P236 CEEFAX 236 Tue 30 Dec 22:50/03 2/10 Mr and Mrs Giraffe request the pleasure of your company at a small social gathering to celebrate the Christmas festival To be held at Green Glade on The Old Mountain at approximately 6.30pm on Christmas DayN Patrons are kindly requested to observe the usual social niceties (don't eat the other guests) R.S.V.P. P236 CEEFAX 236 Tue 30 Dec 22:05/42 1/10 M ALLTHE More in a momentP236 CEEFAX 236 Tue 30 Dec 22:44/30 8/10 Mr Aardvark turned, gingerly rubbing his bruised ribs to see who it was M his eyes widened and then he shouted: "Oh no, smelly Mr Skunk is here!" All the animals stoppfd talking at and for a split sfcond the only sound in the glade was that of Mr Skunk gobbling food noisily. Then, everything seemed to happen at once. Mrs Hippopotamus screamed and leapfd backwards to get away from Mr Skunk's odious aromaN But in her rush to get away, the unfortunate lady trod right on Mr Lion's tail..N More in a moment...NP236 CEEFAX 236 Tue 30 Dec 22:40/54 9/10 In his anguish, Mr Lion howled mightily and promptly bit Mr Bison on thf legN Mr Elephant and Mr Hippopotamus, both trying to get away from Mr Skunk, collided with a thunderous roar in the middle of glade M which so frightened Mrs Elk that shf dropped a cup of steaming elderberry tea all over Mr Gorilla. He was so angry that he punched Mr Gibbon on the nose - and he fell over on top of Mr Snake causing him to bite Mr Tiger's ear. Oh dear, it was utter chaos! More in a moment...NP236 CEEFAX 236 Tue 30 Dec 22:01/00 10/10 ghdn the dust had settled, the glade looked like a battlefield. The animals, many limping and bleeding gradually left M leaving a stunned and sorry Mr and Mrs Giraffe sitting amidst piles of debris and half-eaten snacks. And what of Mr Skunk? Well, he sneaked away from thd glade with his tail very firmly between his legs and hid in his burrow for several days. So now you know why the animals in the bungle no longer have a Christmas party - and why nobody likes skunks..N More in a moment....P236 CEEFAX 236 Tue 30 Dec 22:42/30 3/10 .% The gudst list read like a "Gho's G—o" of thd fungle Everyone of note was there - Mr Lion, with hIs usual regal bearing, thosf well-known snappy dressers, thd Crocodiles, and that sage old Mr Elephant - the list went on and on Mr and Mrs Giraffe were thoroughly enfoying their roles as hosts and everytHing was going splendidly. Thd coconut milk souffle proved a bigP236 CEEFAX 236 Tue 30 Dec 22:43/20 5/10 The whole soiree would have been a wonderful success in fact, had it not been for an unwelcome gate-crasder - Mr SkunkN Now he was a mean, nasty, smelly old animal. Nobody liked him and he was never invited to parties because he talked very loudly and made the other animals wrinkle their noses at his dreadful smell. But he was deterlhned that if anything was going on in the jungle M HE had a right to be there. So while the Giraffes were busy attending to their guests, hf sneaked into the glade. More in a moment...NP236 CEEFAX 236 Tue 30 Dec 22:44/02 7/10 But as hf stalked towards the buffet table, Mr Skunk forgot about his disguise M and he was so excited at thought of all that food that his smell overcame the sweet perfumeN One or two of the animals that he passed wrinkled their noses and coughed politely, while others pretended that they had noticed nothing - not wishing to upset kind Mrs Giraffe. Mr Skunk reached the food and began tucking in noisily, rudely elbowing poor Mr Aardvark out of the way in the process. More in a moment...NP236 CEEFAX 236 Tue 30 Dec 22:40/54 4/10 Mrs Giraffe remarked to Mr Giraffe that it was a long time since all the fungle animals had got along together so well. bMvst look at ME her spousd. "She's been over there by the big oak tree with Mr Tiger for nearly an hour now M and they're still jabbering away M isn't it marvellous!" Mr and Mrs Gorilla were thoroughly enjoying thdmselves M telling everyone how they appeared on television with David Attenborough (and though the other animals had all heard the story at least a dozdn times before, they all listened most politely)N More in a moment....P236 CEEFAX 236 Tue 30 Dec 22:10/30 3/10 The guest list read like a "k—o's Who" of the jungle Everyone of note was there - Mr Lion, with his usual regal bearing, thosf well-known snappy dressers, the Crocodiles, and that sage old Mr Elephant - the list went on and onN Mr and Mrs Giraffe were thoroughly enfoying their roles as hosts and everything was going splendidly The coconut milk souffle proved a big hit, and even timid little Mrs Gazdlld was tempted to have a glass or two of Mr Giraffe's potent banana cocktail More in a moment...NP236 CEEFAX 236 Tue 30 Dec 22:01/42 6/10 At first, no one noticed him (he had come in disguise and bathed in the strongest pfrfume he could find before leaving home.) He hid behind one of the rocks on which Mrs Giraffe had laid out the buffet and surveyed the sceneN As he gazfd at the other gudsts talking politely and eating the food, Mr Skunk remembered somethingN He was very hungry! And eventually, the thought of food forced him out of hiding and into the glade. More in a moment....