0:00 Right then, love, snuggle down.0:02 A twig snapped right outside the windowpane.0:05 Last week, young Chloe proved those spooky whispers against her bedroom glass were only ivy leaves dancing in the gale.0:14 But tonight, that sharp snap out in the garden sounded entirely different.0:20 It didn't sound like leaves at all.0:23 It sounded like footsteps.0:25 Alex sat bolt upright under the duvet, holding his breath until his cheeks puffed out.0:32 His clock showed ten past nine.0:34 The whole house was still, save for the kettle cooling on the stove downstairs and the wind sighing through the chimney.0:43 Then came the noise again.0:45 Scratch.0:46 Scritch.0:46 Crunch.0:47 Something was creeping through the cabbage patch.0:51 Alex grabbed his yellow torch from the bedside table.0:55 He crept to the window on tiptoe, careful to skip the third floorboard because that one always squeaked like a squashed mouse.1:05 He peeked through the curtains into the silver moonlight.1:09 Down below, by the compost heap, the tall runner beans were shaking.1:14 Now, there were no monsters in Yorkshire, Alex knew that for a fact.1:20 His grandad always said the only monsters about were the ones who forgot to wipe their boots.1:27 Yet something down there was definitely rustling.1:30 He slipped into his dressing gown and tied the cord tight.1:35 He had to know.1:36 Creeping down the stairs, one socked foot at a time, he reached the back door.1:42 The brass key turned with a tiny click.1:45 A cool rush of night air smelled of damp earth and mint.1:49 Alex switched the torch on.1:52 A round beam of yellow light sliced straight across the lawn.1:56 The garden was utterly silent.1:59 He took three slow steps onto the damp grass.2:02 The shadows of the apple trees stretched out like long, spindly fingers across the path.2:09 Rustle.2:09 Rustle.2:10 Thud.2:10 Alex aimed the beam right at the wooden wheelbarrow.2:14 His heart did a quick little tap-dance against his ribs.2:19 Two shiny black beads gleamed back from the darkness beneath the wheel.2:24 "Who's there?" Alex whispered into the dark.2:28 The creature didn't roar.2:29 It didn't growl.2:31 Instead, it let out a loud, snuffling sneeze.2:34 Out waddled a tiny, round hedgehog, covered in prickly brown spikes and wearing a bright red strawberry top right on its snout like a daft little hat.2:46 It had tipped over the strawberry tub and got completely stuck inside a discarded plant pot.2:53 Alex let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.2:57 The beast of the garden wasn't a shadow monster after all.3:02 It was just a very greedy, very clumsy hedgehog looking for a midnight snack.3:08 Alex gently tilted the plastic pot with the tip of his slipper.3:12 The hedgehog wriggled free, shook its prickly coat, and munched happily on a squished berry, not caring a bit about the brave boy standing above it.3:24 Alex clicked off the torch.3:26 In the gentle moonlight, the garden didn't seem dark or scary anymore.3:31 It was just full of sleepy little neighbours minding their own business.3:37 He slipped back inside, locked the bolt, and climbed right back under the warm covers.3:44 His toes were freezing, but his chest felt huge and brave.3:48 The garden had its mysteries, aye, but none of them were anything a pair of slippers and a kind heart couldn't solve.3:57 Night night, sleep tight, chuck.
