This is the story about the wooden tops.
There was Mummy Wooden Top and the baby, and Daddy Wooden Top.
Then there were Willie and Jenny the twins, and Mrs. Scrubbit who comes to help Mummy
Wooden Top, and Sam who helps Daddy Wooden Top, and last of all, the very biggest spotty
dog you ever did see.
And they all live together in a little house in the country.
One day the children, Willie and Jenny, had been out in the field with Sam.
They had been helping him to toss some hay for the animals.
Cows and pigs and horses like hay.
Nearby Dobbin was picking out the kind of grass he liked best, and every now and then
he took a little hay, just for a change.
Each time he did so, Sam drove him off.
No Dobbin, you be off.
You got plenty of good fresh grass all round you, so you leave my hay alone.
Go along now, be off.
Be off with you Dobbin.
Horses, give them fresh grass and they want hay.
Give them hay and they want grass.
Sam, tell us about your uncle's horse that went so slowly you could hardly see him move.
Oh yes Sam, you tell such lovely stories.
But you know that story, heard it dozens of times.
Oh but tell us again Sam.
Yes do.
Oh alright, I can feel you there.
Oh dear Dobbin.
Go on Sam.
Well, I don't know if this is a true story, but it's what my uncle John told me.
He used to work on a farm a long way away from here.
Ploughman he was.
He used to get the fields already every year for planting seed and an old horse...
Called Bob.
Yeah, he used to pull the plough.
Do ploughs go fast Sam?
Well this one didn't, especially with Bob pulling it.
He just went as slow as he could.
Stop tickling me.
The old Bob, you know, he never went fast at the best of times.
But show him a plough and he'd creep along so you couldn't tell he was moving hardly.
Oh Dobbin, he's not eating the straw.
Let him stay, he wants to hear the story.
Don't you Dobbin?
Alright then.
Go on Sam, go on.
Alright, well one day my uncle John was just standing holding the handles of his plough...
Because old Bob was stopping to think things over for a bit.
When he saw a field mouse run up Bob's leg, over his shoulder and sit on his back just by the saddle.
Oh!
Dobbin made me jump.
Me too.
Sounded as if he was laughing.
Well, my uncle John, he laughed too.
Before you could say knife, up came another mouse and sat down beside the first one.
And they began to talk to each other.
Oh!
Mice can't talk.
Well, my uncle John thought they could.
He got so as he could understand them in time.
And the mice came again, didn't they Sam?
Every day?
Yes, every day.
Every day at the same place, old Bob would creep along so slowly that the two mice had plenty of time to run up his leg...
Come.
And sit down for a little chat and a nice ride up the field and back.
Your uncle John liked the mice to come, didn't he Sam?
Yes, he did.
He's breathing down me neck again.
You know, you get sort of lonely sometimes out in the fields all by yourself.
Some men talk to their horses.
But it wasn't much use talking to old Bob, because he was asleep half his time.
Yes.
Dobbin, isn't he funny when he laughs?
Yes.
What happened then Sam?
Well, one day when they came to the place where the mice got on, as you might say, only one of them came running up.
Uncle John waited, and the mouse waited, and old Bob, he waited.
That was easy for him, because he'd gone to sleep.
After a time there was a little squeak somewhere down by Bob's foot.
And there was a second mouse, calling out to her friend.
What did she say, Sam?
What she said?
She said, I can't come for a ride up the field today, because I'm in a hurry.
So...
I'm going to walk!
Fancy a mouse going faster than a horse!
Hello?
Where's Dobbin?
Hey, hey Dobbin.
Dobbin, come here lad.
What's the matter, Sam?
Oh, Dobbin, he's lame.
Must have lost a shoe.
Have a look.
Oh, poor Dobbin.
Come on, lift it up, boy.
What's the matter, Sam?
Come on, up, up.
Oh dear, oh dear, what a nuisance.
Here, you young'uns run up to Daddy Woodentop and tell him that I'll have to take Dobbin over to the blacksmith's.
Oh, Sam, may we come too?
Yes, if you like.
Oh, God!
I'll just fix it up good enough to get there.
Hurry up now.
Oh, John's horse.
Quick, let's go and look for Daddy Woodentop.
I know where he is, Willy.
Well, let's hurry.
Oh, look, there he is.
Daddy! Daddy!
Daddy Woodentop!
Daddy!
