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In a clearing in the woods you can hear the blackbirds singing
That’s where the three bears’ cottage stood; life couldn’t be more peaceful
Then a twig snapped and there stood a little girl with golden flowing hair
And doing not what a good girl would she tried the front door handle
Of the house of the three bears, and when she turned the handle the door opened
When Goldilocks, which was her name, discovered that the house was empty
She broke every rule of the game when things belong to others
Eating porridge, breaking chairs, and when she found the beds upstairs she lay
Down her golden head of hair and drifted off to sleep there
A little later through the woods came the sound of voices singing
And in the clearing three bears stood hungry for their porridge
Middle-size bear asked how could we have left the door wide open?
They looked at each other confused; well if it wasn’t us then
Who’s been sneaking round our house?
And who’s eaten up all Baby Bear’s porridge?
Who’s been sitting in our chairs?
And who has left poor Baby Bear’s chair broken?
Now Goldilocks was fast asleep oblivious to the commotion
She didn’t hear the sound of feet and voices softly whisper
Who’s been sleeping in our beds?
The windows are all steamed up from their breathing
I know who Baby Bear said, because she’s tucked up in my bed still sleeping
And Goldilocks woke up and ran away
Or at least that’s what the stories say
But if you were a hungry bear
Would you just let her walk out the house without getting her to make some more porridge?
In a clearing in the woods you can hear the blackbirds singing
That’s where the three bears’ cottage stood; life couldn’t be more peaceful
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2. |
The Three Little Pigs
04:51
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The tale of three little pigs
Whose parents made them leave home when they grew too big
And sent them off with a kiss
The first pig built his house out of straw
The wolf called round to see who his new neighbour was
With a jar of home-made apple sauce
And said “little pig, let me come in”
“Not by the hairs on my chin, I’ll not let you in”
“Then I’ll huff and puff and I’ll blow your house in”
And so he did
The next pig built his house out of wood
The wolf came round to welcome him into the ‘hood
With a portable barbeque
And said “little pig, let me come in”
“Not by the hairs on my chin, I’ll not let you in”
“Then I’ll huff and puff and I’ll blow your house in”
And so he did
The third pig built his house out of bricks
The wolf called round to pay him a friendly visit
With an empty casserole dish
And said “little pig, let me come in”
“Not by the hairs on my chin, I’ll not let you in”
“Then I’ll huff and puff and I’ll blow your house in”
But as hard as the wold blew he couldn’t blow the house in
So down the chimney he did come but the pig had put the fire on
And so, the third little pig
Had roast wolf stew for dinner but floating in it
He saw some long stringy bits
The tales of two little pigs
The tales of two little pigs
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3. |
The Sleeping Beauty
05:46
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In a kingdom far away, in a time so very long ago
There was a king and queen who were besotted by their baby daughter so
They organised a christening, inviting everyone from far and wide
Including seven fairies who were known to be on the less wicked side
When the special day arrived a great time was had by everyone there
And in return they all lined up to see the new princess with gifts to bear
The seven fairies granted her all of the things that being a princess meant
Such as grace and beauty and a very strong sense of entitlement
But then the doors flew open and another fairy stood there asking “why
Are you all having fun without me?”
And in a fit of fury she cried “here is my gift for the new-born child
One day in the future, just when everything seems to be going fine
She will prick her finger on a spinning wheel and fall soundly asleep
For a hundred years or more; only a prince’s kiss will set her free”
The king and queen were terrified declaring a state of emergency
Before long every spinning wheel was made illegal by royal decree
And over time the princess took on all the fairies granted qualities
But in everything she did she had to be accompanied
Until one day she slipped away and found her grandmother’s old spinning wheel
And pricked her finger and fell fast asleep
The sleeping beauty, the sleeping beauty...
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4. |
Hansel and Gretel
05:45
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Hansel and Gretel, the thorns and the nettles are where you’ll be sleeping tonight
Your step mum wants rid of you and, even worse, your dad didn’t put up a fight
But follow the pebbles to find your way home and you should be alright
The next night your step mum said you’ll have to take them much further than you did before
And Hansel couldn’t get out to find any stones because Dad had locked the door
And breadcrumbs are useless; the birds ate them up all the way to your door
And now you’re lost in the woods
But then you came across a house made of gingerbread
But when you tried to taste a piece an old woman came out and said
Why don't you come into the house?
