How Does the Bus Know? Apple Tree House

# Way-oh, way-oh

# Way-oh, way-oh

# No matter if you're young or old

# With good friends you'll never be alone

# Shining light on our joyful world

# Ain't nothing going to beat that place we call home

# First day, new days are the very best days

# New things to discover

# New people to meet

# Fun days always playing with your friend days

# Life is for the living down at Apple Tree House. #

Here it is. Here's our bus.

BRAKES SQUEAK

Come on, children. Let's go!

Mind the step.

Mali! Mali...

Would you please sit down and stop fidgeting?

-Yes, Grandma.

-You need to sit safely on the bus.

Did you see the driver?

No. Why?

I just wanted to see if I could recognise him,

see if he was the right one.

I can't see him.

What if he doesn't know where we live?

Oh, my gosh! What if he doesn't and takes us to the wrong place?

If he doesn't know where we live, we could end up anywhere.

Like at the zoo.

Or the dentist's.

-Or school.

-SCHOOL BELL RINGS

Ohhh, not school!

Not today!

Or, maybe, we'd end up on the moon.

Or a pirate island.

Ah, yeah!

Come on, you two. We're home.

Careful stepping off and hold my hand.

Sam, this is strange. That definitely wasn't the right driver.

Then how did we get home?

I don't really know.

What's up, you two? Is everything all right?

How did the bus know where to go?

Now that's a good question.

Because I checked first to make sure it was our bus.

Our bus?

Wow, we have our own bus!

Cool!

'Just imagine what we could do with our own bus.'

We could paint our bus a different colour...

So everyone would know it's ours.

We could have a purple bus.

Or a green one.

-Or maybe even a yellow one.

-BOTH GIGGLE

Then we could go round the world to amazing places like...

Australia! There, we could see the kangaroos.

And then, maybe, India to see the elephants.

And then, to Africa to see the lions.

And then we'd come home to see Bella.

And guess what?

We have our own bus and it picks us up

from the bus station and brings us home.

We'd like to paint it purple.

-Or green.

-So that everyone would know it's ours

when we go to faraway places.

Well, that's all very interesting, guys,

but I'm very sure you don't own your own bus

and you wouldn't be allowed to paint it.

Well, we do, because Gran said that we came home on OUR bus.

Mali, you can't own a bus, that's silly.

But Gran says so and she knows, so there.

Hey, hey, hey, you guys! What's all the kerfuffle?

Mali and Sam reckon they've got their own bus,

but I don't think that's right.

Well, if it's not ours, how did the bus know where to go?

Yeah, we had a different driver that we've never seen before.

-How did he know where to take us?

-So, let me get this straight.

You own your own bus, but you didn't recognise the driver.

So, that means the driver was driving the wrong bus,

and didn't know where to go, but you still got home anyway,

which means that the right driver in the wrong bus

is better than the wrong driver in the right bus

driving the wrong bus up the right street, right?

ALL LAUGH Kobi!

Dad, stop messing around!

Yes, stop being silly.

But I just don't understand.

How does the bus know where to go?

Hmm, I see the challenge.

Ah-ha! I have it!

Now, what is it Grandma Zainab always says

when you want to know the answer to something?

Let's get solving!

-BOTH:

-Get solving!

Well, go on, then,

solving is the quickest route to the answer.

Ooh, and just one thing you may want to remember,

an old African proverb -

"To acquire knowledge, one must study,

"but to acquire wisdom. one must observe."

-Interesting!

-Yeah.

-Yeah...

Hmmm, what is that?

It's all mainly about timetables and disruption to services.

Wait, what did Dad say?

Hmm, something about the quickest route.

Yes, but he did say something else.

"To acquire knowledge, one must study."

"But to acquire wisdom, one must observe."

And to finish dinner, one needs ingredients.

I have to pop out to the shops again. Who wants to come?

-Me, please!

-Yes!

We can do some observing on the way.

