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Art et designTranscription
00:00Cairngorme the Macwomble the Terrible, to give him his full name, had come down from his home in Scotland to stay with his Womble cousins in their Wimbledon burrow.
00:09He hadn't chosen a very good time for his visit, as the weather was cold and wet and windy.
00:14It reminds me of the Highlands.
00:17So it does, said the Macwomble.
00:19Yes, said Great Uncle Bulgaria, and I haven't seen a single human being on the Common today.
00:26Yes, but they're a silly lot. They seem to think a spot of rain will make them melt.
00:31And that means, he went on rather grumpily, that means there'll be little or no rubbish for the young Wombles to tidy up.
00:39Aye, and Mischief finds work for idle paws, said the Macwomble, quoting an old Womble proverb.
00:46They'll be up to all kinds of tricks. If I was in charge of this burrow, well, you're not, snapped Great Uncle Bulgaria.
00:53I am. I shall go to my study and think of an answer to the problem. Excuse me, Macwomble.
01:02The Macwomble's little round eyes twinkled, but he didn't say anything.
01:07He knew perfectly well that after the very good lunch Madame Cholet had given them, Great Uncle Bulgaria would soon be having a nice little nap.
01:15And as the Macwomble loved to be in charge, he decided that he would see what he could do.
01:21So off he strode with his kilt swinging to the library. Wellington was sitting with his paws over his ears.
01:28He was trying to keep out the noise his friends were making as they played Blind Womble's Bluff all over the burrow at the tops of their voices.
01:36Spread in front of Wellington was a very large magazine full of coloured pictures.
01:41What have you there, young Wellington? asked the Macwomble.
01:44What? Oh, sorry, said Wellington. Oh, it's you, Macwomble. Yes, sorry. I say, isn't this a smashing magazine? Just look at it.
01:53It'll be English, no doubt, said the Macwomble, not sounding at all interested.
01:58Oh no, no, it's Scotch.
02:01Scottish, the Macwomble corrected him.
02:04Well, let me have a look. It's bound to be a grand wee paper in that case.
02:09Oh, you look at that then, a picture of a mast pipe band. It almost makes me feel homesick.
02:18Oh, for the sound on the skirl of the pipes. Oh, for the...
02:22And then he stopped dead.
02:25Sorry, but oh for the what? asked Wellington after several seconds of silence.
02:32That's it, said the Macwomble. We'll form the Wimbledon mast pipe band.
02:39We'll make our own bagpipes and I'll teach you all how to play them.
02:42Call all the other young Wombles and tell them to report to me in the workshop immediately.
02:46Now don't just sit there with your wee eyes popping. There's work to be done.
02:51As everyone else had got very bored just playing games, they all arrived in the workshop in double quick time
02:57and there they found the Macwomble talking to Tobermory.
03:01You want to do what? asked Tobermory.
03:04Oh, Womble, how many times do I have to tell you?
03:07We want some pieces of wee rubbish which we can make into grand, great Scottish bagpipes,
03:14replied the Macwomble, thumping his paw on the work table.
03:17Well, I don't know. I'm sure, said Tobermory.
03:20Does great Uncle Bulgaria know about his plan?
03:23No, no, no. It'll be a grand surprise for him.
03:26Yes, I bet it will, said Tobermory.
03:28Yeah, well, you better try the little storeroom third on the left.
03:31It's full of bits of piping and plastic bags and that.
03:34But once you've made your bagpipes, don't you start playing them in there.
03:37The noise, I mean, the music put me off my work.
03:41It will trouble you no further, said the Macwomble in a very grand manner.
03:46Band, forward march, left, right, left, right.
03:52And Tobermory watched them out of sight and then tapped the barometer.
03:57The needle stayed firmly at wild and stormy,
04:00and Tobermory shook his head and went...
04:04and returned to his job of making new shelves for the kitchen.
04:08The Macwomble was as good as his word.
04:11A great deal of sawing and hammering and sometimes cries of,
04:14Ouch! That was my paw, Bungo!
04:16And look out, Orinoco, you nearly put that pipe in my eye,
04:19were heard faintly in the background.
04:21But apart from that, the burrow was strangely peaceful.
04:25The next morning, the Wimbledon Pipe Band
04:28marched out on the deserted, wet and windy Common.
04:32It wasn't really a very big band, as it only had six players,
04:36Orinoco, Tomsk, Wellington, Bungo, Alderney,
04:40who sometimes helps in the kitchen,
04:42and Shancy, her best friend.
04:44As Shancy is very neat with her paws
04:47and is always top in Womble pawcraft lessons,
04:49it wasn't surprising that she was the best at playing the bagpipes.
04:53Yon's a grand wee Womble, said the Macwomble,
04:56who was enjoying himself enormously.
04:58Play the opening bars again.
05:01The wailing sound which Shancy produced from her homemade bagpipes
05:05was so unusual that every squirrel, hedgehog, mouse and bird
05:10ran for their lives.
05:12Grand, said the Macwomble.
05:14Now the rest of you try it.
05:16One, two, three, play.
05:20Everybody else was enjoying themselves too
05:22as they puffed and blew and stamped their paws,
05:24for it's enormous fun making your own music.
05:27Grand, grand, said the Macwomble
05:30at the end of the fourth day of band practice.
