Thunder The Poet

## **Plot:**

Thunder had just thought up a great poem about spring. But when he goes to tell it to Rabbit and Mouse, he forgets the words.

## **Transcript:**

**Mouse:** Oh!

I bet you're wondering what I'm doing.

I can't tell you yet, but it's so clever!

It's an idea my friend Rabbit had, to help Thunder remember something important.

It all started this morning...

**Thunder:** Woo-hoo!

The flowers smell so sweety, sweet!

Oh, hello, birdie!

Tweety, tweet!

Ooh!

Berries are my favorite thing.

Birds... flowers... it must be spring!

Hey, I did a poem!

The flowers smell so sweety, sweet

Hello birdie, tweety tweet

Berries are my favorite thing

Birds and flowers... it must be spring!

Oh! I've got to tell, Mouse and Rabbit!

**Rabbit:** The best way to build towers of nuts, is to make them somewhere quiet...

**Thunder:** Rabbit! Mouse!

**Rabbit and Mouse:** Whoa!

**Thunder:** Guess what I made!

**Mouse:** Um. Mashed nuts?

**Thunder:** Oopsie! Oh!

I'm sorry!

**Rabbit:** Oh, that's OK, it was an accident.

So? What did you make?

**Thunder:** I made up a poem.

All by myself!

**Rabbit:** Hoptastic!

**Mouse:** Way to go, Thunder!

Can we hear it?

**Thunder:** OK!

Eep!

Oh no, I forgot how it goes!

Thorny horns!

The first poem I ever made up, and now I can't remember it!

What do I do?

**Rabbit:** First of all,... worrying won't help you remember your poem.

But we will!

**Thunder:** You can help me remember?

How?

**Rabbit:** We'd better hop-think on it.

The question is... how can we help Thunder remember his poem?

**Mouse:** Hmm...

Maybe Thunder's rememberer is broken.

I'd better check.

Thunder, what's my name?

**Thunder:** Mouse.

**Mouse:** Right!

So that part of your rememberer is working.

Just not the poem's part.

**Rabbit:** I always think better after a snack... maybe food would help?

**Mouse:** Here, have some of these mashed nuts.

**Thunder:** Yum!

**Rabbit:** Well, do you remember your poem?

**Thunder:** Not exactly.

But some of it might have been about food.

I like food.

**Mouse:** Hmm.

Sometimes, poems tell how we feel about things we see around us.

Was your poem about... ferns?

**Thunder:** No.

**Mouse:** Hmm. Mushrooms?

**Thunder:** No.

**Mouse:** Uh, rabbits?

**Thunder:** Nuh-uh.

But I wasn't here when I did my poem.

I was in the meadow.

**Rabbit:** Thumpeka!

That's it!

Let's go back to where you made up the poem!

**Mouse:** Good idea!

Maybe Thunder'll see something to help him remember.

**Rabbit:** OK, Thunder, what were you doing when you made up your poem?

**Thunder:** Um...

Smelling the flowers!

Ah...

They smell so sweet.

Smell sweet... sweety, sweet.

The flowers smell so sweety, sweet!

That was the first part!

**Mouse:** Yay, Thunder!

**Rabbit:** Alright! Good remembering!

**All:** The flowers smell so sweety, sweet!

The flowers smell so sweety, sweet!

**Mouse:** If we say it lots of times, I won't forget it either!

**Thunder:** Wait, that was just the first part.

Oh... What was the rest?!

**Mouse:** Don't worry.

It's OK if you don't remember it all at once.

**Rabbit:** Right!

You can remember it in little hops.

One bit at a time.

**Thunder:** But what if I forget the first part, while I'm remembering the rest?

**Rabbit:** Hmm...

I know what you need!

**Mouse:** A giant leaf?

**Rabbit:** Oh, it's not just a leaf, it's a memory keeper!

**Thunder:** How do I keep a poem in this?

**Rabbit:** Every time you remember a bit of your poem, put a memory thing into the memory keeper.

That way you'll remember each part!

**Mouse:** Oh!

So, for the first part, the flowers smell so sweety, sweet...

**Thunder:** I'll put a sweety, sweet flower in here, so I won't forget!

There.

**Rabbit:** Great!

Now what came next?

**Thunder:** The flowers smell so sweety, sweet...

Oh, I can't remember!

**Mouse:** Poor, Thunder.

**Rabbit:** Maybe you're thinking too hard.

When I'm thump-stumped, it helps if I take a hop stop and do something else for a while.