# Oh, we'd really love to learn about this mystery

# How do we solve this mystery?

# How the driver always gets us home

# Ding-ding! Ding-ding! Always gets us home

# So, let's get solving, claim ourselves this victory

# Let's solve the mystery

# The question of how the driver gets us home

# So, stop, look and listen

# Look out for that sign

# The secret to wisdom is yours all the time

# Let's get solving

# Let's get started

# Let's get solving

# And find out how the driver gets us home

# Let's get solving

# Let's find out how the driver gets us home

# Find out how the driver gets us home

# Find out how the driver gets us home

# Whoa, let's get solving

-# Whoa, driver gets us home

-Let's get solving

# Let's find out how the driver gets us home. #

Did you observe anything?

No. And all the buses look the same.

Mm-hm.

And it's so busy.

I just wish I could fly.

'Oh, yeah, how cool would that be?

'Yes, I'd be high above all that traffic, like a pigeon.

'Then I can look down on all the buses to see which one was ours.

'I'd love that.'

MALI SIGHS

I think it's time for the cafe.

Yeah!

This way.

Can we have a cup of tea and three juices, please?

Oh, and some of those home-made oat biscuits.

Sure. I'll bring them over.

Come on, you lot.

The answer's somewhere.

Maybe it will help if you finish your drawings.

Look, my bus is red and it has four wheels and two doors.

One at the front next to the driver, and one in the middle to get off.

And yours has passengers. So has mine.

But yours is double and mine is single

and mine is longer and bendy in the middle.

Hello, everybody! ..Cup of tea please, Flo!

So, how are you guys getting on?

Well, we're still observing and solving.

Kobi, look, we've drawn pictures.

And there's still nothing to tell us how the bus knew where to go.

Look, Mali, up there.

-Where?

-There, on the wall.

Oh, yeah, wow!

Flo's got a bus photograph.

That looks really old.

-Is that your picture, Flo?

-Now that was a long time ago.

-Frank was a bus driver.

-Wow!

And I was what they used to call a bus conductor -

-a clippie.

-What?

On the old buses,

we had a person who rang the bell for the buses to stop and start.

They walked about collecting fares

-and giving tickets to the passengers.

-Wow.

-You and Frank worked on the same bus?

-Yeah.

So, you can tell us how the bus knew where to go?

Well, a long time ago,

buses were painted in different colours

and different-coloured buses went to different places.

But because of competition between different bus companies,

one of the biggest operators

painted their entire fleet of buses red in order to stand out.

But now, all the buses looked the same

no matter where they were going.

So they decided to put numbers on the front

to show the different routes.

If you look closely at the front or the back of the bus,

you'll see a number and that's how you know where the bus is going.

The numbers!

That's the difference!

As you can see from the photo, Frank and I were on the 239.

The 239 omnibus.

So, you don't have to know the driver?

No, you just have to get the bus with the right number.

Can we go on a bus journey to see where all the buses go?

Sure! Let's catch the bus back into town

-where we can jump on a different number bus.

-Cool.

Then, we can take the long way back home,

but you have to choose the route by picking the right buses to take.

SHE GIGGLES

# Oh, we're really happy that we solved this mystery

# Solved this mystery

# Oh, of how the driver always gets us home

# Ding-ding, ding-ding, always gets us home

# So, now we're done, let's claim ourselves this victory

# Claim we solved this mystery

# The question of how the driver gets us home

# So, stop, look and listen

# Look out for that sign

# The secret to wisdom is yours all the time. #

So, we don't have our own bus.

-Or driver.

-That doesn't stop us making a bus, does it?

Check this out! Ha-ha!

THEY GIGGLE

We could paint them any colour we want.

Purple.

-Or green.

-Or red.

ALL GIGGLE

And we get to drive our own buses.

And go anywhere we want.

Yay!

That was fun, riding on the different buses.

Getting to choose the bus with the right number was great.

And we didn't know any of the drivers.

THEY LAUGH

Your dad was right about observing.

Yes, the answer was right in front of us all the time.

THEY LAUGH

You're a good friend, Mali.

And you're a great friend, Sam.