Today

2008 - Oliver Postgate died.

(He created some of my best-loved characters for children's TV: Ivor the Engine, Noggin the Nog, the Clangers and of course Bagpuss.)



Once upon a time,
Not so long ago,
There was a little girl, and her name was Emily,
And she had a shop...

There it is.
It was rather an unusual shop because it didn't sell anything.
You see, everything in that shop window was a thing that somebody had once lost,
And Emily had found,
And brought home to Bagpuss.
Emily's cat Bagpuss.
The most Important,
The most Beautiful,
The most Magical,
Saggy old cloth cat in the whole wide world.

Well now, one day Emily found a thing,
And she brought it back to the shop,
And put it down in front of Bagpuss
Who was in the shop window fast asleep as usual.
But then Emily said some magic words:-

"Bagpuss, dear Bagpuss,
Old fat furry cat-puss
Wake up and look at this thing that I bring.
Wake up, be bright
Be golden and light
Bagpuss, Oh hear what I sing."

And Bagpuss was wide awake,
And when Bagpuss wakes up all his friends wake up too.
The mice on the mouse-organ woke up and stretched.
Madeleine, the rag doll.
Gabriel, the toad.
And last of all, Professor Yaffle, who was a very distinguished old woodpecker,
He climbed down off his bookend and went to see what it was that Emily had brought.

Bagpuss gave a big yawn, and settled down to sleep
And of course when Bagpuss goes to sleep, all his friends go to sleep too
The mice were ornaments on the mouse-organ
Gabriel and Madeleine were just dolls
And Professor Yaffle was a carved wooden bookend in the shape of a woodpecker
Even Bagpuss himself once he was asleep was just an old, saggy cloth cat
Baggy, and a bit loose at the seams
But Emily loved him