05:32Tomorrow we'll give our first concert.
05:35It'll be a great surprise for great Uncle Bulgaria.
05:39It was.
05:40Great Uncle Bulgaria, Madame Cholet, Toba Mori
05:44and the very small Wombles from the Womble Garden
05:46were all very surprised indeed.
05:49You do realise, Madame Cholet,
05:52murmured great Uncle Bulgaria looking at his programme,
05:54that this is only the first concert
05:58and that there are another four to come?
06:02Oh, tiens, alors, said Madame Cholet.
06:06Said Toba Mori.
06:07And he went over to the barometer and tapped it.
06:10Then they all went out onto the Common
06:13to wait for the concert.
06:15A wailing sound grew louder and louder and louder
06:20until the pipe band came to a halt
06:22in front of great Uncle Bulgaria.
06:25And now, said the Macwomble,
06:28a special tune which I myself have composed.
06:32It's called For You'll Take the Large Rubbish
06:35And I'll Take the Small Rubbish
06:37But I'll Have a Full Tidy Bag for Ye
06:40Band, one, two, three, march!
06:45During the next ten minutes,
06:47the Wimbledon pipe band played for all they were worth.
06:51Their homemade bagpipes squeaked and groaned
06:55and wailed and hooted
06:57and they were completely unaware
06:59that their audience was not enjoying the concert
07:01quite as much as they were.
07:02However, as Wombles are the most polite creatures in the world,
07:06everybody clapped at the finish.
07:08Thank you, thank you, said the Macwomble.
07:11Now tomorrow night we shall play you
07:14a Wimbledon hayloon jig followed by...
07:18Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk!
07:20Said Toba Mori.
07:21What a very good idea,
07:22but I'm afraid, Macwomble,
07:24that by then it won't be possible.
07:25You see, the weather is changing.
07:28It's already stopped raining
07:30And by tomorrow, it will probably be warm, bright, and sunny.
07:34Dear me, said Great Uncle Bulgario, what a relief!
07:39I mean, what I mean, what I mean!
07:42What a great relief it will be for all those human beings
07:46who will start walking across the Common
07:48and no doubt begin to drop litter in their usual untidy way,
07:53which in turn means that all you young wombles
07:55will have a great deal of work to do.
07:57How sad it is to think that you won't have the time or the energy
08:01to give us another little concert.
08:04Thank you so much, Mac Womble, for this evening's entertainment
08:07and thank you too to the Wimbledon Pipe Band.
08:13The band looked at each other a little bit sadly
08:16and then at the Mac Womble, who drew himself up, shook his head,
08:21and then said,
08:22Just when I was getting my pipers into shape too,
08:26well, they're going to be helped, I suppose.
08:29Pipers!
08:31And he turned towards his band.
08:34Pipers, we'll play the lament I taught you all the way back to the burrow.
08:39Are you ready?
08:41One, two, three, march!
08:45And the first and last Wimbledon Pipe Band,
08:49with the Mac Womble at their head,
08:51played their way really quite well too,
08:55back to the Wimbledon Burrow.
09:03It had been snowing all night,
09:05so that when the Wombles came out of the burrow in the morning
09:07to start tidying up the common,
09:09all they could see was snow.
09:11Everything looked quite different.
09:13The Wombles just stopped and stared.
09:17Doesn't the common look clean? said Bungo.
09:21And isn't the snow white?
09:24It looks just like ice cream, said Orinoco, who was very greedy.
09:28I wonder it tastes as nice.
09:30And he had some.
09:31It was so cold it made his fur stand up on end and his teeth chatter.
09:35What you need to do is to run about, said Tomsk.
09:39That'll make you warm again.
09:40Come on, slide on the snow with me.
09:42I've got an old tin tray we can slide on.
09:44Come on, Orinoco, it'll be fun.
09:47But Orinoco was too lazy to go and play with Tomsk,
09:50so Tomsk went off on his own.
09:52I'll tell you what, said Bungo, I've just had a good idea.
09:55Let's make a snow Womble,
09:57and let's make it look just like Great Uncle Bulgaria.
09:59That'll be fun.
10:00Come on, Orinoco, you lazy Womble, come and help me.
10:04But Orinoco was too lazy to help Bungo make the snow Womble.
10:07He just curled up comfortably, and soon he was fast asleep.
10:11Bungo started to make the snow Womble.
10:13He made the body, and then the head.
10:15He put a shawl round it, and a hat on it,
10:17and soon the snow Womble began to look very, very, very like Great Uncle Bulgaria.
10:23I just need some spectacles, said Bungo.
10:26He was very pleased with his work.
10:28And while Bungo was making the snow Womble,
10:31Tomsk was sliding down all the snowy slopes.
10:34Whooo! said Tomsk as he made himself go in a wiggly line instead of a straight one.
10:39This is exciting!
10:41I wonder why Orinoco didn't want to come too.
10:44But Orinoco was having a nice sleep.
10:47He was dreaming about ice cream.
10:49Lots and lots of it, with cherries and strawberries and swirls of cream on top.
10:54Mmmm, he sighed happily.
10:57And he settled himself even more comfortably in the snow.
11:01Bungo finished making the Great Uncle Bulgaria snow Womble.
11:05He was so proud of it, he wanted to find another Womble to come and look at it.
