00:00Look down, look all around. Up in the air or on the ground. Come for a walk, come for a ride. There's so much to see, so come outside.
00:21Bright yellow petals, strong green leaves, seeds that float up on the breeze. We grow in the country, we grow in the town. Seeds as light as thistle-down. What are we? We're dandelions.
00:51Look, Pippin. I remember that ball. There wasn't much left by the time you'd finished playing with it.
01:04Hello, my dears. That's Pippin, when she was a puppy. She was only eight weeks old.
01:12Pippin, Pippin. I made a video with my camcorder to remind myself what she was like then.
01:20Hasn't she grown? She liked to play all the time then.
01:27She still likes to play.
01:31Oh, this won't do. I must get on with my gardening. Come on.
01:36Oh, yes. I do need to do a bit of gardening.
01:54I didn't plant these weeds here.
01:58They just grew by themselves.
01:59Not now, Pippin.
02:05Go and play.
02:07I need to finish my gardening.
02:12Merry, merry, quite contrary.
02:16How does your garden grow?
02:19With silver bells and cockle shells.
02:23And pretty maids all in a row, row, row.
02:27And pretty maids all in a row.
02:36And look what's growing in my garden.
02:39Dandelions.
02:42I know where they come from.
02:44Let me tell you the story.
02:46We were going to have a day out in the city, so I took my camcorder.
02:52How is that?
03:13I know where they come from.
03:18It won't be long now, Pippin.
03:28Look, there it is.
03:33Tower Bridge.
03:39First we went to the Tower of London.
04:03There was a wonderful view of Tower Bridge and the river.
04:07Boats going under the bridge. Cars and lorries going across.
04:16Pippin, you stay there and we'll see how this looks.
04:30Come on, Pippin. Let's look at the Tower.
04:33The Tower of London was built hundreds of years ago.
04:38Come on, let's go and see.
04:42In the old days, boats could sail up the river, right to the Tower.
04:51And people came in through this gate.
04:53Then we went to look for the ravens that live in the Tower of London.
05:06Oh, look, Pippin. There's one. And another.
05:12There are eight ravens and they're looked after by the raven master.
05:19How are you?
05:20Very well.
05:21He told me there's a story that as long as the ravens stay here, the Tower and the kingdom will be safe.
05:33The raven master had a very smart uniform.
05:36That's because he's one of the yeoman guard who protect the Tower.
05:40People also call them beef eaters.
05:43Perhaps they eat a lot of beef.
05:45That would make Pippin a sausage eater.
05:48Bye.
05:50The Tower of London is a very old building.
05:53But the city is full of new buildings too.
05:56We went to have a look.
06:26We walked and walked.
06:44And then we found a place by the river where we could sit down.
06:50It was very peaceful, even though it was in the middle of the city.
06:55I was amazed how things managed to grow there.
06:59Like those dandelions growing between the paving stones.
07:07Some of the dandelion's seeds had landed on Pippin's coat.
07:15If these seeds land on some soil, they might grow into new dandelion plants.
07:22Even here in the city.
07:25Up in the city.
07:27In amongst the buildings.
07:29Where the traffic crumbles on its way.
07:34Nothing much is growing in the busy city.
07:38Except a little plant we found today.
07:42Dandelion.
07:43Dandelion yellow.
07:44Dandelion green.
07:46Dandelion green.
07:48Dandelion growing in the city.
07:49In amongst the concrete.
07:51Dandelion leaves.
07:52Dandelion looking very pretty.
07:54dandelion lives, dandelion looking very pretty. Up in the city, in the dusty city, where
08:07the people hurry on their way. No time for flowers in the dusty city, except a little
08:17plant we found today. Dandelion yellow, dandelion green, dandelion growing in the city. In
08:29amongst the concrete, dandelion lives, dandelion looking very pretty.
08:37Oh, just a moment Pippin. Stay. You've still got some dandelion seeds on your coat. I don't
08:54want them all over my kitchen floor. There. The seeds fell on the ground and began to grow.
09:06Each seed grows roots and leaves. The roots drink water from the ground. The leaves need
09:16light and air. Slowly, the plant grows bigger and bigger. And then some flowers appear. Soon,
09:29the petals dry up and die. But now, the seeds are growing. Each seed has its own tiny little
09:38white hairy parachute. And when the wind blows, they float away. Each one looking for a patch
09:46of soil to grow in. And here they are. All these dandelions grew from seeds that got stuck to
09:59Pippin's coat and travelled all the way from the city to my garden. Not everyone wants dandelions
10:06growing in their garden. But I like them. That reminds me of a story. Let me see if I can remember it.
10:16Once upon a time, there was a garden. In the middle of the garden was a flower bed. And in
10:23the flower bed grew seven lilies. They were tall and proud and thought they were very important.
10:34They loved the sunshine. And they loved the rain. And every day they would sing. We are lilies,
10:42we are ground. There is flowers in the land. One day, the lily on the left suddenly screamed.
10:49Oh, my leaves and petals. Look what's growing in our bed. And there beside her was a clump
10:57of dandelions. The lilies were horrified. Go away, they cried. You're weeds. You don't
11:05belong here. You're spoiling our lovely flower bed. How can we go away? said the dandelions.
11:13We're growing here. Oh, yuck. Spit, spit, spit, said the lilies. How can we beautiful lilies
11:22share a bed with you, small, ugly little dandelions? And they turned their heads away. Then they
11:30saw Mrs walking down the garden towards them. She was carrying her garden tunes. Oh, look,
11:37said the lily on the left. Here comes Mrs to do some gardening. She'll be bound to dig up
11:43you horrible little dandelions and throw you on the compost heap. The dandelions shivered
11:49with fright as Mrs came nearer and nearer and knelt down beside them. She took a big pair of
11:58scissors from her basket and snip. She picked one of the lilies. Then she picked another.
12:07Then another. Oh, my leaves and petals, shouted the lily on the left as she too was picked
12:15and put in the basket. When Mrs had picked all seven lilies, she took them indoors. The dandelions
12:23were left safe and sound in the flower bed. Later that day, Mrs put a vase of flowers in her window
12:32and there were the lilies. No more sunshine and no more rain. All they could do was look out of the window
12:41and watch the little dandelions living happily ever after in the garden. Just like these. Pippin, come and look at your dandelions. Pippin!
12:59Where ever did you find this? It's the ball she used to play with when she was a puppy. Look at the state of this.
13:14It looks as though we're going to have lots more dandelions next year.