Hansel and Gretel, the whistling kettle has woken you up from your sleep
To find you’re imprisoned by a blind old witch who’s fattening you up to eat
But the bone from a chicken will keep you alive – the witch wants to feel to more meat
But everything changed when the witch lost her patience and said I’ll eat Hansel tonight
But Gretel outsmarted the witch when she said I can't get the fire to light
And when the witch leaned right in and said it looks fine to me, Gretel with all her might
Pushed her into the fire
And then the children went back home to Dad or so it’s said
But if you had the choice of living in a house of gingerbread
Or going back to someone who was willing to leave you for dead
What do you think you would do?
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5. |
Thumbelina
04:30
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Have you heard of Thumbelina?
So small you’d do well to see her
She was born inside a flower
With the birds looking down upon her
Taken from her walnut shell bed
By a slimy toad who whispered
Come with me now Thumbelina
And cook my dinner and be my cleaner
He placed her onto a lily pad so she couldn’t get away
But a friendly fish and a butterfly helped her to escape
On the lily pad she floated
Until a stag beetle spotted
Her and said “come Thumbelina
And we’ll dance like we’re ballerinas”
He took her under a pile of leaves; winter was on the way
But his friends did not approve of her so he let her get away
Given shelter by a field mouse
Who took her to his friend the mole’s house
Mole said “I’ll have Thumbelina
Although my poor eyes can hardly see her”
He took her down under the ground out of the light of day
Where she nursed a swallow back to health and together they escaped
From the swallow way up high she
Saw a prince who was her size
“Come live with me said Thumbelina,
The prince could not have appeared much keener”
How did I hear of this story?
Well, the swallow came and told me
He was in love with Thumbelina
But had lost her and had I seen her?
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6. |
Rumpelstiltskin
07:49
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There was a miller in days of old
Who got drunk with his friends and told
Them his daughter could spin straw into gold
Oh what a thing to say
When word reached the greedy king
He demanded that the miller bring
His daughter come and visit him
A spin for him one day
He filled a big room up with straw
Shut her in and locked the door
And said spin all this into gold
Before the light of day
The miller’s daughter sat and cried
Till a little man sat by her side
Spun straw into gold for a price
Her only ring she paid
The king was not yet satisfied
And locked her up another night
Again her new friend saved her life
For the necklace that she paid
And on the third and final night
The king said you will be my bride
If you can spin gold one more time
Before the light of day
The miller's daughter was terrified
I've nothing else to pay she cried
Fear not, the little man replied
I think I know a way
Give to me your first-born son
Or daughter I don't care which one
And consider all this spinning done
She agreed right away
And when the sun arose the king
Presented an engagement ring
The miller's daughter didn't say a thing
About the man whose name
She didn't know because she hadn't asked him
Soon the new queen had a child
But one night when the wind was wild
The little man called round, he smiled
And said it's time to pay
The queen said I owe you my life
But if you have a heart you might
Not take my child and we might find
Another way to pay
He said ok we'll play a game
Where I won't take your child away
If you can correctly guess my name
Before the light of day
There was nothing else to do
She thought of every name she knew
Even making up a few
But coudn't guess his name
The little man was having fun
And said to her I'll give you one
More night to guess but come the sun
I'll take your child away
The queen knew that she had to win
And sent someone to follow him
Who saw him dance and heard him sing
She'll never guess my name is Rumplestitskin
When the little man returned
The queen didn't let on what she'd learned
And played along with his game at first
By guessing some more names
With every name that wasn't right
The little man got more excited
Impatient for the morning light
So he could win the game
And just beofre the sun arose
The queeen said you win I suppose
But there's one more name that I knnow
But it coudn't be your name
It's Rumplestiltskin
His colour quickly drained away
For once he ahd nothing to say
Because the queen had guessed his name
And she had won the game
The whole royal court then heard the sound
Of his feet stamping on the ground
He started spinning round and round
Screaming no-one knows my name
The king came rushing through the door
To fine a hole in his bedroom floor
Through which had fallen just before
The little man whose name
No-one in the entire kingdom was ever again to mention
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7. |
The Little Mermaid
07:36
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Have you ever heard a mermaid sing?