11:09So off he went.
11:10It was no good asking Orinoco because he was fast asleep.
11:13Just then, Tomsk decided it would be more fun if Bungo came sliding with him.
11:19I'll slide down this slope, he thought, and give him a surprise.
11:23So he started sliding.
11:25Faster and faster he went.
11:27And suddenly, he saw at the bottom of the slope, not Bungo, but Great Uncle Bulgaria.
11:34Get out the way, please, get out of the way, shouted Tomsk, waving his arms.
11:39But Great Uncle Bulgaria didn't move at all.
11:42Oh dear, help, somebody please, this tray hasn't got any brakes, shouted Tomsk again.
11:49He tried to stop sliding so fast, but it was no good.
11:53He kept going faster and faster and faster.
11:56And Great Uncle Bulgaria still didn't move.
11:59Tomsk shut his eyes, and the next minute, bang, crash, wallop!
12:06Tomsk hit the Snow Womble, which broke up into little bits.
12:10Tomsk went flying into the air and landed upside down in the snow.
12:14There was nothing left of the Snow Womble at all.
12:17Tomsk opened his eyes.
12:19All he could see was a shawl and a hat.
12:22There was nothing else left.
12:24Poor Tomsk, didn't know what to do.
12:27And then he heard a voice say,
12:29What are you doing lying there with your mouth open, you silly young Womble?
12:35Tomsk turned round, and there was Great Uncle Bulgaria standing in the doorway of the burrow.
12:43Tomsk stared and stared and stared.
12:47He could hardly believe his eyes.
12:49But it was very nice to see that he had not hurt Great Uncle Bulgaria after all.
12:54Please tell me what has been going on, said Great Uncle Bulgaria sternly.
12:59Well, Tomsk did try to do so, but he kept getting more and more muddled.
13:04I thought it was you, I mean I thought you were, oh dear, said Tomsk.
13:12But Great Uncle Bulgaria is a very clever old Womble, and he soon realised what had happened.
13:18So, some silly young Womble tried to make a snow Womble that looked like me, he said.
13:25Well, off you go into the warm, Tomsk, it's nearly time for tea.
13:31As soon as Tomsk had gone back into the burrow, Great Uncle Bulgaria went and stood in the snow.
13:37He stood very still indeed, and soon Bungo came running up.
13:42Bungo hadn't found any other Womble, so he went over to Orinoco who was still fast asleep.
13:47Wake up, Orinoco, you lazy Womble, said Bungo.
13:50Come and look at the lovely snow Womble I've made, it's the best snow Womble in the whole world.
13:55Oh, do wake up!
13:57Then he took hold of both his friend's paws and tugged hard.
14:01Slowly, Orinoco opened his eyes and blinked and yawned and stretched.
14:06And then he got up and went to look at the snow Womble.
14:09It really was very, very, very like Great Uncle Bulgaria.
14:16It is a good snow Womble, said Orinoco.
14:19It looks just as cross as Great Uncle Bulgaria does sometimes.
14:23Then he started to laugh.
14:25And just as strict as Great Uncle Bulgaria is sometimes, said Bungo.
14:30And he started to laugh too.
14:32And the two young Wombles laughed and laughed and laughed.
14:36But Great Uncle Bulgaria didn't think it was funny at all.
14:41He started looking through his spectacles in a very fierce sort of way.
14:46Bungo and Orinoco were laughing so much they didn't notice.
14:50Of course I look cross sometimes, of course I'm strict sometimes,
14:56when I have to deal with silly young Wombles like you, said Great Uncle Bulgaria very loudly indeed.
15:03Bungo and Orinoco were so surprised at hearing the snow Womble speak,
15:09they both sat down plop in the snow.
15:12They weren't laughing now.
15:14Get up, said Great Uncle Bulgaria, get up you silly young Wombles
15:19and pick up all this rubbish lying about in the snow.
15:22You better hurry up or you'll be late for tea.
15:25And Bungo and Orinoco both did what they were told without another word.
15:30They picked up the snow Womble's shawl and his spectacles and his hat.
15:34And just as they were finishing all the tidying up, Tomsk came out of the burrow.
15:38He said, hurry up Bungo, hurry up Orinoco, it's tea time
15:42and we're going to have ice cakes and real ice cream.
15:47And Orinoco and Bungo hurried into the burrow as fast as they could.
15:51Goodbye Wombles, have a very, very, very nice tea.
16:02It had been raining and raining and raining.
16:07All the Wombles who'd been tidying up the common outside the burrow
16:10came home with their fur dripping wet.
16:13Tomsk was at the front door waiting for them.
16:15His job for the day was to make sure that everything at the front of the burrow was all right.
16:20He also had to give the wet Wombles towels with which to dry themselves.
16:24Orinoco, Bungo and Wellington were so wet that the water ran off their fur
16:28and made little pools all over the floor.
16:31They were very glad to be back home and safe and warm and dry.
16:35Tomsk was busy trying to dry up the pools of water.
16:38But the strange thing was, as fast as he dried up one pool, another pool appeared.
16:44I say, said Tomsk, the burrow's getting very wet.
16:49I think there's something wrong.
16:52But the other Wombles were too busy drying themselves to take any notice.
16:55Come on, said Orinoco to Wellington and Bungo, it must be tea time.
