Willow Pond Wackadoo

## **Plot**

One hot day, Jasper tells the three friends about a Wakadoo a mythical creature from the willow pond. If you touch its nose three times it'll grant a wish. While they think they found one Edwina is mistaken for a wackadoo.

## **Transcript**

**Mouse:** Oh, there you are.

Have you ever been so hot that you wished it would rain, just to cool down?

That's what happened to us.

It was so hot that even I wanted it to rain.

Eww!

But then something really amazing happened and all because of a story.

**Thunder:** My ears are saggy.

**Mouse:** My whiskers are droopy.

**Rabbit:** My ears are floppy.

**Both:** It's so hot.

**Rabbit:** I'd like it to rain.

**Mouse:** I want it to rain.

**Thunder:** I wish it would rain.

**Both:** It's so hot.

**Rabbit:** Maybe if we stop saying "It's so hot", it won't be so hot anymore.

**Jasper:** Phew! It's so hot.

**Thunder, Mouse and Rabbit:** We know.

**Jasper:** Well, I know something that might cool you off.

**Thunder, Mouse and Rabbit:** Rain?

**Jasper:** Nope.

A story.

Stories always take your mind off your troubles.

Now this is the story of the willow pond wackadoo.

**Thunder and Mouse:** What's a wackadoo?

**Jasper:** A very old and very strange creature that the story says lives right here in willow pond.

It makes a sound like this...

**Thunder:** Really?!

**Jasper:** The story says that if you can gently tap the wackadoo on the nose three times, then you'll get your wish.

**Thunder:** Rain?

Could we do wishing for rain?

**Jasper:** Anything you want.

But it isn't easy, because the wackadoo is very shy.

It is almost impossible to tap it on the nose before it swims away.

**Thunder:** Whoa!

I wanna do nose-tapping.

**Jasper:** Well, I dunno if you can, because the wackadoo is just a story.

**Rabbit:** Well, stop my hops.

My ears aren't floppy anymore.

**Thunder:** Neither are mine.

**Mouse:** And my whiskers aren't droopy.

**Jasper:** Good.

I guess listening to my story cooled you right down.

See you later.

**Mouse:** Bye-bye, Jasper.

Thanks.

**Both:** It's so hot.

**Mouse:** Gee whiskers.

What if there were a real wackadoo living in the pond?

**Thunder:** Then we could do nose-tapping, and get wishes.

**Rabbit:** I don't know.

Even if the wackadoo is real, which it isn't, Jasper said it was super shy and would swim away.

**Mouse:** If I was shy, I'd hide in the reeds.

Let's all go there and have a look.

**Rabbit:** If you really want to, but I don't think we'll find a wackadoo.

**Mouse and Thunder:** A wackadoo!

A wackadoo!

We're gonna find a wackadoo.

A wackadoo!

A wackadoo!

We're gonna find a wackadoo.

**Mouse:** Are you gonna wish for rain, too?

**Rabbit:** No. Because I've lived near the pond for a long time, and I've never heard anything go...

Did you hear that?

**Thunder:** Whoa!

**Mouse:** It came from the pond!

Great popping pumpkins!

The willow pond wackad...

**Rabbit:** Shh! Don't scare it away.

Remember, Jasper said it's really shy.

Carrotastic.

I've never seen anything like that before.

**Mouse:** A wackadoo.

A real one.

But it's really shy, Rabbit.

How are we going to tap its nose and get our wish for rain?

**Rabbit:** We need to have a hop-think, but a really quiet one, OK?

Shh!

What if I swim out there really quickly?

**Mouse:** But swimming makes splashes.

The wackadoo would hear and swim away.

Maybe we could use a pondi-floater.

**Rabbit:** Hoptastic.

But a pondi-floater makes splashes, too.

**Thunder:** We could fly out there and do nose-tapping.

**Mouse:** I can't fly.

**Rabbit:** Neither can I.

**Thunder:** Thorny horns, none of us can do flying.

**Rabbit:** Hmm. We can't fly, but what if we put Mouse on top of this, and bit down, so Mouse can tap the wackadoo'd nose.

**Mouse:** Just as long as I don't get wet.

**Rabbit:** Don't worry.

We'll keep you dry.

**Thunder:** A wackadoo!

A wackadoo!

We're gonna wish on a wackadoo.

A wackadoo!

A wackadoo!

Look! Mouse is gonna do nose-tapping!

**Rabbit:** Shh!

**Mouse:** Huh? Whoa!

**Hazel:** It's so hot.

**Mouse:** Whoa!

Hi, Hazel.

**Hazel:** Nice of you to... drop in.

**Mouse:** Guess what?

We found a wackadoo.

