Muffin the Mule is a puppet character in a British 1946-1955 television programme for children. The puppet had been made in 1933 for Hogarth Puppets. The original TV programmes featuring the animal character himself were presented by Annette Mills, and broadcast live by the BBC from their studios at

Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is a Grade II listed entertainment and sports venue in London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. It is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and the later Tottenham Wood Farm. Origi ...

from

Autumn Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September ( Northern Hemisphere) or March ( ...

1946 to

Winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultur ...

1952. Mills and the puppet continued with programmes that were broadcast until 1955, when Mills died. The television series then transferred to ITV in 1956 and 1957. A modern animated version of ''Muffin the Mule'' aired on the British CBeebies channel between

2005 and

Summer Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...

2008 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

History

The original mule puppet himself was created in 1933 by

Punch and Judy Punch and Judy is a traditional puppet show featuring Mr. Punch and his wife Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically Mr. Punch and one other character ...

puppet maker Fred Tickner for husband-and-wife puppeteers Jan Bussell (1909–1984) and Ann Hogarth to form part of a puppet circus for the Hogarth Puppet Theatre.Official Website
/ref>
/ref> The act was soon put away, and the puppet was not taken out again until 1946, when Bussell and Hogarth were working with presenter Annette Mills. She named the puppet mule "Muffin", and it first appeared on television in an edition of ''

For the Children ''For the Children'' is a British television programme targeted at children of school age. First broadcast on the BBC Television Service in 1937 at 3pm as the opening programme for afternoon viewing (as television would generally be broadcast f ...

'' broadcast on 20 October 1946. The character proved popular, and ran on BBC television until 1955 when the BBC decided to discontinue the show after Mills' death. Muffin reappeared on BBC television on 27 January 1957 with Jan Bussell as his companion. Typically, Muffin danced on top of a

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

as Mills played its keys. Muffin was supported by a host of other puppet characters who appeared occasionally, including Kirri the Kiwi, Zebbie the

Zebra Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: the Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. zebr ...

, Hubert the

Hippopotamus The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two exta ...

and Sally the

Sea Lion Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

to name just a few. A separate series of 15-minute episodes, ''Muffin the Mule'', was broadcast from 1952, along with his signature tune, called "We want Muffin". Muffin became a television star, and a wide range of spin-off merchandise was made using the Muffin character, including books, records, games and toys. Muffin also was made into one of the first-ever licensed kids' rides. A die-cast movable puppet was produced by Lesney Products, "the first toy to be marketed under licence as a result of a successful TV appearances."Label on the display at the Museum of Childhood, Edinburgh In the early 1950s, a Fleetways weekly magazine, ''Woman's Illustrated'', featured on its children's page (Gnomes Club) stories about Muffin the Mule and/or his friends. Some were written by Annette Mills and illustrated by

Molly Blake Molly Suzanne Blake ( McClenaghan; 14 August 1917 – 9 June 2011)

, Annette's daughter, such as "Muffin meets the Rear Light" in 1953; others did not state who the illustrator was, such as in 1953 "Muffin's Good Deed" by Mills, and many stories were written and illustrated only by Blake such as "Willie Disappears" (a Muffin story) on 20 August 1955. Bussell and Hogarth, and later their daughter Sally McNally (1936–2004), continued to use Muffin the Mule in their own shows. Surviving original episodes of Muffin the Mule remain available on DVD in the United Kingdom. Archive footage of the original 1946 series was shown on a television set in the 2006 ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

'' story " The Idiot's Lantern".The Idiots Lantern
Dr Who Episode guide, BBC, Retrieved 10 February 2017 Muffin was invited to take part in 2021's Children in Need night.Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine

Book

A book containing a selection of the stories was published in the Soviet Union in 1958. At least three cartoons based on it were made in 1974 and 1975. These cartoons and the book make Muffin a

donkey The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as ...

rather than a mule.

2005 TV series

The rights to Muffin the Mule were bought by Maverick Entertainment in 2003, and a new 25-part animated version of ''Muffin the Mule'' was shown on the British CBeebies TV channel. First aired in September 2005 and repeated until August 2008. The new television series was also translated into Welsh as "Myffin y Mul" and broadcast in Wales on the S4C channel.