16:59Hurry up Tomsk.
17:01And off went Orinoco, Bungo and Wellington.
17:03But Tomsk stayed behind and scratched his head.
17:07He looked at the floor.
17:09It was very strange.
17:11And then he saw where the rain was coming from.
17:14It was coming from under the front door.
17:17Tomsk didn't know what to do.
17:19His job for the day was to make sure that everything at the front door was all right.
17:23But now everything was not all right.
17:25The rain was making the burrow more and more wet all the time.
17:30I'd better go and have a look outside, said Tomsk.
17:35He opened the front door and looked out.
17:37But as well as the drip drop of the rain, he could hear something else.
17:41It was a creaking sound.
17:44And then he turned round and he saw a tree which was bending right over.
17:48It was going to fall on top of the burrow.
17:51I need help, said Tomsk.
17:53And he ran to the workshop.
17:55Help, said Tomsk.
17:56The rain is coming into the burrow and there's a tired tree that's going to fall on top of us.
18:01Don't bother me now, said Topamori.
18:04I'm busy, Tomsk. I've got a lot of mending to do.
18:08Tomsk ran from the workshop to Great Uncle Bulgaria's room.
18:12Help, he said.
18:13The rain's coming into the burrow and there's a tired tree that's going to fall on top of us.
18:18Don't bother me now, said Great Uncle Bulgaria.
18:21I'm busy, Tomsk. I've got a lot of writing to do.
18:25Tomsk ran to the kitchen where Wellington, Orinoco and Bungo were helping Madame Shirley to get tea.
18:31There was a batch of cakes cooling on the rack and everybody was busy making sandwiches.
18:35Don't bother us now, they said. We've got a lot to do.
18:38Tomsk went back to the front door.
18:41The floor was very wet and the creaking, groaning sound of the tree was worse than ever.
18:46He said, if that tree falls over, it'll fall on top of the burrow.
18:51All the rain must have washed away the earth and now the tree can't stand up anymore.
18:57I shall just have to hold up the tree until the rain stops raining.
19:02Tomsk ran outside and up to the tree.
19:05He put his back against it to stop it falling over and began to wait for the rain to stop.
19:11Inside the burrow it was getting colder and colder.
19:15It's very cold in here, said Tobermory in the workshop.
19:19He put down his hammer.
19:21How can I keep on mending things if it's too cold to work?
19:24I'd better go and see what's happening.
19:27It's very, very cold in here, said Great Uncle Bulgaria in his room.
19:32How can I keep on writing if I'm too cold to think properly?
19:36Oh dear, dear, dear, I'd better go and see what is going on.
19:40He put down his pen and went out to the front door.
19:43Outside it went on raining and raining and raining.
19:48Tomsk was getting very wet indeed.
19:51His paws kept slipping in the mud and the raindrops dripped off his nose.
19:56But he held on to the tired tree and pushed as hard as ever he could.
20:01It's jolly cold in here, said Orinoco to Wellington and Bunga in the kitchen.
20:06We'll never get a nice hot tea if the stove isn't warm.
20:09That silly Tomsk must have left our front door open.
20:12Come on!
20:14All the Wombles went to see what was happening.
20:17The front door was open and there were pools of water everywhere.
20:21This is Tomsk's fault, said Great Uncle Bulgaria crossly.
20:25It is his job for the day to make quite sure that everything at the front of the burrow is all right now.
20:31Where has that silly young Womble got to?
20:35Well, he came to see me in the workshop, said Tobermory,
20:38with some story about the rain coming into the burrow
20:41and a tree that was tired and going to fall over.
20:44Tobermory went on slowly.
20:46But I said I was too busy to listen to him.
20:50Orinoco, Wellington and Bunga looked at each other,
20:54their arms full of cups and plates.
20:57He told us the same story, they said, but it didn't make any sense.
21:02Dear me, said Great Uncle Bulgaria.
21:05He told me that story too, but who ever heard of a tired tree?
21:11But listen, listen, what is that?
21:15Suddenly the tree had started to make the dreadful creaking groaning noise louder than ever.
21:21Help, called Tomsk out in the wet dark night.
21:24Help, the tired tree is going to fall over and I can't hold it up much longer.
21:29Help!
21:31It started to lean over more and more,
21:34and it was so heavy that Tomsk could feel himself slipping and sliding.
21:38It's Tomsk, said Great Uncle Bulgaria, and he's in trouble.
21:43Wombles to the rescue!
21:46And all of them ran out of the burrow to help Tomsk before it was too late.
21:51The Wombles all pushed together,
21:53so that when, with a last groan and a creak, the tired tree fell over,
21:58it fell to one side and didn't hurt the burrow at all.
22:02You're a good Womble, Tomsk, said Great Uncle Bulgaria.
22:06And what a brave Womble, said Orinoco and Bungo and Wellington.
22:11That tree's just what we need to make our front door fit better,
22:15so that it won't let in any more rain.
22:17Well done, Tomsk, said Tobermory.
22:20You must have two helpings of tea, said Madame Cholet in the nice warm kitchen,
22:25because you have worked so hard and got so wet.
22:29All the Wombles were making a great fuss of Tomsk, which was very nice,
22:33but all he could do was to yawn and yawn as he said,
22:37Thank you very much.
22:41But I'm like the tree, I don't think I can eat anything.