**Hazel:** A wacka-who?

**Mouse:** Doo.

**Hazel:** Do what?

**Mouse:** No, wackadoo!

**Hazel:** I'm confused.

**Thunder and Rabbit:** Mouse!

**Thunder:** Yoo-hoo!

**Thunder and Rabbit:** Where are you?

**Mouse:** Uh-oh. Have to go.

Ooh. How do I get down?

**Hazel:** Hold tight.

**Mouse:** Whoa! Whee!

**Rabbit:** Mouse, where are you?

**Mouse:** Right here.

Thanks, Hazel.

**Hazel:** Now what exactly is this wackadoo?

**Rabbit:** A creature that lives in the pond.

**Mouse:** Jasper told us a story about it.

He said that if we tap its nose three times, we get a wish.

**Thunder:** For rain, 'cause it's so hot.

Oh, and I bet a wackadoo will give you a ride, too.

**Mouse:** Yeah, and fly you around the forest.

**Rabbit:** Right to the moon.

**Thunder:** Did you ever see a wackadoo, Hazel?

**Hazel:** Let me think.

I've seen the sun, and the snow, and my friends, and plenty of acorns, but no, I've never seen a wackadoo, because I don't think there is a wackadoo.

**Rabbit:** Yes, there is.

**Mouse:** In the pond.

**Thunder:** Come and see.

**Hazel:** But it's too hot to go chasing.

**Rabbit:** That's what I thought, too.

But I don't feel so hot anymore.

**Thunder:** Me neither.

**Hazel:** Well, OK then.

I'll have one look.

**Mouse:** With Hazel's help, we're sure to tap the wackadoo's nose and get our wish for rain.

**Hazel:** Quaking acorns!

There is a wackadoo.

**Rabbit and Mouse:** Shh!

**Thunder:** Yeah, you gotta be real quiet, or it willed get scared.

**Rabbit, Mouse and Hazel:** Shh!

**Thunder:** Oop.

**Mouse:** Well, bending me down didn't work.

We need a new idea.

**Rabbit:** Hop-think time.

Come on.

OK, how can we tap the wackadoo's nose and get our wish for rain?

**Thunder:** We need really long arms.

**Mouse:** Rabbit, can you make an arm stretcher?

**Rabbit:** Don't think so.

What if we held our breath, and walked under the water?

**Mouse:** Hmm, too far.

**Hazel:** Question, is there any way we could get the wackadoo to come to us?

**Rabbit:** Hoptastic idea.

**Mouse:** But how?

**Hazel:** Give it some food.

**Thunder:** What do wackadoos eat?

**Rabbit:** I dunno.

**Mouse:** Me neither.

**Hazel:** What would make you come out of the water, Mouse?

**Mouse:** That's easy. If I saw my friend, Rabbit sitting here, I'd come out to play.

**Hazel:** So, if the wackadoo saw another wackadoo, it would come out to play with it.

**Thunder:** We can't even get one wackadoo.

**Mouse:** Maybe we could make a pretend wackadoo.

**Rabbit:** Thumpeka!

That's it!

We'll make a pretend wackadoo.

**Hazel:** How?

**Rabbit:** Thunder, get down like this.

Hazel, can you stand on your head and stick your tail up?

Mouse, you hide and get ready to tap the wackadoo when it comes to play.

**Mouse:** OK.

**Rabbit:** Hoptastic.

Now, Thunder, get close to the pond and walk around.

**Mouse:** Make the noise.

**Rabbit:** Is it coming?

**Mouse:** Not yet.

Do it more.

**Jasper:** What're you guys doing?

**Both:** Shh!

**Thunder:** You'll scare the wackadoo!

**Jasper:** What?

**Rabbit:** We're trying to get the wackadoo...

... to come to us by pretending to be...

... another friendly wackadoo.

**Jasper:** The wackadoo? But I told you, the wackadoo is only a story.

**Rabbit:** That's what I thought, too, but look.

**Jasper:** Well, I'll be.

Maybe there is a wackadoo.

**Mouse:** And it's coming this way.

**Thunder:** We're gonna do nose-tapping and wishing.

Oh boy!

**Rabbit, Mouse, Hazel and Jasper:** Edwina?

**Thunder:** Edwina is the wackadoo?

**Mouse:** No, Thunder, Edwina is Edwina.

**Jasper:** What were you doing in the pond, Edwina?

**Edwina:** Cooling off.

**Rabbit:** Of course.

Well, I'll be thumped.

We forgot all about being hot.

**Mouse:** We were having too much fun to be hot.

**Thunder:** I still wish Edwina was a wackadoo, so we could do nose-tapping and wish for rain.

**Edwina:** Ho-ho! Tap.

**Mouse:** Well, we didn't get our wish and we didn't get rain or tap the wackadoo's nose, because it was only a story.

But... we did have lots of fun and forgot about how hot it was, and that was better than anything.