0:00:07 > 0:00:11Hello. My name is Pete and I've come to tell you a bedtime story.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13The story is about a talented tabby cat,
0:00:13 > 0:00:15and it's one of my favourites.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17I hope you'll enjoy it, too.
0:00:17 > 0:00:19Are you sitting comfortably?
0:00:19 > 0:00:20Good.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22The story is called Tabby McTat,
0:00:22 > 0:00:27and it's by Julia Donaldson with pictures by Axel Scheffler.
0:00:27 > 0:00:32Tabby McTat was a busker's cat with a meow that was loud and strong.
0:00:33 > 0:00:37The two of them sang of this and that,
0:00:37 > 0:00:40and people threw coins in the old checked hat,
0:00:40 > 0:00:43and this was their favourite song.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46# Me, you and the old guitar
0:00:46 > 0:00:49# How perfectly, perfectly happy we are
0:00:49 > 0:00:51# Meow! And the old guitar
0:00:51 > 0:00:54# How "purr-fectly" happy we are. #
0:00:55 > 0:00:59One morning, while Fred ate some bacon and bread,
0:00:59 > 0:01:02McTat took a stroll round the block
0:01:02 > 0:01:04then stopped - for there, on a doorstep,
0:01:04 > 0:01:09sat a gorgeously glossy and green-eyed cat.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12She was black with one snowy-white sock.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17Sock and McTat had a cat-to-cat chat
0:01:17 > 0:01:20and that's how their story began,
0:01:20 > 0:01:23for while they were chatting of this and of that,
0:01:23 > 0:01:27a thief had his eye on the old checked hat.
0:01:27 > 0:01:31He eyed it, he snatched it, he ran!
0:01:31 > 0:01:35The busker gave chase but he tripped on a lace and, crash!
0:01:35 > 0:01:37In a flash, he was down.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40He broke his leg and he banged his head,
0:01:40 > 0:01:42and he ended up in a hospital bed
0:01:42 > 0:01:43in a faraway part of town.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48"Goodbye," McTat said, "I must get back to Fred."
0:01:49 > 0:01:52But where had the busker gone?
0:01:52 > 0:01:55The sun went down and the sky grew black.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59The stars came out, but he didn't come back.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01McTat lingered on and on.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05A week later, Sock took a stroll around the block
0:02:05 > 0:02:08and found her new friend looking thin.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12"He's gone off and left me," said Tabby McTat.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16Then Sock said, "My people, Prunella and Pat,
0:02:16 > 0:02:19"would gladly find room for a fine tabby cat."
0:02:19 > 0:02:22She was right and they took McTat in.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26Next morning, old Fred left his hospital bed
0:02:26 > 0:02:28and found his way back to the square.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31But a brass band stood where the pair once sat,
0:02:31 > 0:02:35and the band played this and the band played that,
0:02:35 > 0:02:38and Fred looked round for his loud-meowed cat
0:02:38 > 0:02:41but Tabby McTat wasn't there.
0:02:41 > 0:02:47Now McTat had a wife and very full life with plenty of things to do,
0:02:47 > 0:02:52like washing Prunella and pouncing on Pat
0:02:52 > 0:02:55and hiding the car keys under the mat
0:02:55 > 0:02:58and keeping the newspapers nice and flat
0:02:58 > 0:03:01and giving the pens an occasional bat
0:03:01 > 0:03:04and nibbling this and nibbling that,
0:03:04 > 0:03:08but he dreamed of his friend with the old checked hat
0:03:08 > 0:03:11and always woke up with a meow.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15And often, he said, "What's happened to Fred?"
0:03:15 > 0:03:18And his paws took him back to the square,
0:03:18 > 0:03:21but a conjuror stood where the pair once sat,
0:03:21 > 0:03:24and he pulled out this and he pulled out that,
0:03:24 > 0:03:27and people threw coins in the tall black hat,
0:03:27 > 0:03:29but the busker was never there.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33One morning, Sock said,
0:03:33 > 0:03:36"Look under the bed and see the three kittens I've had!"