22:46You see, I'm so tired.
22:50All I want to do is to fall over too.
22:55Tomsk wasn't really as tired as all that.
22:58In fact, he had three teas, and quite right too.
23:07Madame Cholet was very busy in the kitchen, making a large cake for the Wombles' tea.
23:12She had a lot of mixing and stirring to do, so she asked for someone to help her.
23:16There is so much to do today, she said,
23:19and I want to make some extra cakes for next week too.
23:23I'll help you, said Orinoco.
23:26Oh, what a lovely smell. Can I do some of the cooking, Madame Cholet?
23:32Orinoco was hoping that he would be able to do some of the stirring and mixing,
23:36and perhaps taste what was in the pots, pans and bowls as well.
23:40Thank you. You can do the washing up, said Madame Cholet.
23:44Put on an apron, please, and then start work.
23:48There was a great deal of washing up to do. Orinoco looked at it.
23:52I shall need those bowls in a minute, said Madame Cholet, so you can do them first.
23:58Orinoco began washing up, but the harder he worked, the more hungry he became,
24:03but the smell of cooking was getting nicer and nicer.
24:06Oh dear, oh dear, said Orinoco, rubbing his tummy.
24:11Orinoco is very, very, very fond of his food.
24:16I'm a bit short of fruits and nuts. I'll go and find some more, said Madame Cholet,
24:21and off she went. Orinoco finished the washing up.
24:25What can I do now, he asked, but Madame Cholet didn't hear him.
24:29She was opening tins and boxes in the larder.
24:32I'll have a look and see how the cake's getting on, thought Orinoco.
24:37He looked at the big bowl which was full of cake mixture,
24:40and then he looked at the bowl which was full of nuts and blackberries.
24:44Finally, he looked at the bowl which had Madame Cholet's special flour icing in it.
24:49Everything looked lovely.
24:52I'll just have one little nut to make me feel better, said Orinoco.
24:57So he ate just one.
24:59And I'll just have one blackberry.
25:02And he ate one.
25:04And I'll have a taste of the cake mixture, and then a tiny taste of the icing.
25:10Everything tasted lovely, but it made him feel even more hungry.
25:15Perhaps if I had just a little more, said Orinoco.
25:20So he had another taste, and another, and another.
25:24Soon his paws were dipping into all the bowls as fast as they could.
25:28Orinoco, said the voice of Madame Cholet, what are you doing?
25:33Oh, you bad, bad greedy wumble!
25:37You've eaten half of my cake mixture,
25:39so now there will be no cake at all for all the other wumbles at tea time.
25:43I am very angry.
25:45Go to Great Uncle Bulgaria at once and tell him what you've done.
25:50Orinoco had never heard Madame Cholet sound so cross before.
25:54He felt very scared.
25:56I'm sorry, Madame Cholet, said Orinoco in a small voice.
26:00He went out of the kitchen and down the passage towards Great Uncle Bulgaria's room.
26:05He was feeling more and more scared every minute.
26:09What's the matter, Orinoco? asked Bungo.
26:12But Orinoco was so scared he didn't even hear his friend.
26:16Orinoco stopped at Great Uncle Bulgaria's door.
26:19Then he thought about there being no cake for all the other wumbles at tea time,
26:23and how cross they would all be too.
26:26Oh, dear, said Orinoco, and he was so scared
26:30that he turned and ran out of the burrow as fast as he could.
26:33Orinoco ran and ran across the common until he couldn't run another step.
26:38He was the most unhappy wumble in the world.
26:41What shall I do? he said.
26:44Chatter, chatter, chatter, said a voice.
26:47Orinoco looked up and there was a squirrel.
26:51Orinoco said sadly,
26:53I'm a bad greedy wumble and nobody likes me anymore
26:57because I've eaten nearly all the nuts we were going to have in a cake
27:00and nobody will care if I don't go back to the burrow ever again.
27:05In the burrow, Madame Cholet said to Bungo,
27:09Have you seen Orinoco anywhere?
27:12I was rather cross with him just now and I sent him to Great Uncle Bulgaria,
27:16but I don't really want Great Uncle Bulgaria to be cross with him too.
27:21Yes, I've seen him, said Bungo. I'll go and find him if you like.
27:26Out on the common, the squirrel and some of his friends were all looking at Orinoco.
27:31They were all holding nuts in their little paws.
27:35A big fat tear rolled down Orinoco's nose and sploshed on the grass.
27:40Suddenly, thump! A nut fell next to him.
27:45Oh! said Orinoco. Nuts!
27:48And he stopped feeling so sad because he'd had an idea.
27:53Bungo was trying to find Orinoco but he couldn't see him anywhere.
27:56Oh dear, oh dear, said Bungo. Where can he have got to?
28:00Orinoco!
28:03And he opened the front door and started looking outside too, but there was no sign of his friend.
28:08Orinoco put all the nuts together which the squirrels had thrown down.
28:11Thank you very much, said Orinoco, but I ate all the blackberries too.
28:16Chatter, chatter, chatter, said the squirrels.
28:20Orinoco looked round and saw that the bush behind him was covered in blackberries.
28:26Orinoco hardly stopped to think.
28:28He opened his tidy bag and trying not to mind too much about the prickles, he began to pick blackberries.
