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The toy mouse with the 'Jingle Bells' problem

Parents in the UK are up in arms after claiming that a $5 toy mouse is singing "pedophile, pedophile" instead of "Jingle Bells."

Elizabeth Armstrong Moore
Elizabeth Armstrong Moore is based in Portland, Oregon, and has written for Wired, The Christian Science Monitor, and public radio. Her semi-obscure hobbies include climbing, billiards, board games that take up a lot of space, and piano.
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Elizabeth Armstrong Moore

Admittedly, this may not be the most high-tech of gadgets, but a new toy mouse with a funny recording is worth a mention--and so thought The Sun, which broke the story early Monday. It all started with parents fretting over a $5 toy mouse; they claim the novelty toy sold in small shops and market stalls is singing "pedophile" instead of "Jingle Bells."

Parents in the UK are up in arms after claiming that a $5 toy mouse is singing "pedophile, pedophile" instead of "Jingle Bells." Screenshot by Elizabeth Armstrong Moore/CNET

For anyone who wants to hear it for themselves, here is the recording.

Toy distributor Humatt, which got the toys from China, says the man in the recording simply could not pronounce "Jingle Bells" correctly, so it was sped up to try to hide this fact.

"We've slowed the song down and it definitely says Jingle Bells, but we have recalled them now just in case anybody might take offense," a spokesperson says.

Ah, the power of concerned parents. But just as I managed to make it through such potentially hazardous childhood activities as dressing a Barbie doll that was sure to cause anorexia and making mud pies with dirt that was not certified organic, their kids will likely overcome their scary mouse encounters.