0:03:37 > 0:03:42And Soames looked like this and Susan like that...
0:03:43 > 0:03:46..and the littlest kitten, called Samuel Spratt,
0:03:46 > 0:03:48looked exactly the same as his dad.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53The three kittens grew and they learned how to meow,
0:03:53 > 0:03:56and McTat sometimes sang them his song.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00And Samuel Spratt, with his tabby grey fur,
0:04:00 > 0:04:03had a deafening meow and a very loud purr
0:04:03 > 0:04:06and he simply loved singing along.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10# Me, you and the old guitar
0:04:10 > 0:04:13# How perfectly, perfectly happy we are
0:04:13 > 0:04:16# Meow! And the old guitar
0:04:16 > 0:04:19# How "purr-fectly" happy we are. #
0:04:19 > 0:04:22When Susan and Soames found very good homes,
0:04:22 > 0:04:25their parents were happy and proud.
0:04:25 > 0:04:30There was one home like this and another like that,
0:04:30 > 0:04:32but nobody wanted poor Samuel Spratt.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35They all said, "His voice is too loud!"
0:04:37 > 0:04:39Now, Tabby McTat was a home-loving cat,
0:04:39 > 0:04:43but he couldn't stop dreaming of Fred.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47And one day, he called for his wife and his son
0:04:47 > 0:04:51and he told them, "There's something that has to be done."
0:04:51 > 0:04:54"I must go and find him," he said.
0:04:55 > 0:05:00So up and down and all over town he wandered a whole week long,
0:05:00 > 0:05:03for many a morning and afternoon,
0:05:03 > 0:05:06by the light of the sun and the light of the moon,
0:05:06 > 0:05:08till he heard a familiar song.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11# Just me and the old guitar
0:05:11 > 0:05:15# If I had a cat I'd be happier far
0:05:16 > 0:05:18# Just me and the old guitar
0:05:18 > 0:05:21# With my cat I'd be happier far. #
0:05:22 > 0:05:24"It's Tabby McTat!
0:05:24 > 0:05:26"It's my-long lost cat!"
0:05:26 > 0:05:29Old Fred was ecstatically glad.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32Then the two of them sang of this and that,
0:05:32 > 0:05:35and people threw coins in the new checked hat,
0:05:35 > 0:05:37but why did McTat feel sad?
0:05:38 > 0:05:42He was missing his wife and his comfortable life
0:05:42 > 0:05:44and the dozens of things to do,
0:05:44 > 0:05:47like washing Prunella and pouncing on Pat
0:05:47 > 0:05:49and hiding the car keys under the mat
0:05:49 > 0:05:52and keeping the newspapers nice and flat
0:05:52 > 0:05:55and giving the pens an occasional bat.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58But how could he tell the busker that?
0:05:58 > 0:06:02Then out from a shadow sprang Samuel Spratt!
0:06:02 > 0:06:05"Oh, please let ME be the busker's cat,"
0:06:05 > 0:06:08he said with his deafening meow.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12Now Samuel Spratt is the busker's cat
0:06:12 > 0:06:14with a meow that is loud and strong.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18The two of them sing of this and that,
0:06:18 > 0:06:22though Samuel sings just a little bit flat,
0:06:22 > 0:06:25and people throw coins in the old checked hat,
0:06:25 > 0:06:28and this was their favourite song.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32# Me, you and the old guitar
0:06:32 > 0:06:35# How perfectly, perfectly happy we are
0:06:35 > 0:06:38# Meow! And the old guitar
0:06:38 > 0:06:41# How "purr-fectly" happy we are. #
0:06:44 > 0:06:46That story was called Tabby McTat.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49I hope you enjoyed it just as much as I did.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53Next time you're in town, look out for Old Fred and Samuel Spratt.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56You might spot them singing their song together.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59Now, off you go to get tucked up in bed.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01Sleep tight. Sweet dreams.