Conga the Terrible

## Stats

**Conga the Terrible** is the 25th episode of the series *Babar* that aired on November 5, 1989.

## Summary

Cornelius rests in the garden, proceeding to take a nap. Meanwhile, Alexander, Flora, and Pom race until Pom crashes into Cornelius. Because Alexander and Flora don't, they claim that Pom is it according to the rules of hide and seek, as "Cornelius is a natural obstacle". Pom claims that Cornelius doesn't know hide and seek, but Cornelius objects to that, mentioning he was a champion. The triplets run off and bump into Babar, sure that because they are younger than Cornelius, he will have trouble finding them. Babar mentions that you shouldn't judge someone by their age, and begins a story.

It begins on sea, on a ship that the elephants have just built. They are on a voyage to Skull Island. Pompadour declares all hands on deck and Babar tells them to make the ship "ship-shape". He orders them to do various things, and Cornelius wonders what he should do. Babar sees that Cornelius is seasick, which Pompadour comments is because of his age. Cornelius doesn't want to lie down and so Babar orders him to steer the ship. Pompadour is hesitant, though. Down under the ship are Rataxes and Basil stowing away, as he wants to beat Babar to the island so he doesn't claim it. Soon enough, the ship is met with a mean storm. Cornelius doesn't seem to be aware, and soon the ship is marooned on Skull Island after a tidal wave splashes.

Rataxes and Basil come out and try claiming that they aren't stowaways. Cornelius is blamed for the shipwreck but Babar tells him not to feel bad, though Rataxes is angered at him. Pompadour is more worried about the myth of Conga the Terrible than the ship, though, who is a gorilla, but Babar tells him nothing to worry about. That is, until he hears growling and also footprints. Babar suggests they repair the ship themselves. Because it is nightfall soon, Babar gives the team things to do to set up camp, and gives Cornelius the job to stay up overnight and secure the camp, with Rataxes taking the second shift. Pompadour has his doubts. Speaking of Rataxes, he plots to capture Conga and puts a banana in a boiling pot to get the gorilla attracted to the banana smell, so it falls in a trap he made. That night, Cornelius stays alert, but still manages to fall asleep. Conga comes out and invades the camp, taking the elephants' hut.

The next morning, Pompadour is dismayed at Cornelius, and so is Rataxes as he wanted to capture Conga. Both of them agree to blame him. Cornelius has enough of being considered too old and decides to go prove that he is useful. Babar mentions that it was all Rataxes' fault as he was supposed to be on guard, and it had nothing to do with Cornelius' age. Both Rataxes and Pompadour feel guilty. As Cornelius finds Conga again, the team works together to fix the boat. Soon it is time to depart but Cornelius is still missing, and Conga is stomping over to the ship. Rataxes orders Basil to start the boat, and one hit of a bottle causes the ship to go and sink in the water. It turns out that Conga brought Cornelius over, he is really a nice guy. Conga is king of the apes and his "Terrible" persona is only used to keep away poachers, but due to his size everyone thinks he is a beast. Pompadour apologizes to Cornelius, realizing that you can't judge a book by its cover. After the story finishes, the children run along to find Cornelius as he was supposed to find them, and they find Cornelius asleep by the tree. However, it turns out to be a trick and Cornelius finds them right in front of himself. Babar is then declared it and everyone runs off.

## Trivia

* This is the last episode where Babar tells a story from his younger days.