Characters and voice cast

* Muffin the Mule (voiced by David Holt) - The title character who lives in a

caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals *Convoy, a group of veh ...

and often acts like a big brother to all his friends in Muffinham village who he loves dearly. Muffin enjoys trying to help all his friends, but he does still tend to sulk or get cross if things do not go his way. He is, however, easily "jollied" out of these moods and is with masses of enthusiasm for life. He is also rather partial to a cup of tea and a slice of

carrot cake Carrot cake (also known as passion cake) is cake that contains carrots mixed into the batter. Most modern carrot cake recipes have a white cream cheese frosting. Sometimes nuts such as walnuts or pecans are added into the cake batter, as we ...

. His friends all look to Muffin for guidance and despite his little "mischievous"

nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...

, they would do anything for him too. Although Muffin can be quite cheeky, he puts on his red and yellow thinking cap whenever a problem occurs and always does his best to think of a possible solution. * Peregrine the

Penguin Penguins (order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adap ...

(voiced by

Jimmy Hibbert James Christian Hibbert is an English actor and writer. He is best known for his voice work with the animation studio Cosgrove Hall Films. Early life James Christian Hibbert was born as the eldest of three children of author Christopher Hibber ...

) - Muffinham's inventor who lives in an igloo and is one of Muffin's closest friends and has appeared in virtually all the episodes along with Muffin. He is very keen to help out, but he does tend to interfere and comes across as quite short and bossy, although he always means well. Peregrine is a very clever and important-but flightless bird, and spends most of the day working, occasionally on top secret things like, "How many sardines a living penguin can fit into his mouth". He does not suffer fools lightly and is always more than capable of telling them so. * Louise the Lamb (voiced by Sue Elliot Nicholls) - Monty's best friend with a very unknown accent who lives in a pink and red knitted

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...

of her very own, is also very close friends (and often goes out on walks through and sometimes around the

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

) with Grace. * Peter the Dog (voiced by

) - Muffin's best friend who lives in a kennel and has so much energy that he just cannot sit still. He has a very good sense of smell and always wants to use it to try and help solve the mystery or the problem of every show. Although his enthusiasm to help out can get him into big trouble on occasions, like the time when he decided to bury all the precious things that his friends had, as he wanted to protect them and keep them safe from getting lost – on the face of it this does sound like a good idea, but only if he can remember where he buried them in the first place. * Oswald the

Ostrich Ostriches are large flightless birds of the genus ''Struthio'' in the order Struthioniformes, part of the infra-class Palaeognathae, a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus, rheas, and kiwis. There ...

(voiced by Jimmy Hibbert) - Willie's partner with a thick British accent who is flightless and lives in a garden shed but unfortunately has a tendency to walk around the village along with his beak wide open, and so it is often heard in the village of Muffinham that his friends, (particularly his clever friend, Willie) are calling out "Don't gape, Oswald!" to which Oswald generally replies with a "Duh", even though he is caring and kind. He and Willie the Worm are the best of friends and inseparable and like to bury both their heads in the sandpit for hours on end. * Willie the

Worm Worms are many different distantly related bilateral animals that typically have a long cylindrical tube-like body, no limbs, and no eyes (though not always). Worms vary in size from microscopic to over in length for marine polychaete wor ...

(voiced by David Holt) - Oswald's partner with a memorable accent who is often carried around on top of Oswald's back. * Grace the

Giraffe The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, '' Giraffa camelopardal ...

(voiced by Maria Darling) - Louise's closest friend with a soft, light English accent who lives in a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses m ...

near Muffinham

Beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc s ...

and is incredibly elegant with her long

neck The neck is the part of the body on many vertebrates that connects the head with the torso. The neck supports the weight of the head and protects the nerves that carry sensory and motor information from the brain down to the rest of the body. In ...

and long eyelashes. Grace is very good friends with Louise, but whenever they go out for walks in (or around) the village of Muffinham, they make sure that each other are always looking their best. Although Grace's age is not made clear, Grace loves nothing more than a good natter with her friends "chewing the cud" over a spot of tea and a really good muffin – the edible variety. * Monty the

Monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...