In the town of Copenhagen where the waves lap on the shore
There’s a statue of a mermaid based upon the story
About a little mermaid who exchanged her voice
To become one of us on shore
And the reason that she did it was because she fell in love
With a prince that she had saved and his whole world above
Where children play out in the sunshine and the stars shine brightly
In the sky far above the blue sea
In the world where the mermaids swim
On a mermaid’s 15th birthday she can surface for a day
Like the little mermaid’s sisters who had all amazed
Her with tales of their adventures so she couldn’t wait
For her turn, but when her turn came
She got closer to the action than her sisters did before
The prince’s ship blown by a storm he was washed overboard
And the next thing that he knew he woke up on the shore
All alone, but he was changed forever
Because he had heard a mermaid sing
The little mermaid had decided she was going to get her man
So she visited the sea witch and explained her plan
And the sea witch said my darling, you will get your chance right away
But with some conditions
You’ll have a pair of legs to go out walking hand in hand
But you’ll lose your voice for ever do you understand?
And on the day the prince gets married you will meet your end
Unless you are the one who’s finger
Is decorated with the wedding ring
And so the little mermaid gave her voice up and awoke upon the sandy shore
Soon the mermaid and the prince became as friendly as can be
But because she had no voice he didn’t know that she
Was the same girl who’d saved his life, the girl he hoped that he might meet again
And one day hoped to marry
But as the months went by he gave up hope of finding her
And got engaged to someone else and when the mermaid heard
She knew she had to stop the wedding going ahead or else
She’d meet her end when the princess’s finger
Was decorated with the wedding ring
The little mermaid’s sisters told her they had pleaded with the witch
Who had told them they could save their little sister if
She plunged a knife into the heart of her beloved prince
And then the spell would be forever broken
When the mermaid heard this she knew where she had to be
And on the prince’s wedding day she walked down to the sea
And at the moment that the wedding ring was put on she
Dived underneath and disappeared for ever
In the world where the mermaids swim
And then the little mermaid’s song was heard by people who were walking on the shore
In the town of Copenhagen where the waves lap on the shore
There’s a statue of a mermaid based upon the story
About a little mermaid who returned once more
To the waves a tale you might remember
If you ever hear a mermaid sing
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8. |
Pinocchio
05:52
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There was a boy who was made out of wood
By Geppetto his dad the poor puppeteer
The wooden boy dreamt he would one day be real
But being easily led he would end up in trouble
Just like the time with the fox and the cat
Who led him astray and spent all his money
Then the ghost of a talking cricket he’d killed
And a turquoise haired fairy tried to tempt him out of trouble
They said if you don’t want your nose to grow then don’t lie Pinocchio
And if you don’t want to be made of wood Pinocchio you must be good
But Pinocchio didn’t listen to their advice
And went off again with the fox and the cat
Who hung poor Pinocchio up from a tree
Till the turquoise-haired fairy cut him down at the double
When she asked him how he had got in such a mess
Pinocchio blamed everyone except himself
Until he caught sight of the length of his nose
And cried fairy is there no end to my troubles?
She said if you don’t want your nose to grow then don’t lie Pinocchio
And if you don’t want to be made of wood Pinocchio you must be good
The fairy said I’ll help you out one more time
And a woodpecker chiselled his nose down to size
But things got much worse when a dogfish arrived
And swallowed his dad in a big cloud of bubbles
Pinocchio tried hard at school for a bit
But ran off to Toyland with the boy Candlewick
Where he turned into a donkey and was thrown in the sea
And into the dogfish’s mouth Pinocchio tumbled…
When he escaped from the dogfish’s mouth
Pinocchio started to turn his life around
He worked on a farm and when the fairy was ill
He used all his money just to make her feel better
That night he dreamt that she gave him a kiss
He awoke in the morning surprised to see his
Wooden body right there lying beside the bed
And he saw a real boy when he looked under the covers
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Jaggy Nettles Glasgow, UK
In 2015, Bluebell Woods resident, Jaggy Nettles started singing fairy tales to his two junior nettles before bedtime. They enjoyed them so much that Jaggy decided to start performing and recording them for children (and adults) everywhere. More recently, Jaggy Nettles has been writing and performing some songs about climate change. ... more
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