0:00:09 > 0:00:10Hello, I'm Ben.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12Are you ready for tonight's bedtime story?
0:00:12 > 0:00:14Great.
0:00:14 > 0:00:16Ever since I was a little boy,
0:00:16 > 0:00:18I've always loved kicking a ball,
0:00:18 > 0:00:21and that's what tonight's bedtime story is all about.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23Kicking A Ball.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26And it's by Allan Ahlberg with pictures by Sebastien Braun.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30What I like best, yes, most of all,
0:00:30 > 0:00:34in my whole life, is kicking a ball.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39Not eating an ice cream, or riding a bike.
0:00:39 > 0:00:40BICYCLE BELL RINGS
0:00:40 > 0:00:43No, kicking a ball is what I like.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47Not reading a book, or writing a letter.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51No! Kicking a ball is 20 times better.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57My legs might be skinny, my feet might be small,
0:00:57 > 0:01:00but I get a kick out of kicking a ball.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02Yes, kicking a ball!
0:01:02 > 0:01:05Kicking a ball with Clive and Trevor,
0:01:05 > 0:01:07Malcolm and Paul,
0:01:07 > 0:01:11or even without them, just me and a wall.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14DOG BARKS
0:01:14 > 0:01:17Not punching a ball, or bashing a ball,
0:01:17 > 0:01:20serving a ball or smashing a ball.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24Not throwing a ball, or blowing a ball.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27Not bowling, or batting, or patting a ball.
0:01:27 > 0:01:31Not pinging or ponging, or potting or putting,
0:01:31 > 0:01:33but booting and shooting,
0:01:33 > 0:01:35yes, kicking, oh, kicking!
0:01:35 > 0:01:37Just kicking a ball.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41A ball in the playground, a ball on the grass,
0:01:41 > 0:01:44a shot on the run, a dribble, a pass,
0:01:44 > 0:01:49a ball before breakfast, a ball before bed...
0:01:49 > 0:01:50HE YAWNS
0:01:50 > 0:01:54..a dream of a ball, a goal in the head.
0:01:54 > 0:01:55CHEERING
0:01:56 > 0:01:59Don't want a ball that's odd or screw,
0:01:59 > 0:02:02that you hit with a mallet or a billiard cue.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05Don't want a ball that's made of meat.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07I'd really rather SCORE than eat.
0:02:07 > 0:02:09DOG BARKS
0:02:09 > 0:02:12Not a ballcock or a ballpoint.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16Or a plastic ball-and-socket joint.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19Not a ball bearing - bit too small,
0:02:19 > 0:02:22but putting it more or less baldly...a ball!
0:02:22 > 0:02:24DUCKS QUACK
0:02:24 > 0:02:27Kicking a ball, kicking a ball -
0:02:27 > 0:02:31that's surely the purpose of life after all.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35Not climbing a mountain in far Nepal,
0:02:35 > 0:02:39or diving for pearls in the Bay of Bengal.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42Not sailing a yacht on a tight haul,
0:02:42 > 0:02:45in a sudden squall, to Donegal.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50But kicking a ball, kicking a ball.
0:02:50 > 0:02:55Kick, kick, kick, kick...
0:02:55 > 0:02:57kicking a ball.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01And later on, as the years pass,
0:03:01 > 0:03:04I'll still be running across the grass.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08Kicking a ball, kicking a ball,
0:03:08 > 0:03:12with Clive and Malcolm, Trevor and Paul.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16Reading the paper, having a shave,
0:03:16 > 0:03:21forcing the goalie to make a save.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24Kissing my wife, bathing our baby...
0:03:24 > 0:03:26BABY LAUGHS
0:03:26 > 0:03:29..kicking a ball and scoring, maybe.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32Till baby toddles and tackles,
0:03:32 > 0:03:37and then starts the ball rolling all over again.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39TODDLER GIGGLES
0:03:39 > 0:03:42What I like best, yes, most of all
0:03:42 > 0:03:45in my whole life is kicking a ball.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50In freezing cold or blinding heat,
0:03:50 > 0:03:54ever and always, a ball at my feet.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58Caked in mud, covered in sweat,
0:03:58 > 0:04:02scoring the goals I'll never forget.
0:04:02 > 0:04:03CHEERING AND SHOUTING
0:04:03 > 0:04:07Yes, life's a circle, endless and small,
0:04:07 > 0:04:13and when all's said and done, the world's a ball.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16Oh, I had such a ball reading that story,
0:04:16 > 0:04:18and I hope you had a ball listening.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21Now it's time to get nice and comfortable
0:04:21 > 0:04:25and curled up into a tiny ball as you get ready to go to sleep.
0:04:25 > 0:04:26I'll see you again soon.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28Night-night.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30SNORING