(voiced by Sue Elliott Nicholls) - Muffin's first mate with a memorable British accent who not only lives in a tree house, but has pink ears and can frequently cause mischief in the village. The accidents that Monty sometimes causes are a continuous threat to the calm of Muffinham. If there is either chaos or a mishap anywhere in Muffinham village, the chances always are that Monty won't be far away. * Morris

Mouse A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

(voiced by David Holt) - One of Monty's neighbours with a memorable upper-class English accent who lives in a straw house with his wife, Doris Mouse. He enjoys digging his potato patch as well as gardening and is ever eager to try and solve problems, as opposed to Muffin. * Doris Mouse (voiced by Maria Darling) - Morris Mouse's wife with a childish English accent who lives in the straw house near Muffinham Village's orchard.

Episodes (2005-2011 TV series)

1. Wish Upon A Star - Despite stargazing one cool

winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultur ...

's night with Muffin the Mule and Monty the mischievous monkey making a "star" out of "silver paper and cardboard" as well as Peregrine the penguin building a "highly powerful

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to obse ...

" to study the stars and then seeing an

alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...

that looks just like Willie the Worm, Louise the lamb learns that all real wishes must always be kept secret. Episode Animators: Brian Larkin, Paul Cowen 2. The Party - After Grace the Giraffe receives a grammophone from Postman Kangaroo, Louise the Lamb decides to prepare a

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often featu ...

in her

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

. She invites everyone in the village, including Monty the cheeky monkey. However, when Muffin agrees to help organize the party for Louise and make preparations, Monty the Monkey himself overhears and, after being given the job of delivering the invitations to everyone in Muffinham, he becomes too curious and opens all six invitations whilst delivering them, causing him to disorganize them by mistake. In the end, after Monty eventually apologizes to all the other animals for (accidentally) mixing up all the party invitations, Morris and Doris Mouse and the other Muffinham Village residents do the jobs that they were meant to do in the first place, allowing the party to take place without any chaos. Episode Animator: Laurent Grisel 3. Muffin's Day Off - It is a sunny spring day in Muffinham Village, and Muffin the Mule is looking forward to a relaxing

picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...

in the woods. Unfortunately, just about all of the other residents of Muffinham need Muffin to help him solve all their problems. Monty the Monkey cannot cross the raging river unaided, Peregrine the Penguin has lost his only pair of blue "reading glasses", Morris and Doris Mouse cannot decide whether to have red or pink roses beside their straw house's front door, and Grace the Giraffe's hooves are purple instead of grey and black. Muffin the Mule comes to the rescue before sharing his afternoon picnic with all his friends, including Monty the cheeky Monkey. Episode Animators: Brian Larkin, Paul Cowen 4. No Place Like Home - It is a warm summer's day in Muffinham Village and Morris and Doris Mouse are both planning a surprise for Peter the dog - they are going to build him a brand new dog kennel to live in with the help of Muffin and all his crazy animal friends. However, when Peter overhears Morris and Doris Mouse talking about him moving away, he mistakenly thinks that they no longer want him to live with them in their straw house and nonetheless decides to find somewhere else in Muffinham to live. However, after visiting first Peregrine the Penguin, then Grace the giraffe, then Louise the Lamb, then Oswald the Ostrich and Willie the Worm and finally Monty the cheeky monkey, Peter the dog runs away and hides in the woods. In the end, it is Muffin the Mule who leads Peter to his new dog-kennel not far from Morris and Doris' garden and is relieved. Episode Animator: Chris Evans 5. Peregrine Helps Out - One chilly

day in Muffinham, 4 of the village residents have problems. A noisy

seagull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, ...

is building a

nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materi ...

on top of Grace the Giraffe's lighthouse, Willie the clever Worm is fed up of always moving slowly around the village, Louise the Lamb's drainpipe is broken and the bung for Morris and Doris' water butt is "rotten". Peregrine the Penguin is annoyed that everyone in Muffinham Village always goes to Muffin the Mule with all their problems, but is delighted when he is finally asked for advice, despite him eventually making an aircraft for Willie the Worm, which unknowingly solves everyone's problems in an unusual way before finally crashing straight into the hole in Morris and Doris' water butt with a big bang, damaging the water butt itself in the process. Episode Animator: Geoff Loynes 6. Moving House - Poor Oswald the Ostrich is desperate to

fly Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

and Peregrine the Penguin's new slinger machine gets him up in the air quicker than a gun's

bullet A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. Bullets are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax. Bullets are made in various shapes and co ...

