0:00:03 > 0:00:05CBeebies Bedtime Story.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08Hi, I'm Mark.
0:00:08 > 0:00:12And guess what - I'm here to read you a bedtime story.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14It's a story about a dog,
0:00:14 > 0:00:17a dog called Hal.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21And Hal has a special blanket that he loves very much.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23The story is called Hot Dog Hal,
0:00:23 > 0:00:26and it's written by Peter Bently
0:00:26 > 0:00:29and illustrated by Tom McLaughlin.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32Hal loved his blanket, there's no doubt about it.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36He wore it all day and went nowhere without it.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39He loved it, although he felt boiling and flustered
0:00:39 > 0:00:42and looked like a sausage all covered in mustard.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46"In fact," chuckled Buster McNally, his pal,
0:00:46 > 0:00:50"from now on, I'm calling you Hot Dog Hal."
0:00:50 > 0:00:53Hal wore his blanket for strolling and chasing.
0:00:53 > 0:00:54BUCK-BUCK!
0:00:54 > 0:00:58He wore it for catching and snatching and racing.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00He wore it for digging up big, tasty bones
0:01:00 > 0:01:04with Buster and Tootsie and young Nipper Jones.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06"Hey, Hot Dog," said Buster,
0:01:06 > 0:01:09"you look like you're stewing."
0:01:09 > 0:01:13"I'm fine," panted Hal, as he carried on chewing.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16"I've had this old blanket since I was a pup.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19"I know it's too hot, but I won't give it up."
0:01:19 > 0:01:21Hal wore his blanket
0:01:21 > 0:01:23for trips to the zoo.
0:01:23 > 0:01:24If he went to the seaside,
0:01:24 > 0:01:26along it went, too.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30The blanket made Hal feel exceedingly hot,
0:01:30 > 0:01:33but would he remove it?
0:01:33 > 0:01:34Most certainly not.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38It made all the other dogs giggle and scoff.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41But in spite of the heat, he would not take it off.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46"It's cosy and cuddly and snuggly as well.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50"And it has a nice biscuity, chocolaty smell."
0:01:50 > 0:01:55"A blanket," said Tootsie, "belongs on a bed."
0:01:55 > 0:01:59"A blanket? Oh, no, it's a hammock," Hal said.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03"It's a Halloween costume, a ghostly disguise.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07"It's even got two little holes for my eyes.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11"It's a sail, it's a house,
0:02:11 > 0:02:15"it's a cape, it's a flag."
0:02:15 > 0:02:18"Don't be daft," chuckled Nipper.
0:02:18 > 0:02:20"It's just an old rag."
0:02:20 > 0:02:23"Never mind, Hot Dog," grinned Buster McNally.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26"Come and play hide and seek down in the alley."
0:02:26 > 0:02:29While Buster was counting, it started to rain
0:02:29 > 0:02:32so they ran to the windmill in Ticklemore Lane.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36The weather grew worse as they fled helter-skelter
0:02:36 > 0:02:39up the rickety staircase and into their shelter.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43They huddled inside, it was really quite frightening
0:02:43 > 0:02:47as the old windmill shook in the thunder and lightning.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51"Come under my blanket, it's lovely and warm," said Hal.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54"It will make you feel safe from the storm."
0:02:54 > 0:02:58His friends snuggled under and had to agree
0:02:58 > 0:03:02that the blanket was rather a nice place to be.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05Then the pooches all yelped as the lightning went flash
0:03:05 > 0:03:07and the thunder went boom.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09And then something went crash!
0:03:09 > 0:03:13"Yikes, what was that?" wondered Hal with a frown.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17"The staircase," cried Buster, "it's just fallen down."
0:03:17 > 0:03:20"Oh, no," fretted Nipper, "what terrible luck.
0:03:20 > 0:03:25"We are trapped in a windmill," he whimpered. "We're stuck."
0:03:25 > 0:03:29"If only," cried Tootsie, "we had a long rope."
0:03:29 > 0:03:34And suddenly, Hal felt a glimmer of hope.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38"We don't have a rope, that's for certain," he said.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41"So we'll just have to use my old blanket instead."
0:03:41 > 0:03:45He tore it in strips, then tied up the ends,
0:03:45 > 0:03:50and climbed down to safety with all of his friends.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54Said Buster and Nipper, "I'm sorry we laughed.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57"I'm sorry we said that your blanket was daft."
0:03:57 > 0:04:01"But I can't go on wearing it now," Hal said sadly.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05"It's torn and it's battered, and tattered so badly."
0:04:05 > 0:04:07Then Buster grinned.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10"I've an idea," he said. DING!
0:04:10 > 0:04:14"We just need some scissors, a needle and thread."
0:04:14 > 0:04:18Now, Hal and his friends go to play in the alley
0:04:18 > 0:04:22in their trendy new shirts made by Buster McNally.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26On one side of Hal's, it says...
0:04:28 > 0:04:31..but his friends all have shirts that say
0:04:31 > 0:04:33"Hot Dog is cool!"
0:04:34 > 0:04:36Hot Dog certainly is cool.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38He really is, isn't he?
0:04:38 > 0:04:42Do you have a special blanket that you love, just like Hal?
0:04:42 > 0:04:45Well, if you do, now's the time to snuggle up with it
0:04:45 > 0:04:47and drift off to sleep.
0:04:47 > 0:04:48Happy Hot Dog dreams.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50I'll see you again soon
0:04:50 > 0:04:52for another Bedtime Story.