The Story of the Juicy Fruit Tree 64 Zoo Lane

.

# 64, 64, 64 Zoo Lane 64, 64, 64 Zoo Lane... #

Hello, I'm Lucy. I live at 64 Zoo Lane

and I have very special neighbours. Look!

# There's one with a hump, one who can jump, and one who is plump

# 64, 64, 64 Zoo Lane

# Some like it hot, some like it chilly, some like it silly

# 64, 64, 64 Zoo Lane

# Some are friendly, some are scary But not one is ordinary

# 64, 64, 64 Zoo Lane

# Some are spotty, some are stripy Prickly...woolly...furry...slimy

# Some are quite big, some are small And Georgina is incredibly tall

# 64, 64, 64 Zoo Lane # 64, 64, 64 Zoo Lane. #

Bedtime, Lucy! >

OK, Mum.

Whoops! Almost dropped it.

Dropped what? What have you got?

-A banana sandwich.

-BOTH: A banana sandwich?!

Something smells good.

Isn't it rather late to be eating a sandwich?

I suppose so, but I was hungry, so I thought I'd have a midnight feast.

GIGGLES: Mmm! Yum-yum!

That sandwich really does smell delicious.

Hi, Boris. Would you like a piece?

Oh, I couldn't, not unless you insisted.

Some animals do anything for a snack.

Boris has already eaten a HUGE dinner today

and two teas and three suppers. Haven't you, Boris?

-I'm a growing bear.

-All this talk of food reminds me of the story

-of the juicy fruit tree.

-The whaty-what tree?

The juicy fruit tree.

Its fruit is the biggest, knobbliest, most delicious...

Tell Lucy the whole story.

We might even take Boris's mind off banana sandwiches for a while.

Good idea.

Every seven years, the juicy fruit tree bears a juicy fruit.

It's the biggest, knobbliest,

most delicious fruit in the whole wide world,

so when Zed the zebra saw the juicy fruit...

he couldn't wait to tell all the other animals.

THEY LAUGH

- Who's that?! - It's Zed, and he's in a hurry.

-HE PANTS

-The juicy fruit tree is in flower!

- Huh? What? - Is it that time already?

-Are you sure?

-No doubt about it. I was galloping past when...

-HUH?!

-..I saw this big, knobbly fruit at the top of the juicy fruit tree.

-What colour was it?

-Bright red.

ALL: Hooray!

# It's juicy fruit time Juicy fruit time, juicy fruit time! #

I'm going to have the largest piece of juicy fruit.

ALL: Huh?! I have a long neck.

It's a long way to my tummy.

Nonsense! Elephants are the biggest,

so they need the most to eat. Everyone knows that!

Hold on a minute! I saw it first and ran all the way to tell you all,

so I deserve the biggest slice.

There are two of us - me and the Tick-tick bird.

The Tick-tick bird doesn't count. He only eats...ticks.

WE deserve the most cos we'll climb the tree to pick the juicy fruit.

Yes! Fruit pickers come first!

Er, excuse me. A word of caution -

the juicy fruit tree produces a juicy fruit every seven years.

ALL: Yes.

We must pick it by sunset tomorrow. ALL: Huh?

Before it drops down and turns into green, gooey slime.

ALL: Eurgh! Yuk!

Take it easy, tortoise. We'll pick the fruit tomorrow, nice and early.

The animals slept soundly that night, dreaming of the juicy fruit.

They slept so well that by the time they woke up,

-the sun was high in the sky.

-ALL: We're late!

I knew this would happen.

Chill out. We've got loads of time. Well, WE have.

By the time Toby gets there, it'll be too late!

Toby had short legs and a heavy shell to carry,

but he hurried after them as fast as he could.

This won't be easy. The sun's going down

and we only have a couple of hours before the juicy fruit drops down

and turns to a green, gooey slime. BOTH: Yuk!

Don't worry. I can get it. Stand back.

Hey! Here!

-Nice try, Ronald.

-We'll have to think of something else.

A job for Giggles and Tickles. Monkeys to the rescue!

-BOTH: Ouch!

-The tree was so slippery,

-that it was impossible to climb.

-Let me try.

BOTH: We're running out of time.

ALL: Go, Nelson, go!

Oops!

ALL: Aww! Never mind. You almost did it.

We'll never get the juicy fruit off.

-Er...

-The biggest, knobbliest, most delicious fruit in the world

and we can't reach it!

But help was on the way.

- What this needs is teamwork. - Teamwork?! What's that?

Working together.

If we work together, we'll be able to reach.

-Let's try.

-Yeah, man. Teamwork. Let's go for it.

So the animals built an animal tower.

-Watch where you're putting your feet!

-Sorry. This is fun!

Remember, we're a team. Can you reach it?

Er...not quite.

Audrey looked at the tree and the fruit

and realised there was only one thing for it.

She would have to climb up to the top.

I can't quite!

-Oh, we're SO close!

-But not close enough.

- Let's stand on tiptoe. - Good idea.

So the animals tried again.

If I can just stretch a little bit further...

-I-I think I'm going to sneeze!

-Don't you dare!

AH-AH-AH-CHOO!

Sorry.

And the animals tried again.

Only a few minutes left.

And I still can't reach it. What are we going to do?

Hello, everyone. Sorry I'm late. Need a hand?

-ALL: Toby!

-Toby knew just what to do.

He climbed up Nelson's trunk,

over Ronald's horn,

along Zed's stripes, up Giggles' tail,

until finally he was sitting on Audrey's head.

I can reach it! I can reach the juicy...

Oh, no!

-Well caught, Toby!

-Top tortoise.

ALL: Yeah!

This is the best juicy fruit ever.

ALL: Hooray!

Brilliant story.

-I wish there was a juicy fruit tree in my garden.

-Me too!

If we find one, we'll let you know and have a juicy fruit picnic.

-That would be fun.

-But now I think it's time for bed,

or it'll soon be breakfast time.

Subtitles by Neil Gemmill BBC Scotland - 2001

E-mail us at [email protected]