. Unfortunately, Oswald himself crash lands into Peter the dog's kennel without warning him. Peregrine is only trying to help, but despite babysitting Peter in his

igloo An igloo (Inuit languages: , Inuktitut syllabics (plural: )), also known as a snow house or snow hut, is a type of shelter built of suitable snow. Although igloos are often associated with all Inuit, they were traditionally used only b ...

, his actions leave Muffin homeless too, when, that night, the caravan that he lives in rolls down the

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not a ...

along with Muffin himself fast asleep on board, in spite of Muffin suddenly forgetting clean about Morris and Doris' armchairs, which Morris and Doris Mouse tell Muffin earlier about "falling to bits". Episode Animator: Mark Mason 7. Whodunnit? - Things keep on mysteriously disappearing without a trace in Muffinham Village, first Peregrine the Penguin's best pen, Louise the Lamb's only wool curlers, then Morris Mouse's spade, and finally Willie the clever Worm. Unfortunately, it turns out that "a thief trap" that Peregrine the Penguin eventually decides to invent is not really needed, just because Muffin the mule then tells Peregrine the Penguin that there never really was a thief and that it was only Peter the dog who was trying to keep the things safe all along by just burying them underground. Episode Animator: Les Gibbard 8. Oswald's Garden Party - Oswald the Ostrich plans a bumper garden party for all his friends in Muffinham Village and he wants to grow everyone's favourite food. Unfortunately, his big, clumsy feet accidentally squash all the seeds and plants. Willie the worm does his best to help out, and, along with his other worm friends, he comes up with a very good solution - soft, crumbly

compost Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant, food waste, recycling organic materials and manure. The resulting ...

. Episode Animator: Mark Mason 9. Oswald's Big Egg - It's a warm

Spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a h ...

day in Muffinham Village, but Monty the Monkey is desperate for someone in Muffinham to bake him a cake, despite him being asked by Willie the Worm to scare away some hungry

crow A crow is a bird of the genus '' Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifica ...

s which are attacking Oswald the Ostrich's garden. Episode Animator: Chris Evans 10. Muffin's Photo Shoot - Muffin the Mule decides to take some photographs of all of his friends, in spite of Grace the Giraffe taking a quick

shower A shower is a place in which a person bathes under a spray of typically warm or hot water. Indoors, there is a drain in the floor. Most showers have temperature, spray pressure and adjustable showerhead nozzle. The simplest showers have a ...

near the nearby beach to be able to look perfect for the special occasion, and Louise the Lamb wanting Grace's sparkly

necklace A necklace is an article of jewellery that is worn around the neck. Necklaces may have been one of the earliest types of adornment worn by humans. They often serve ceremonial, religious, magical, or funerary purposes and are also used as sym ...

which she unfortunately loses, but Peregrine the Penguin eventually finds it trapped inside an old leaf-blowing machine, along with several fallen tree leaves, which he kindly lends to Morris and Doris Mouse, despite eventually trying unsuccessfully to empty the machine itself when it finally becomes full of fallen tree leaves. Episode Animator: Barry Parker 11. Muffin's Mules United - Muffin the Mule keeps fit by skipping with some skipping ropes, and everyone in Muffinham village wants to know how they can join in and get fit too. "Team sports" is the answer, so Muffin starts his own football team called ''Muffin's Mules United''. During their first-ever

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...

session, however, Muffin and his friends discover that they don't have a goal-keeper, so they try to persuade the fitness-shy Grace the giraffe to go between the goal-posts - but she is just not that keen on doing anything too strenuous. However, when Peter the Dog runs off the

football pitch A football pitch (also known as soccer field) is the playing surface for the game of association football. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play". The pitch is typically made of natural t ...

