0:29:49 > 0:29:57.
0:30:06 > 0:30:08Hello.
0:30:08 > 0:30:10I'm Hermione.
0:30:10 > 0:30:15It's cold outside so I thought I'd come inside to tell tonight's story.
0:30:15 > 0:30:19I've been down to the pond fishing, looking for bog babies.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22You don't know what a bog baby is?
0:30:22 > 0:30:27Listen carefully and I'll tell you about them in the story.
0:30:27 > 0:30:29It's by Jeanne Willis and Gwen Millward
0:30:29 > 0:30:32and it's called The Bog Baby.
0:30:34 > 0:30:41Long ago, when we were little, me and Chrissy did something bad.
0:30:41 > 0:30:45We said we were going to Annie's house to play, but we didn't.
0:30:45 > 0:30:50We went fishing all by ourselves, which wasn't allowed.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54Chrissy said there was a magic pond in the bluebell wood.
0:30:54 > 0:30:56It was only ever there in spring.
0:30:56 > 0:30:59When it rained, it made a huge puddle in the dell
0:30:59 > 0:31:04and pond creatures came. "We could fish for newts," she said.
0:31:04 > 0:31:07"I won't tell if you won't." So we went.
0:31:07 > 0:31:11We found the pond. It was squelchy round the edge.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14The bluebells squeaked under our boots.
0:31:14 > 0:31:18We fished and fished, but we didn't catch a newt.
0:31:18 > 0:31:20We caught something much better.
0:31:20 > 0:31:24We caught a bog baby.
0:31:24 > 0:31:28He was the size of a frog, only round and blue.
0:31:28 > 0:31:33He had boggly eyes, a spiky tail and I remember he had ears like a mouse.
0:31:33 > 0:31:38He swung through the flower stalks and jumped into the water.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41He floated on his back and sucked his toes.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44That's when I fished him out.
0:31:44 > 0:31:49He didn't struggle. He sat in my hand and looked surprised.
0:31:49 > 0:31:53He was as soft as jelly, like he had no bones.
0:31:53 > 0:31:56When we stroked him, he flapped his wings.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59They were no bigger than daisy petals,
0:31:59 > 0:32:03but they seemed too small for him to fly.
0:32:03 > 0:32:07Chrissy said he might be able to fly if we blew on his wings. We blew
0:32:07 > 0:32:11and blew, but all we did was blow him into the mud.
0:32:11 > 0:32:16He didn't try to escape, he just sat with his paws over his eyes.
0:32:16 > 0:32:21We put him in a jam jar and took him home and hid him in the shed.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24He was our bog baby.
0:32:24 > 0:32:29He wasn't meant to be a secret. We wanted to show Mum, but we daren't.
0:32:29 > 0:32:32If we did, she'd know we hadn't gone to Annie's.
0:32:32 > 0:32:36We made our bog baby a beautiful home in a bucket.
0:32:36 > 0:32:41Gravel, shells, clean water.
0:32:41 > 0:32:44Whenever he saw us, he jumped up and down.
0:32:44 > 0:32:48We picked him up and played with him. He was very ticklish.
0:32:48 > 0:32:51We fed him on cake crumbs.
0:32:51 > 0:32:55We loved our bog baby. Our friends loved him, too.
0:32:55 > 0:32:58We sneaked him into school in a margarine tub.
0:32:58 > 0:33:02When the teacher wasn't looking, he played in the sandpit.
0:33:02 > 0:33:07In the afternoon, he slept in his tub on a piece of damp cotton wool.
0:33:07 > 0:33:11Chrissy made him a lead and we took him for walks in the field.
0:33:11 > 0:33:17Once, a crow nearly ate him, but we scared it away just in time.
0:33:17 > 0:33:21We took great care of our bog baby.
0:33:21 > 0:33:23At least, we tried.
0:33:23 > 0:33:26But he got sick.
0:33:26 > 0:33:30He didn't jump up and down any more, he went pale and his wings drooped.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33He wouldn't touch his cake crumbs.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36We gave him all sorts, but he spat them out.
0:33:36 > 0:33:40We wanted to ask Mum for help, but we daren't because of Annie.
0:33:40 > 0:33:44But the bog baby got thinner. He wouldn't walk on his lead,
0:33:44 > 0:33:46he hid under his shell.
0:33:46 > 0:33:49He wouldn't come out no matter how much we loved him.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52Mum found us in the shed.
0:33:52 > 0:33:56Chrissy wouldn't say why we were crying. We promised not to tell.
0:33:56 > 0:34:00But I blabbed. Mum wasn't angry, though.
0:34:00 > 0:34:04When she saw who was in the bucket, she smiled
0:34:04 > 0:34:07and her eyes went misty.
0:34:07 > 0:34:11She said she hadn't seen a bog baby since she was little.
0:34:11 > 0:34:15"Please make him better," we cried, "We love him so much."
0:34:15 > 0:34:20"I know," she said, "but the bog baby is a wild thing.
0:34:20 > 0:34:25"He doesn't belong here. He isn't meant to eat cake or walk on a lead
0:34:25 > 0:34:29"or sleep in a tub." She picked up the bucket and we followed her out.
0:34:29 > 0:34:34If we really loved the bog baby, we had to do what was best for him,
0:34:34 > 0:34:38no matter how much it hurt us. That was real love.
0:34:38 > 0:34:42That's why we let him go. Back where he belonged.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45Living in the wood, playing in the pond,
0:34:45 > 0:34:49sleeping in the damp leaves under the moon.
0:34:49 > 0:34:51We never saw him again.
0:34:53 > 0:34:56I think he grew up and had babies of his own.
0:34:56 > 0:35:01Last spring, my daughter found the magic pond and guess what she saw?
0:35:01 > 0:35:05Hundreds of bog babies swinging, catching flies,
0:35:05 > 0:35:08floating on their backs, sucking their toes.
0:35:09 > 0:35:11That's what she told me.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14And that's what I believe.
0:35:15 > 0:35:19That story was called The Bog Baby.
0:35:19 > 0:35:22It's too late to go out looking for bog babies tonight,
0:35:22 > 0:35:26but maybe you'll see one tomorrow.
0:35:26 > 0:35:27I hope you do.
0:35:27 > 0:35:31Night night. I'll see you soon for another story.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd