

it was empty.

No piano. No bears. No anything.

The bear started to worry that his friends had forgotten him,

or that they were angry that he had left them behind.

Then, a friend stepped into the clearing.

"Hello," cried the bear.

"I'm back. I've missed you so much."

Without saying a word, the grey bear ran back into the forest.

"Wait!" called the bear. "I'm sorry I left. Please stop!"

But his friend just kept running.

The bear stumbled after him, moving deeper and deeper into the forest,

until he saw something that made his fur stand on end.

For the bear had not been forgotten.

His friends weren't angry, but proud.

The bear realised that, no matter where he went or what he did,

they would always be there, watching from afar.

They'd even kept the piano safe in the shade, ready for his return.

So, after the bear had told his friends about his life in the city

and the many concerts he had played,

he sat down to play once more -

this time, for the most important audience of all.

That story was called The Bear And The Piano.

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Bear's beautiful piano-playing made him famous.

And though he was a long way from home,

his friends remembered him and were very proud.

Now Bear's concert is over, you better get into bed.

Sweet dreams.

I'll see you soon.