So Sam fixed Dobbin's shoe on well enough for him to walk into the village to see the blacksmith.
And by the time the twins got back, he'd nearly finished.
There you are, nearly ready.
Does it hurt him, Sam?
No, not a bit.
Quiet now, boy.
Oh, he just wonders why he's got to stand still, that's all.
Steady there. Steady, boy.
Whoa there, Dobbin.
Good boy.
Does he know he's going to have a new shoe, Sam?
Well, I don't know about that.
But he'll soon know when he gets it.
Why does he have to have a new shoe?
Oh, he's lost a nail.
Look, that one there.
Oh, yes.
So the shoe's loose.
It's worn, too. Look.
So it is.
Do all horses have to have shoes, Sam?
Oh, no. No, not little ones.
They only run about in the fields and play on the grass.
That's soft, you see, and doesn't hurt their feet.
But when they have to walk on rough ground or go on the roads like Dobbin,
they need iron shoes.
And if they didn't have iron shoes and had to walk over stones,
they'd hurt their feet, wouldn't they, Sam?
Yes, my dear, they would.
Then they couldn't walk properly.
I'd rather be a little horse and run about in the fields without any shoes at all.
Like in the song.
Shoo the little horse and shoo the little mare
And let the little coat run bare, bare, bare
Shoo the little horse and shoo the little mare
And let the little coat run bare, bare, bare
What's a coat, Sam?
A coat? Well, it's just another name for a baby horse.
Now, we're all ready.
Come on, Dobbin.
Gee up, Dobbin. Gee up, Dobbin.
Gee up.
Shoo the little horse and shoo the little mare
So off they went to the blacksmith's,
and they'd hardly got as far as the lane
before Spottydog came rushing along.
When he saw no one, he was quite surprised.
And he was rather cross to think they'd all gone off without him.
So he sat down on the grass and lifted up his head and began to howl.
He went on howling until suddenly he saw Mummy Woodentop putting Baby down on the grass.
And he came running up to her.
And she said, Spotty, whatever's the matter?
Oh, poor Spotty. Did they go off and leave you?
Never mind. You stay here and look after Baby for me.
There you are.
Now, don't let him crawl away, Spotty.
I shan't be long.
Be a good boy.
So Mummy Woodentop went away again,
and Baby Woodentop began to shuffle after Spotty.
And then Spotty pretended to hide and went behind the box.
He was really playing peep-bo with the baby,
but he had to bark because he couldn't say peep-bo.
Then Baby Woodentop thought he'd like to hide, and he started off as fast as he could go.
And he went on and on and on and on.
But Spotty ran round and stopped him from going too far.
So the baby turned another way.
But it didn't matter which way he turned,
Spotty Dog was always there to stop him from getting lost.
Mummy Woodentop had come out to see what all the noise was about,
and when she saw how happy they were, she went away.
Spotty Dog thought it was time to have a rest,
so he sat down and began to sing to the baby in a doggy sort of voice.
And this is what he sang.
There was a poor dog and they left him alone.
They didn't so much as leave him a bone.
Poor Spotty Dog, poor Spotty Dog.
They all went away and left him alone.
He'll never come out again.
Poor Spotty Dog, poor Spotty Dog.
When Mommy Woodentop came back, she said,
Thank you for looking after baby Spotty.
You're a very good dog.
And she sat down and sang too.
There was a poor dog and they left him alone.
They didn't so much as leave him a bone.
Poor Spotty dog, poor Spotty dog,
They all went away and left him alone.
Then Mommy Woodentop stayed and played with baby and Spotty.
I can see you baby.
There you are.
There's baby Woodentop.
Go wee baby.
Pee, poo.
And while they were playing, they heard tramp, tramp, tramp.
And there was Dobbin with the children riding on his back.
Here we are.
We rode all the way back from the blacksmiths.
How did you get on?
We had a lovely time.
Sam lifted us up.
Where is Sam?
He's just coming.
He's talking to Daddy.
We can't turn around because Sam said we weren't to move in case we fell off.
One day soon, Daddy Woodentop is going to teach you how to ride.
Both of us?
Yes, of course.
I expect baby will want to learn too.
He's too little.
And there we must leave them.
Willie and Jenny riding on Dobbin,
Mommy Woodentop watching,
and Spotty still looking after the baby.
Goodbye, Woodentops, until next time.