Hey, I know a great way to take a hop stop!

This is my tappa-tappa tree!

This always helps me relax.

Try it!

**Thunder:** Huh?

Hello, birdie!

You're a good tapper.

Wait a sec!

Hello birdie...

That reminds me of something.

Something in my poem...

The flowers smell so sweety, sweet, hello, birdie, tweety tweet!

That's it!

That's the next line!

**Rabbit:** Don't forget to put your memory thing in your memory keeper.

**Thunder:** A feather!

The flowers smell so sweety, sweet, hello, birdie, tweety tweet!

Now I know two parts of my poem!

**Rabbit:** And I bet you'll remember the rest of it, easy-peasy.

**Mouse:** Was the next part about grass?

**Thunder:** No.

I wish someone could give me a hint.

**Mouse:** Yeah.

It's too bad you were alone when you said your poem.

**Thunder:** Wait, I wasn't alone.

Robin was there!

She did the tweety tweet!

**Mouse:** Flapping feathers!

If Robin heard him say his poem, then maybe she can help him remember.

**Thunder:** We've gotta find her!

**Rabbit:** Not to worry, Thunder, I'll find that tweeting bird!

Hmm. Crickets...

Frogs...

Oh! That's Robin tweeting!

Thataway!

**Thunder:** Robin, we found you!

**Mouse:** We followed your pretty song.

**Robin:** Did you?

**Rabbit:** Do you remember seeing Thunder this morning?

**Robin:** Oh, yes!

Thunder was in the meadow, talking to himself.

**Thunder:** Yeah! I was doing a poem!

**Mouse:** And now he's trying to remember it.

Do you remember what Thunder said?

**Robin:** Oh, it was very pretty.

He said, " The flowers smell so sweety, sweet, hello, birdie, tweety tweet!"

Then...

**Mouse:** Ooh, this is it!

**Robin:** He said something I couldn't hear, because his mouth was full.

**Thunder:** Berries!

I was eating berries!

And then I put it in my poem!

Berries are my favorite thing!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I've got to put a berry in my memory keeper, so I don't forget!

Berries really are my favorite thing.

**Mouse:** Mmm. Mine, too.

**Thunder:** And just so I don't forget...

"The flowers smell so sweety, sweet

Hello, birdie, tweety tweet!

Berries are my favorite thing... "

Hm. My poem had one more part.

**Mouse:** The first two parts of the poem have rhyming words; sweety, sweet and tweety tweet.

Maybe the last two parts have rhyming words, too!

**Thunder:** Yes!

They did have rhyming words!

Berries are my favorite thing!

The last part rhymes with "thing"!

**Rabbit:** Maybe we can guess it!

Was it; do you know that fish can't sing?

**Mouse:** A birdie's arm is called a wing?

**Rabbit:** Rabbit's good at tappa-tapping?

**Thunder:** No, that wasn't it.

**Mouse:** Oh, we're so close!

What else rhymes with "thing"?

**Rabbit:** Bee sting?

**Mouse:** Tree ring?

Spring?

**Thunder:** Spring?

Spring!

Berries are my favorite thing, birds and flowers, it must be spring!

That's it!

**Mouse:** The rhyming worked!

We helped him remember the whole thing!

Whoa!

**Thunder:** Wait!

I still have to put something in my memory keeper, for the last part.

**Rabbit:** Hmm...

"Birds and flowers, it must be spring."

Well, what makes you think of spring?

**Thunder:** Ooh! Pussy willows!

They're fuzzy and cuddly and they come out in spring.

Birds and flowers, it must be spring!

Now I can do the whole poem, whenever I want.

**Rabbit:** Hip-hopperoo!

'Cause I know who'd love to hear it.

Ready to say the whole poem?

**Thunder:** Yes!

"The flowers smell so sweety, sweet

Um... Hello, birdie, tweety tweet

Um... Berries are my favorite thing

Birds and flowers, it must be spring."

**Mouse:** And that's how we helped Thunder remember his poem.

We got him to stay calm and do it bit by bit.

Sometimes, he had to take a break, repeat the words, or ask for help.

But he finally remembered!

Thunder was so happy, that he made up a brand new poem...

**Thunder:** "Rabbit told me not to worry

When my memory got blurry

I remembered how it ends...

Um...

With some help from three great friends!"

**Rabbit:** Carrotastic!