, Grace the giraffe goes to get him back, and when she does - she is Muffin's football team's star player, and all is well. Episode Animator: Mark Mason 12. Apple Pie Order - It is a cool

day in Muffinham Village, and Monty the monkey is mischievously stealing some apples from Morris Mouse's trees. Muffin and Morris Mouse come up with

ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to re ...

ly plans to catch the thief, despite Louise the Lamb planning to go to Grace the Giraffe's

for tea and having to look her best. Doris Mouse, on the other hand, wants to make some home-made

apple pie An apple pie is a fruit pie in which the principal filling ingredient is apples. The earliest printed recipe is from England. Apple pie is often served with whipped cream, ice cream ("apple pie à la mode"), or cheddar cheese. It is gene ...

s for everyone else in the village, which she eventually does. Episode Animators: Brian Larkin, Paul Cowen 13. Muffin's Harvest Home - It is the Muffinham Harvest Home Supper, and everyone in the village is busy cooking. Muffin the Mule is harvesting his oats, Grace the Giraffe is making toffee

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancest ...

s, Oswald the Ostrich and Willie the Worm are making deliveries and Louise the Lamb is making carrot cake. Doris Mouse has trouble making spiced apple jellies for Peter the Dog and the other residents of the village, as Monty the monkey steals her bright pink jelly bag without warning and gives it to Muffin in mistake for a "hay net", to which Muffin can hang up inside his caravan. Episode Animator: Laurent Grisel 14. If the Cap Fits - Brrrr! It is a very breezy Autumn day in Muffinham Village, and while Muffin the Mule is galloping to Louise the Lamb's rescue, a sudden gust of wind blows his only thinking cap away without him and Peter the Pup noticing. How can poor Muffin solve any problems without his yellow and red thinking cap? While Muffin worries about what to do, Peregrine the Penguin, Monty the Monkey, Oswald the ostrich, Willie the clever Worm and most of all Louise the Lamb all set out to make him a new and suitable thinking cap. In the end, it is Morris Mouse who comes up trumps and returns the thinking cap (which he finds on the head of a

scarecrow A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Lesle ...

that he built the day before) to its rightful owner, Muffin, following a hat fight with Doris Mouse earlier on. Episode Animator: Chris Evans 15. Louise Loses Her Top - Louise the Lamb feels frightened when she wakes up one sunny Autumn morning to find that Monty the monkey has deliberately stolen her pink woolly roof, along with a plate full of oatmeal biscuits that she had made for Muffin the mule the day before, following a brief chat with Peregrine the inventive penguin. Muffin the Mule and the gang are all keen to help, as Louise the Lamb has been so kind to them all. With some help from some purple scaffolding and Grace the giraffe, Louise's knitted house slowly comes back to life, despite Monty the monkey not being able to knit unaided. Episode Animators: Brian Larkin, Paul Cowen 16. Creepy Crawly - Louise the Lamb and Grace the Giraffe both have a problem with a

spider Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

and a

. Nonetheless, Muffin the Mule and Morris Mouse eventually deal with the creepy crawlies using a glass jar, despite Morris Mouse himself needing some help with picking some newly-grown raspberries from a crop of raspberries that he grew the previous day outside the straw house, along with Doris Mouse's help. Episode Animator: Mark Mason 17. Magnetic Muffin - Muffin the mule saves the day when he eventually finds some treasure under the sea, along with a special-but-precious necklace, which Grace the giraffe loses during a picnic and a walk along Muffinham Beach with her close friend, Louise the Lamb. Episode Animator: Mark Mason 18. Jurassic Farce - When Morris Mouse digs up some old skeleton

bone A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, ...

