Pete Dalton - Tabby McTat CBeebies Bedtime Stories

Hello. My name is Pete and I've come to tell you a bedtime story.

The story is about a talented tabby cat,

and it's one of my favourites.

I hope you'll enjoy it, too.

Are you sitting comfortably?

Good.

The story is called Tabby McTat,

and it's by Julia Donaldson with pictures by Axel Scheffler.

Tabby McTat was a busker's cat with a meow that was loud and strong.

The two of them sang of this and that,

and people threw coins in the old checked hat,

and this was their favourite song.

# Me, you and the old guitar

# How perfectly, perfectly happy we are

# Meow! And the old guitar

# How "purr-fectly" happy we are. #

One morning, while Fred ate some bacon and bread,

McTat took a stroll round the block

then stopped - for there, on a doorstep,

sat a gorgeously glossy and green-eyed cat.

She was black with one snowy-white sock.

Sock and McTat had a cat-to-cat chat

and that's how their story began,

for while they were chatting of this and of that,

a thief had his eye on the old checked hat.

He eyed it, he snatched it, he ran!

The busker gave chase but he tripped on a lace and, crash!

In a flash, he was down.

He broke his leg and he banged his head,

and he ended up in a hospital bed

in a faraway part of town.

"Goodbye," McTat said, "I must get back to Fred."

But where had the busker gone?

The sun went down and the sky grew black.

The stars came out, but he didn't come back.

McTat lingered on and on.

A week later, Sock took a stroll around the block

and found her new friend looking thin.

"He's gone off and left me," said Tabby McTat.

Then Sock said, "My people, Prunella and Pat,

"would gladly find room for a fine tabby cat."

She was right and they took McTat in.

Next morning, old Fred left his hospital bed

and found his way back to the square.

But a brass band stood where the pair once sat,

and the band played this and the band played that,

and Fred looked round for his loud-meowed cat

but Tabby McTat wasn't there.

Now McTat had a wife and very full life with plenty of things to do,

like washing Prunella and pouncing on Pat

and hiding the car keys under the mat

and keeping the newspapers nice and flat

and giving the pens an occasional bat

and nibbling this and nibbling that,

but he dreamed of his friend with the old checked hat

and always woke up with a meow.

And often, he said, "What's happened to Fred?"

And his paws took him back to the square,

but a conjuror stood where the pair once sat,

and he pulled out this and he pulled out that,

and people threw coins in the tall black hat,

but the busker was never there.

One morning, Sock said,

"Look under the bed and see the three kittens I've had!"

And Soames looked like this and Susan like that...

..and the littlest kitten, called Samuel Spratt,

looked exactly the same as his dad.

The three kittens grew and they learned how to meow,

and McTat sometimes sang them his song.

And Samuel Spratt, with his tabby grey fur,

had a deafening meow and a very loud purr

and he simply loved singing along.

# Me, you and the old guitar

# How perfectly, perfectly happy we are

# Meow! And the old guitar

# How "purr-fectly" happy we are. #

When Susan and Soames found very good homes,

their parents were happy and proud.

There was one home like this and another like that,

but nobody wanted poor Samuel Spratt.

They all said, "His voice is too loud!"

Now, Tabby McTat was a home-loving cat,

but he couldn't stop dreaming of Fred.

And one day, he called for his wife and his son

and he told them, "There's something that has to be done."

"I must go and find him," he said.

So up and down and all over town he wandered a whole week long,

for many a morning and afternoon,

by the light of the sun and the light of the moon,

till he heard a familiar song.

# Just me and the old guitar

# If I had a cat I'd be happier far

# Just me and the old guitar

# With my cat I'd be happier far. #

"It's Tabby McTat!

"It's my-long lost cat!"

Old Fred was ecstatically glad.

Then the two of them sang of this and that,

and people threw coins in the new checked hat,

but why did McTat feel sad?

He was missing his wife and his comfortable life

and the dozens of things to do,

like washing Prunella and pouncing on Pat

and hiding the car keys under the mat

and keeping the newspapers nice and flat

and giving the pens an occasional bat.

But how could he tell the busker that?

Then out from a shadow sprang Samuel Spratt!

"Oh, please let ME be the busker's cat,"

he said with his deafening meow.

Now Samuel Spratt is the busker's cat

with a meow that is loud and strong.

The two of them sing of this and that,

though Samuel sings just a little bit flat,

and people throw coins in the old checked hat,

and this was their favourite song.

# Me, you and the old guitar

# How perfectly, perfectly happy we are

# Meow! And the old guitar

# How "purr-fectly" happy we are. #

That story was called Tabby McTat.

I hope you enjoyed it just as much as I did.

Next time you're in town, look out for Old Fred and Samuel Spratt.

You might spot them singing their song together.

Now, off you go to get tucked up in bed.

Sleep tight. Sweet dreams.