Mackenzie Crook - Don't Mention Pirates CBeebies Bedtime Stories

CBeebies Bedtime Story!

Right, I wonder if there's anything down here.

METAL DETECTOR CRACKLES AND BEEPS

No. Nothing here.

I wonder... Oh! Hello. I'm Mackenzie.

I'm searching for something,

something precious and made of metal - treasure.

You ever found treasure?

The girl in tonight's Bedtime Story thinks she's found some,

and she's really excited about it.

The story is by Sarah McConnell and is called Don't Mention Pirates.

Scarlet Silver had a secret that nobody could guess.

Not her mum, not her dad, not her brother Cedric,

not even Grandpa Jack.

The Silvers were a very ordinary family...

except that they lived in a ship-shaped house.

Yes, really ship-shaped.

Scarlet's mum inherited it from her famous pirate grandma,

Long Joan Silver.

There was one rule in the Silver house, and only one rule -

"Don't mention pirates," on account of the terrible luck

that befell Grandma Silver, when she was accidentally eaten

by a giant shrimp. From that day onwards, "no pirates" was the rule.

But that wasn't easy for Scarlet,

because she secretly wanted to be a pirate.

Scarlet loved the sea air,

and was excellent at making people walk the plank.

She taught Bluebeard, her budgie, to squawk, "Pieces of eight."

But Mum and Dad weren't proud.

"Don't mention pirates," they said, very loud.

The things that all pirates - including Scarlet - loved best,

was searching for treasure.

So, Mr Silver built Scarlet a treasure detector.

She found odds and ends and bits and bobs, but nothing exciting.

Then one Tuesday - beep, beep, beep - the detector went off.

"Bless my barnacles," said Scarlet.

"I've found gold!" She ran into the house to tell the others.

"Can't be real gold," said Dad Silver. "Yes, it can," said Mum.

"Eureka!" shouted Cedric. "Fetch Grandpa," said Scarlet.

She was so excited, she forgot he was fishing with One-eyed Scott.

They all jumped up and looked for something to dig up the gold.

They began to dig. The sun beat down,

so they tied handkerchiefs around their heads.

"Hmm, just what pirates wear," thought Scarlet.

At six o'clock, they had a break.

Ship-shaped biscuits on a ship-shaped plate.

"Ah-ha, just what pirates eat," thought Scarlet.

They carried on digging till the sun went down.

"Bedtime," said Scarlet, yawning.

"Not till we find the loot," said Cedric.

"Ha, ha! Just how pirates speak," thought Scarlet.

She left them to it. Next morning, Scarlet got a shock.

"Why are you wearing eye patches?" she demanded.

"We were having a mud fight," replied Mum.

"Aye, and these make perfect eye protectors," added Dad.

But Scarlet wasn't fooled.

"You look just like..." "Don't mention pirates," the others roared.

The Silvers dug and dug until they could dig no more.

"There must be more gold," said Dad. "Aye," agreed Mum.

"It'll be there," said Cedric, pointing to below the house.

"Wait," said Scarlet. They didn't listen. Dad got his spade.

"Knock it off, you landlubbers," shouted Scarlet.

"The house will fall down."

"Suffering seagulls," said Mum, Dad and Cedric, "She's right!"

They staggered inside to the couch.

"Well, we've still got the nuggets," said Scarlet.

The back door flew open. "Ahoy!" said Grandpa Jack,

"I'm back! What's that you've got there?"

"You champions," he said, "You found me gold tooth!"

He popped it back into his mouth.

Before anyone said a word, Grandpa said, "What's happened this week?

"You look just like a bunch of pi..."

Suddenly there was a creak, then a crack, then a splush!

"Pirates! That's what we are," said the Silvers.

And as soon as they said it, they knew it was true.

"Hoist the mainsail," shouted Scarlet.

And off they sailed in search of treasure,

because that's what pirates do.

And that story was called, Don't Mention Pirates.

What? I've got something on my head?

Well, that's because I'm just like Scarlet. I love finding treasure,

and I want to be a pirate. It's time for you you go to bed,

while I search for treasure. I'll see you soon for another story.

Night-night, me hearties! I wonder if there's any treasure over here.

METAL DETECTOR BEEPS

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd