Complete and Utter Zebu

A singing toy mouse with a Santa hat being sold as a cheap stocking filler in markets and small shops has been recalled after parents complained that when you squeeze its stomach, the Chinese-voiced rendition of “Jingle Bells, jingle bells” sounds rather too much like “Paedophile, paedophile”.

Sceptical? Listen for yourself by clicking on the picture of the mouse on the left. The manufacturers claim that they’ve slowed the song down to the speed it was recorded at. They’re convinced that he is actually singing “Jingle bells”, even if his pronunciation is not quite standard English. But they have recalled all the mice, just in case. No doubt, they’ll now become collectors’ items.