Meet the Neighbours Little Prairie Dogs

Beneath the American prairies, deep underground.

The Little Prairie Dogs are stirring.

Come on, Little Prairie Dogs!

Wake up!

It's time to tell a story of life on the prairies.

Eek! Eek! Eek! Eek!

Chirp! Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!

It's a lovely sunny morning and brothers, Snow and Ashki,

are ready for a day of adventure.

Mum's allowing them to explore town without her.

She's warned them to be careful -

not every neighbour in town wants to be friendly.

Oh, Ashki! This is going to be fun! Our very own adventure.

I know, Snow. It's brilliant!

But we do have to stay together and stay safe.

Mum said there are dangerous animals out on the prairie.

But how are we supposed to know who's dangerous?

We just have to remember all the things Mum's taught us.

Come on! Let's go.

Morning, everyone!

Yoo-hoo!

Anybody around?

Hey, who's that in one of our burrows?

It's just Ricky the rabbit.

Remember? He moved into our old burrow last year.

Oh, yes. I remember now.

Ricky's harmless. Hiya, Ricky!

I don't think he can hear me, Snow.

What? Even with those big, long bunny ears?

I'll try. Ricky! Ricky!

RICKY!

Oops! He heard me THAT time.

Hiya, Ricky.

Can we go find some more neighbours now?

I like making friends.

All right, then. See you, Ricky!

Oh! Ashki! I just saw something.

What? Where? I can't see anything.

There! Did you see it? Oh, it's disappeared.

Maybe it was Ricky Rabbit again.

No, it was far too small to be a rabbit.

Hello. Where are you?

Ha-ha! There you are. Ashki, look!

Near that burrow, can't you see it?

Right there in the middle, he's tiny.

I can see him now, Snow. He IS tiny!

It's Lizard Little.

Come on, let's get a bit closer.

Wow! Lizard Little's dancing!

Look! Ha, ha-ha!

Do it again.

Ha-ha! That looks funny.

I love dancing. Look, watch me!

You're so funny, Snow,

but I think Lizard Little's a better mover than you.

Ah-ooh, ooh-ah!

Ooh-ooh, ooh-ah!

Mum says his fast moves keep him out of trouble.

She loves it when he visits. He eats up the insects that would bite us.

Well, Ashki, I'm a fast mover too.

Watch, I'll race you to the burrow over there.

Wait, Snow! Mum said I had to look after you

and you've just run off! Come back!

Snow, we must stay together.

Not every animal around our town's friendly.

And you never know who's hiding in some of the burrows.

Look over there, Snow.

Oh, Ashki! What are they?

They look really cute.

They're swift foxes, Snow. And "swift" means they're fast.

Are they faster than me?

I'm the fastest thing around here.

They're much faster than you, Snow.

And they're much bigger than you, Snow.

They're having such a good time

rolling around and chasing each other.

Can we go and play, Ashki?

Sorry, Snow. Prairie dogs aren't friends with the foxes.

Oh, why not? They look cute and have big fluffy tails.

Hmm, I think it's something to do with their sharp teeth.

Sharp teeth? I can't see any sharp teeth.

Not yet, but we shouldn't hang around.

Let's go this way and hope they don't see us.

RATTLING

Do you hear something?

Um, not really.

What kind of thing?

A strange rattling noise... It's coming from over there.

RATTLING

Ashki, I don't like it when I can hear things, but can't see them!

RATTLE Oh!

Don't panic, Snow. I'll look.

I think it's empty.

Oh, no! It's not! Snow, get out of here!

Snakes alive! Run!

It's a rattlesnake, Snow.

And Mum says they're dangerous neighbours.

But we can run faster than a snake can slither. Can't we, Snow?

Oh, yes, Ashki. We really can!

Quick! Into this burrow, Snow!

Phew, that was close.

I need to catch my breath.

I've never run so fast in all my life.

But we can't stay here, Snow. It's not our burrow.

I wish we'd stayed closer to home.

Yes, I think we should make our way back to Mum.

Come on, follow me!

Ah! No!

Go back, Snow!

There's a huge hawk up there on the edge of the burrow.

Oh, what does he look like, Ashki?

He's got a huge pointy beak and big orange eyes.

Yikes! Anything else?

At the end of his feet, he's got long, sharp claws.

And his favourite food is a prairie dog picnic!

Huh! What are we going to do, Ashki?

Don't worry, I'll scare him away.

I'll give him a surprise, too! Watch.

Go away, Mr Hawk!

Leave us alone!

Aaaah!

It worked, Snow. He's gone.

He's flown away. It's safe to go out.

Let's go before he comes back!

Good idea, Snow.

Let's play I Spy. That will help us remember the neighbours we've met.

OK, Ashki. You go first.

I spy with my little eye something beginning with...R.

Um... Yes! Rabbit! Ricky Rabbit, he's a friend.

Now it's my turn!

I spy with my little eye something beginning with...S.

And it hisses.

S-s-snake.

You gave me too much of a clue, Snow!

I'm glad we're home, Ashki.

We've met so many neighbours, but I'm glad you knew which were friendly

and which to stay away from.

And now you know too, Snow. That's what big brothers are for, isn't it?

It's my turn for I Spy, now.

I spy with my little eye something beginning with L.

Oh, um...

Is it Lizard Little? He's my favourite. All that dancing.

What fun! Hee-hee!

OK. I spy with my little eye something beginning with...H.

Snow and Ashki have had fun meeting their neighbours.

Now they're back home, safe and sound, with their family.

H... Is it hawk?

No!

-Horses?

-No, we've not seen any horses!

I give up, Snow. What is it?

Home.

Oh, Snow!

Can we play again? Can we?

So, as the sun sets on the open prairies of North America,

Goodbye from all the friends and neighbours of Prairie Dog Town.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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