UNCLE FRED'S STORYTIME

Once upon a time there was a little bunny rabbit called Timmy. He was a happy rabbit who loved to play in the big field beside the warren where he lived with his mummy and daddy and brothers and sisters. Timmy wasn't exactly sure how many brothers and sisters he had - in fact he lost count after the first dozen, and he couldn't ask his mummy and daddy because they were always busy doing something important. But Timmy didn't mind, because it meant they were all very cosy during the cold winter months when they all snuggled together in the very heart of the warren.

One fine spring morning, Timmy decided to go exploring. He packed a carrot and some lettuce sandwiches and set off bright and early. He had to watch out for the farmer, who didn't like rabbits and generally shot at them. But there was no sign of him or his bazooka, so Timmy hopped over the fields happily and headed for the big wood on the hill.

The trees in the big wood were very tall, and Timmy could hardly see the sky through all the branches and leaves. He loved tearing about through all the bushes and undergrowth, and quickly worked up an appetite for his lettuce sandwiches.

After eating, he felt a bit full and curled up under a tree root for a nap. When he awoke again it was mid afternoon, so he set off back towards home, humming a popular bunny song.

But when Timmy got home he found that the entrance to the warren had been blocked up with some big stones, and he couldn't get in! Frantically, he started scratching at the ground with his paws, and he scratched and he scratched, and he dug and he dug, until finally he managed to get through to the burrow. There was a strange smell in the warren which made Timmy feel sick, and there was no sign of his mummy or daddy, nor any of his brothers and sisters, for the truth was the farmer had gassed the burrow and sold the unconscious rabbits to a cosmetics company who carried out cruel tests on animals so they could make a new shade of lipstick.

Timmy felt very unhappy, but not for long, for seconds later he was savaged to death by a large dog who was with a group of foxhunters. And so none of the little animals lived happily ever after, not even the dog, whose owners had him put down as soon as he was too old to kill foxes for their enjoyment.

That's all for this week, children. It's time for Music Hour now, and here's Louis Armstrong singing "What a wonderful world"...