s in his potato patch, he thinks that he has found the remains of a

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

, so he enlists the help of Peregrine the Penguin, Muffin the Mule and the rest of their animal friends to rebuild it. During a game of hide and seek with Willie the Worm, however, Oswald the Ostrich stumbles across the model itself, and he thinks that he has seen a monster. He gathers the troops together in order to help him battle it, but before they can tell him what it really is, he has charged into it and sent it crashing, all over the place. Peregrine the Penguin is not pleased. Eventually, when everyone in Muffinham Village helps Morris Mouse to rebuild the dinosaur, including Grace the giraffe, the animal residents themselves discover that the dinosaur is still not complete, that is, until Morris Mouse tells the other animals that he hasn't "got all the bones". Will the final dinosaur bone ever be found? Episode Animator: Laurent Grisel 19. Oswald's Sandpit - It is a hot, sunny Summer's day in Muffinham Village and Oswald the Ostrich has nearly run out of sand in his sandpit, much to the disappointment of Morris and Doris Mouse. Oswald keeps banging the end of his beak on the sandpit's concrete base, much to Willie the Worm's frustration. Whilst reading a

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

and watching Louise the Lamb sit in her

deckchair A deckchair (or deck chair) is a folding chair, usually with a frame of treated wood or other material. The term now usually denotes a portable folding chair, with a single strip of fabric or vinyl forming the backrest and seat. It is meant f ...

in her front garden and reading, Monty the Monkey wants a drink and some cake, but the sun is too hot and strong. However, Muffin the Mule eventually comes to the rescue with a good solution and takes the other animals to Muffinham Beach, where, despite meeting Grace the giraffe there, they collect just enough sand (which they bring back to the village the following evening) to load into the sandpit, which, the following morning, makes Oswald the Ostrich feel better and sets Willie the Worm and the other Muffinham residents giggling like mad. Episode Animator: Les Gibbard 20. Grow Up, Peter Pup - Peter the dog overhears Morris Mouse saying that he should grow up and move out, so, the following morning, after a bad night's sleep in his dog-kennel, he leaves home. However, Peter the Dog still misses his warm milk and his pink fluffy slipper. Luckily, Muffin the mule explains to him that growing up is difficult for everyone in the world. Episode Animator: Chris Evans 21. Penguin of the Year - Peregrine the Penguin gets too big for his boots when, one cool Autumn day in Muffinham Village, he is voted as Penguin of the Year. Episode Animators: Brian Larkin, Paul Cowen 22. Don't Gape, Oswald - Willie the Worm wants Oswald the Ostrich to just stop gaping. Will Oswald ever feel good and complete Willie's mission, or will an afternoon of ripe strawberries and ice cream be doomed? 23. Make My Day - Muffin the Mule, Louise the Lamb and Peregrine the inventive Penguin are going to Muffinham Beach to fish for the day, so Grace the giraffe is relying on Monty the monkey to go shopping for her birthday party. On the way home, Monty finds a tall cherry tree in the orchard and he fills himself up along with the tree's fruit. Then, he unknowingly leaves the party food on the path and lets Peter the dog eat it all. What will poor Muffin the Mule and the gang have to eat at Grace the giraffe's birthday barbecue party? 24. Crossed Wires - Louise the Lamb is feeling so annoyed that she called and called for Muffin the Mule, but Muffin did not respond, because he was just too far away for her to be heard properly. 25. Paint Your Wagon - Louise the Lamb goes round to Muffin the Mule's field for Breakfast, but she suddenly feels disgusted by the state of his old caravan, so she decides that it needs a new lick of paint.

References

External links

Official website

many images of Muffin and friends
Muffin The Mule Collectors' Club

CBeebies - ''Muffin the Mule''
at

bbc.co.uk BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBC's online service. It is a large network of websites including such high-profile sites as BBC News and Sport, the on-demand video and radio services branded BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, the childre ...

*
Museum of Childhood
at the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

Muffin the Mule to return

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadc ...

, 16 April 2003
Muffin the Mule gets modern touch

, 5 September 2005
TV star Muffin the Mule turns 60

, 30 October 2006 * 49 second clip * https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0078ygh {{DEFAULTSORT:Muffin the Mule 1940s British children's television series 1950s British children's television series 2000s British children's television series 2000s British animated television series 1946 British television series debuts 1957 British television series endings 2005 British television series debuts 1950s preschool education television series 2000s preschool education television series British children's comedy television series British comedy puppets British preschool education television series British television shows featuring puppetry Animated preschool education television series English-language television shows BBC children's television shows CBeebies S4C original programming Television series about mammals Fictional mules Fictional characters introduced in 1933 British television series revived after cancellation