28:34He had never worked so hard before.
28:36All this time, Bungo was getting more and more worried.
28:41Orinoco! called Bungo, but there was no answer.
28:46Do you think Orinoco can have run away? said Madame Cholet to Great Uncle Bulgaria.
28:52Oh, no, no, no, I'm sure he will come back, said Great Uncle Bulgaria.
28:58He went out onto the common.
29:00Orinoco! called Great Uncle Bulgaria, but there was no answer.
29:07Orinoco was now a bit scratched and sticky, but his tidy bag was almost full.
29:13He said, I shall leave the nuts and the blackberries outside the front door of the burrow, and then I shall go away forever and ever.
29:21I ate a lot of the flower icing too. Oh, dear!
29:26Chatter, chatter, chatter, said the squirrels.
29:29Orinoco looked down at his paws, and he saw that the grass was covered with daisies.
29:35He began to pick them as fast as he could.
29:38Soon his tidy bag was filled to overflowing with flowers.
29:42Orinoco! called Bungo, no answer.
29:47Orinoco! called Great Uncle Bulgaria and Madame Cholet, but Orinoco was too busy picking daisies to hear them.
29:56The poor little Orinoco, said Madame Cholet. Where can he be?
30:02Orinoco picked up the bag. It was very heavy, because it was full of nuts, blackberries and flowers.
30:08Thank you very much for all your help, said Orinoco to the squirrels.
30:12I shall leave all this outside the burrow, and then I shall go away forever and ever.
30:17Chatter, chatter, chatter, said the squirrels, and they leapt off.
30:22Orinoco put the bag down at the front of the burrow, and just as he was about to creep away, out came Madame Cholet, Great Uncle Bulgaria and Bungo.
30:33Where have you been? they all asked. We've been looking everywhere for you.
30:38All the Wombles were very pleased to have Orinoco home, safe and sound, and he was very glad to be there.
30:44He had worked so hard collecting nuts, fruit and flowers that Madame Cholet was able to make a lot of cakes for tea and fill up the larder as well.
30:53Orinoco didn't eat all his share. He chose the ones with lots of flower icing on top and put them on a special tray,
31:03and then he left it outside the front door of the burrow for his new friends, the squirrels.
31:16It had been very windy in the night, so that when Great Uncle Bulgaria, Bungo and Wellington Womble came out of their burrow, they saw that there was rubbish everywhere.
31:25The wind had blown newspapers and bags and packets and bits of this and pieces of that everywhere. What a mess the common was in.
31:34Off you go, young Wombles, said Great Uncle Bulgaria, and tidy up all this rubbish as fast as you can.
31:42Bungo and Wellington each had their tidy bags firmly in their paws.
31:47Just at that moment, an extra large gust of wind blew all the leaves and bits and pieces into the air.
31:54Dear me, said Great Uncle Bulgaria, what a lot of work there is to be sure.
32:00The first Womble to fill a tidy bag and bring it back to the burrow shall have two helpings of dinner.
32:09I'm sure I shall get back to the burrow first, because I work faster than you do, said Bungo to Wellington.
32:15Bungo's a very bossy Womble. He always thinks he knows best about everything.
32:21Yes, I expect you will, said Wellington.
32:24Wellington's the smallest and shyest of the Wombles.
32:28Bungo tidied up all kinds of things, bags and newspapers and packets and pieces of this and that, and he put them all into his tidy bag.
32:37Wellington was working hard too, but he wasn't as quick as Bungo.
32:40It took him more time to put the rubbish into his tidy bag. He couldn't quite work out why he was finding it so difficult.
32:48Oh dear, said Wellington. The wind was still blowing, and the rubbish kept blowing about too. It seemed to have a mind of its own.
32:57It wasn't easy to pick up or even to get hold of it, except when the wind changed. It was all very awkward.
33:04Bungo's tidy bag was nearly full, and he was sure that he would be the Womble who would have two helpings of dinner.
33:11I'm sure I've got a lot more than Wellington already, he said to himself.
33:16He looked round to see what Wellington had done.
33:19Wellington was in trouble. He'd got his scarf caught in a bush.
33:23While he was trying to get free, he noticed a small bit of blue rubbish.
33:28Bungo saw it too.
33:29You can take that if you like, he said. It's not very big.
33:33Wellington picked it up and looked at it. It was a balloon.
33:39It's a blue balloon, said Wellington. I wonder if I can blow it up.
33:44He took a deep breath and began to blow.
33:49The more Wellington blew, the bigger the balloon became.
33:53It got bigger and bigger and bigger. It grew even bigger than Wellington himself.
33:59What a jolly fine balloon, said Wellington, admiringly.
34:03It's whoops!
34:05And just then, there was a very strong gust of wind, and before Wellington knew what was happening, he was being blown along.
34:13Harder and harder blew the wind, and faster and faster and faster went Wellington.
34:18He ran across the grass and down a slope and up a small hill.
34:22He had no breath left, and just as he got to the top of the small hill, there was a very strong gust of wind.
34:28The next thing Wellington knew was that his feet weren't on the ground anymore.
34:34He looked down, and the ground had vanished.
34:37Help! shouted Wellington, clinging on to the blue balloon for all he was worth.
34:41Put me down! Stop it! I'm flying!
34:44But there was no one to help him.
