Maurice Q Pootle 5

MUSIC

ENGINE STARTS

-Hi, Pootle!

-Oopsy!

A-a-a-a-choo!

-BOTH:

-Eddi!

-BOTH:

-Stella!

Groobie!

GROOBIE LAUGHS

OOPSY LAUGHS

MUSIC

SLURPING

Ah.

How are you feeling now, Stella?

I'm much, much better, thank you, Pootle.

And that plant you gave me has really cheered me up.

Well, it's not actually the plant that's cheered me up.

It's what came with it.

Or should I say WHO came with it?

-BOTH:

-Huh?

Allow me to introduce you to...

..Maurice.

-Wow. He's a beauty.

-Oh, he is.

I love his stripes.

Hello, Maurice. Pleased to meet you.

I think you're a very nice colour.

And he's very talented, isn't he, Ray?

RAY CAWS

He's not really asleep.

I had to remind him Maurice is a friend and we don't eat our friends.

Oh, look!

STELLA LAUGHS

-I said he was talented. He wants to dance.

-Dance?

# Wriggle and squirm Wriggle and squirm

# Maurice is a caterpillar Not a little worm

Go, Maurice. Go.

Isn't he great?

# Maurice likes to bop And he can body pop

# He does the caterpillar He never wants to stop. #

-It's not much of a song but he likes it.

-It's brilliant, Stella.

-And so is Maurice.

-Oh, he is, isn't he?

Come on, my lovely, back in your tree.

Now, who'd like a sundwich?

RAY CAWS

Oh, oh.

I've found some string for you, Eddi.

Oh, thanks very much, Groobie.

Did you not have any you could use in your string collection?

-I think of you as the string king.

-Oh, very good, Groobie. I like that.

The string king.

EDDI LAUGHS

I have got some long string but it's not very strong string.

The string that's strong enough isn't long enough.

ENGINE STOPS

-Hello, Groobie.

-Hello, Eddi.

-Eddi's making a kite.

-Oh, how exciting.

-How's it coming on?

-I'm not sure what shape it should be.

I keep trying different ones.

Trouble is, just when I think I'm happy with it...

-You change your mind?

-No. The kite falls to bits.

-Oh.

Actually, Oopsy, I was hoping you could help me

-choose the colours for it.

-Oh, yes, I'd love to.

I've got some big fat felt tip pens at home. I'll go and get them.

MUSIC

ENGINE STARTS

Groobie, could you put your finger on this knot so I can tie it nice

-and tight?

-Tie with a... What's it called? A reef bend.

Left over right and under, then right under the leftovers.

-Something like that.

-There, that's got it.

Hang on. You've tied my finger into the knot!

If I'm careful I can just slide it out.

There.

-Oh.

-Oh.

-I'll get us some smoothies.

'Hello, Pootle. Can you hear me? It's Stella.'

Hello, Stella. What's wrong?

-'It's Maurice.'

-Maurice? What's happened?

-'He's gone missing.

'I've searched and searched. I can't find him anywhere.'

He can't have got far. He's only got little legs.

'I know, but he's got a lot of them.

'I wondered if he might have crawled into one of your spaceships.

-'Can you have a look, please?'

-Course we will. Don't worry, Stella.

We'll find him.

No, no, nothing there. Oh, where are you?

Think, Stella, think.

RAY SNORES

Raymond, I know you're not asleep.

Oh, if I thought for one moment that you might have...

No, of course you wouldn't.

-Is anything the matter, Pootle?

-Maurice has gone missing.

-ALL:

-Who's Maurice?

-He's a caterpillar.

-Caterpillar?

Oopsy and I met him this morning. Now he's disappeared.

-I expect he'll turn up.

-Stella thinks he might be in my spaceship.

MUSIC

He's not here.

I wonder if Oopsy's seen him. Pootle to Oopsy, Pootle to Oopsy.

Come in, please.

RADIO CRACKLES

Pootle to Oopsy, can you hear me, Oopsy?

RADIO CRACKLES

What's happened to Oopsy's radio?

I don't know. I'll have to go and find her.

ENGINE STARTS

MUSIC

# Da-da-da-de-do-do-de-do-di

# Da-da... #

Eddi will love these colours.

MUSIC

Oh, there's Pootle!

He's going fast. Oh, he wants a game of space tag!

OOPSY LAUGHS

Well, you can't catch me, Q Pootle 5.

ENGINE ROARS

What's she doing? Come back, Oopsy.

ENGINES ROAR

OOPSY WHOOPS AND LAUGHS

Oh, no, she thinks I'm playing space tag.

Pootle to Oopsy, I need to tell you something important.

RADIO CRACKLES

Right, there's only one thing for it.

ENGINE ROARS

BANG

Got you. Now you chase me back to Groobie's.

OOPSY LAUGHS

Watch out, Pootle, Oopsy's after you.

Wee-hee!

That was Stella, Eddi. She's not found him. She's on her way over.

Oh.

ENGINE ARRIVING

ENGINES STOP

I'd no idea my radio wasn't working.

Oh, I wonder where Maurice has got to.

Let's have a good look around your spaceship.

MUSIC

CLANGING

Whoa! Careful!

-Oh! Thanks very much, Oopsy. These will be great.

-Aha!

What is it, Pootle, have you found Maurice?

No, but I think I might have discovered why your radio

isn't working. Look here.

-It's really stuck.

-Oh, it's a lump of space mud.

There's a lot of it about at the moment. It can be quite clingy.

-Bud-D, will you fetch my tool box?

-Absolute-ee-too-tee.

ENGINE ARRIVES

ENGINE STOPS

-Any sign of Maurice?

-I'm afraid not, Stella.

-Oh.

Oopsy's radio wasn't working. She's got space mud on her aerial.

Right, pass me a hammer, please, Bud-D.

A screwdriver might be better.

-I'd use a pair of pliers.

-Oh!

Stop, stop, stop! That's not space mud.

That's Maurice!

-ALL:

-Huh?

Look.

CRACKING

MUSIC

That's wonderful.

-ALL:

-Oh!

-Wow.

-Look at that!

Maurice has turned into a butterfly.

It is wonderful, isn't it?

Oh!

Oh!

Phew! That was lucky. I thought he was going to fly away.

-But Stella, how are you going to get him home?

-I'm not going to.

-ALL:

-Oh?

MUSIC

-ALL:

-Oh!

Bye-bye, Maurice.

-ALL:

-Bye, Maurice.

Look at him. He's like a tiny little rainbow.

Oh, imagine what it would be like to change into something really,

-really beautiful like...

-You don't need to, Oopsy.

I think you're... just right.

We never did get that smoothie, did we, Eddi?

Oh, where is Eddi?

He's over there, Groobie.

-Are you all right, Eddi?

-Oh, yes. Fine, thanks, Pootle.

What do you think? Shall we try it out?

MUSIC

-Oh, it's beautiful, Eddi.

-Oh, isn't that lovely, Ray?

MUSIC