34:47Bungo heard a shout, but he couldn't understand where it was coming from.
34:51There was no womble to the left of him, or to the right of him.
34:55Must have imagined it, he said, and he went on tidying up.
34:59Help! shouted Wellington again as he was blown higher and higher and higher.
35:04He hung on to the blue balloon and shut his eyes tightly.
35:08It was a very strange feeling being blown up into the sky.
35:12It was a bit like going up in a fast lift, except that it didn't feel very safe.
35:17Up and up and up went Wellington and the blue balloon.
35:20He was so high up now that he could see all over the common.
35:24He could see Bungo with his tidy bag almost overflowing, standing by the windmill, looking very busy and important.
35:31And Wellington could see Tom swimming in the lake.
35:34He was looking for water rubbish because he could swim best of all the wombles.
35:38And Wellington could see Orinoco fast asleep beside a bramble bush.
35:42Orinoco should have been tidying up rubbish like all the other wombles,
35:45but instead he was having a nice forty winks and dreaming about dinner time.
35:50Lazy Orinoco!
35:52And last of all, Wellington could see great Uncle Bulgaria standing in front of the burrow.
35:59He was looking out across the common and trying to see which of the young wombles had tidied up the most rubbish.
36:05All that great Uncle Bulgaria, Bungo and Tom could hear was the noise of the wind.
36:11None of them had noticed that up in the sky was a big blue balloon and a very small womble.
36:18Then all of a sudden, something even more frightening happened to Wellington.
36:23There was a small plop-plop-plop sound and suddenly, with a nasty hissing noise,
36:29the big blue balloon began to get smaller and smaller and smaller.
36:34The big blue balloon had a hole in it.
36:37Down, down, down fell Wellington.
36:41The common got closer and closer.
36:43Help! he shouted once more and then he shut his eyes.
36:48And down came Wellington, as light as a leaf, and right in front of the burrow.
36:54He didn't hurt himself at all because the big plastic bag he'd tidied up had made a parachute for him.
37:00So when he opened his eyes, he was safe and sound and very close to home.
37:05And he still had his tidy bag, full of rubbish, held firmly in one paw.
37:10Great Uncle Bulgaria was surprised.
37:13Well done, young Wellington, said Great Uncle Bulgaria.
37:17You're the first womble to get back home and what a lot of rubbish you've tidied up, to be sure.
37:22Yes, you shall have two helpings of dinner, all right.
37:26How did you manage to get back to the burrow so quickly?
37:31I'm not sure about that, said Wellington, shyly.
37:36But I am sure that I'm very, very hungry.
37:40What's for dinner?
37:43Great Uncle Bulgaria sniffed.
37:46Dear me, I do believe I can smell something burning in the kitchen.
37:51I'd better go and tell Madame Chollet about it at once.
37:55Off went the old womble as fast as he could.
37:57The moment he opened the kitchen door, his eyes began watering because the room was hazy with smoke,
38:02which was billowing out of an enormous saucepan.
38:05That was bad enough, but worse was to come, for there, with her head on a pipe,
38:10That was bad enough, but worse was to come, for there, with her head on a pile of cookery books,
38:14was Madame Chollet, fast asleep at the kitchen table.
38:18Great Uncle Bulgaria took the burning saucepan off the stove and then, very gently, so as not to alarm her,
38:23Great Uncle Bulgaria tapped Madame Chollet on the shoulder.
38:27She woke up slowly, blinked, and then jumped to her feet, looking very upset.
38:31Oh, Thierry, hello! What has happened? asked Madame Chollet.
38:34Oh, my best saucepan is ruined. It is all my fault. Oh, dear!
38:39No, no, don't distress yourself, my good womble, said Great Uncle Bulgaria.
38:44Tobermory will probably be able to make it as good as new, and anyway, what does a saucepan matter?
38:49It's you I'm worried about. You've been overworking.
38:53That is true, said Madame Chollet, but there is still much to do.
38:57At this time of the year there is the bottling and drying and pickling and jam-making to be done,
39:03one has to plan ahead for the winter months, yes?
39:06Well, yes, of course, yes, you're perfectly right, Madame Chollet, yes,
39:09but now all that is finished, you must have a complete holiday.
39:14It is a very nice idea, said Madame Chollet, with a little sigh,
39:18but who will cook the breakfast and dinner and supper as well as tea and making cakes for elevensies?
39:24We will, said Great Uncle Bulgaria, by which I mean all the other wombles in the borough.
39:32Now go to bed and have a nice long sleep. Tomorrow morning you will start your holiday.
39:38Very well, agreed Madame Chollet, who really was very tired indeed.
39:42But what about tonight's supper? Who will manage that?
39:46I will, said Great Uncle Bulgaria. Good night, Madame Chollet.
39:52And Great Uncle Bulgaria, with some help from Tobermory and Orinoco,
39:56did his best with what was left in the half-burnt saucepan
39:59and a loaf of grass bread with daisy spread, but it really wasn't very filling.
40:04I dare say cooking is quite simple once you get into the way of it, said Great Uncle Bulgaria.
40:10So the next morning, Madame Chollet was taken out of the borough to a nice quiet part of the common.
40:16Thoms was carrying Great Uncle Bulgaria's own rocking chair for her to sit on,
40:20Wellington had a warm woolly rug for her to put over her lap,
40:23and Bungo and Orinoco had a pile of books.
40:26Cookery books, said Orinoco, because we thought you'd like something really interesting to read.
40:31How very kind, said Madame Chollet. How truly delightful. Merci.
40:37At first she quite enjoyed just dozing and rocking in the autumn sunshine,
40:41but after a while she began to get a little fidgety,
40:44so she started to look through the books until she came to one which had the title
40:48Picnic Party Dishes.
40:51How very pleasant. If a little dull it is to have le holiday, murmured Madame Chollet.
40:58I only hope that all is well back at the borough.
41:03It was just as well that Madame Chollet couldn't see what was going on in her kitchen at that moment.
41:08The place was full of steam and there were wombles everywhere.
41:12Saucepans were boiling over and a strong smell of burning was coming out of the oven,
41:16and the sink was full of dirty dishes.
41:19By the end of the first day of the holiday they were really quite tired,
41:22and in spite of having worked so hard the meals weren't very nice.
41:26Madame Chollet ate some burnt bark stew with undercooked grass topping,
41:31followed by runny clover jelly for her supper, and went to bed early.
41:35Cooking's a lot more difficult than I thought, said Orinoco at the end of the third day.
41:41Everybody in the borough was doing their best, but somehow cooking four good meals a day
41:45seemed to get harder and harder while the food got duller and duller,
41:49and the wombles themselves actually got thinner.
41:52Even Orinoco lost weight.
41:54I do hope Madame Chollet's almost finished her holiday, he said to Tomsk.
41:58It seems to have gone on for a very long time.
42:01As it happened, Madame Chollet was feeling very much the same as Orinoco.
42:06At first it had been quite pleasant just to rock backwards and forwards
42:09and doze a little out on the common in the pale sunshine,
42:12but to tell the truth she was now getting just a little bit bored.
42:16I think perhaps I will go for a little stroll, yes?
42:21said Madame Chollet to herself, and she set off across the common.
42:25Suddenly she saw a pile of acorns, which a squirrel had hidden away for the winter and then forgotten.
42:31Squirrels have very bad memories.
42:33Tiens, alors, what a waste! said Madame Chollet,
42:37and she picked up all the acorns and put them into her apron pocket.
42:40And what was this?
42:42Dozens and dozens of lovely, fresh, dew-covered blackberries at the back of a bush.
42:47Oh! said Madame Chollet to herself.
42:50Tomorrow I will fetch a tidy bag from the borough and pick those berries which someone has missed.
42:56The next morning, while she was picking the blackberries,
42:59she noticed something even more delicious.
43:02Big clumps of mushrooms and dry nettles, which are a great Womble delicacy.
43:08Madame Chollet shook her head.
43:10The following morning she took a second tidy bag onto the common.
43:14After she had finished picking every mushroom and nettle in sight,
43:17she just happened to see a large patch of moss and some really mouth-watering bark that had peeled off the trees.
43:25Oh! how can one waste that? said Madame Chollet.
43:29But then how can one cook it when one has no oven?
43:33Ah! one moment. I will return to that book of picnic party dishes.
43:40A good cook is always looking for new ideas, after all.
43:44And off went Madame Chollet, humming to herself, and as happy and as rested as she could be,
43:49because she was starting to have a very good idea indeed.
43:53It was on the very next morning that great Uncle Bulgaria found an invitation card on his desk.
43:59He said, Madame Chollet invites the Wombles of Wimbledon to a picnic party today at 1pm exactly.
44:07Well, you can be quite certain that everybody was there at one o'clock.
44:10In fact, Orinoco was five minutes ahead of time.
44:13For there, spread out on the grass, were leaf plates piled high with all kinds of delicious food,
44:20such as dew-covered blackberries, peeled acorns, tossed green salad with chopped bracken,
44:26moss paste on bark, mixed nettles and mushrooms and a great deal more.
44:31It was a really beautiful sight.
44:34And rocking away in her chair was Madame Chollet with her little round eyes twinkling.
44:40My dear good Womble, said great Uncle Bulgaria, what a splendid feast!
44:46But I thought you were supposed to be having a holiday.
44:50I have had a holiday, said Madame Chollet, and very nice it was too,
44:55but after a little bit I wanted to start cooking again.
44:58As you had very kindly taken charge of my kitchen,
45:02I decided to produce a picnic out here on the Common.
45:07She stopped and smiled.
45:09I hope everyone will like it.
45:12So please, will you sit down and start eating?
45:15Oh, rather, said Orinoco.
45:17Madame Chollet, will you come back to the borough very, very soon, please?
45:22We miss you quite a lot.
45:23Well, of course I will, said Madame Chollet.
45:25I have missed all of you.
45:27However, cooking is quite hard work, which you have discovered for yourself,
45:31so it would be very nice if I could have some help with the washing up.
45:36Yes?
45:37Yes, said everybody, even great Uncle Bulgaria.
45:41Bien, said Madame Chollet, and welcome to my picnic party.
45:45Now please start eating a few acorns, some moss paste and perhaps a little salad,
45:51great Uncle Bulgaria.
45:53Rather, I mean, yes, yes, please, Madame Chollet, said great Uncle Bulgaria.
46:00What a splendid party this is.
46:03And it was.