Episode 3 Just So Darwin

A long time ago, Darwin came to our island.

The stories that he told, well, filled my granddad with wonder!

And he told me so that I could tell you.

Granddad, have you ever seen a flying tortoise?

No, son. I don't think I have!

Mind you, there are some strange-looking animals out there.

-Like what, Granddad?

-Like the very unusual-looking platypus.

Once upon a time, a young platypus hatched from his egg,

and stayed safely in his burrow with his mummy.

One morning, however, Peter Platypus woke up to find his mummy

wasn't lying next to him!

Mummy...Mummy!

And when Peter Platypus heard no answer, he decided to set off

to find her. The problem was,

Peter had never seen his mummy in the daylight.

Mummy! Mummy!

Oh! I'm not your mummy, little one. I'm a kookaburra.

-But I have a beak just like you.

-Maybe so, little one,

and it's a beautiful beak. Great for digging up worms and insects

under rocks on the river bed. But you have fur, and I have feathers.

So I'm definitely not your mummy.

Oh. I'll go and find my mummy with fur, then. Cheerio!

Mummy? Mummy?

Me? Mummy?

Oh, no! I don't think so, little one.

Why? I have fur, just like you.

Yes, and beautiful fur it is too. Very good for keeping you warm.

And I'm sure it'll help you swim fast in the water too. But...

you have webbed feet which, again, are great in the water,

but my feet are very different.

I'll go back to the water and find my mummy with webbed feet. Cheerio!

Mummy? Mummy?

What? I'm not your mummy!

Why not? I have webbed feet just like you.

Yes, so you do. But you have a long tail. I don't have one like that.

Look! The crocodile who lives in the river has a long tail.

I'll go and see her, and see if she's my mummy, then.

Be careful, little one. Don't get too close!

Mummy? Mummy?

Aaah.

-I'm not your mummy, or your daddy, for that matter.

-Why?

You have a long tail just like mine.

Yeah, but it's very different to yours, and I bet you don't have

my sharp teeth to eat things with!

You're right, Croc! He doesn't have sharp teeth, but he does have

a beak a bit like me and a kookaburra.

Fur like kangaroo, feet like me...

and a long tail a bit like yours. And this makes him

a fine, young platypus.

So?

A platypus has a poisonous spine to defend himself.

Ha! I do!

I wasn't that hungry anyway.

Thank you. But how will I find my mummy now?

HE CRIES I'm lost...

and I don't know my way back.

Oh, well...you obviously live near the river,

as you have webbed feet, like me.

Sleek fur to help you glide through water...

A beak for finding food on the river bed.

And a tail a bit like mine.

Why don't you carry on up the river, making a noise your mummy can hear?

HE BARKS SOFTLY

Mummy! Mummy!

Peter! Where have you been? I've looked everywhere for you.

You look just like me!

Of course I do, Peter. I'm your mummy.

Now, you must be hungry.

Wow, a platypus is really strange!

I think it would be pretty cool to have parts of different animals.

So which part of which animal would you like?

I want the wings of an eagle so I can fly,

a giraffe's neck so I can eat those leaves up there,

and I want camel's legs so I can walk in the desert.

Looking like that, where would be the perfect place for you to live?

Hmm...

The next story is all about a very popular desert plant

called a cactus.

THUNDER CRACKS

-I don't like this thunder and lightning.

-It'll soon pass, Sam.

And just think how good all this rain is for the plants.

-Really, Granddad?

-Of course rain is good!

Without water, there'd be no plants, which would mean no food for us.

Well, maybe rain isn't so bad, but I don't like the thunder.

I know what will help pass the time.

A tale about a very popular and unusual plant called a cactus.

One day, a family of woodpeckers were blown off course

by a terrible storm, and got lost in the desert.

-I'm hungry, Mummy!

-Oh...I'm thirsty.

Huddle in tight, we'll find some food as soon as the storm is over.

Once the storm had passed, the desert changed very quickly,

from wet and thundery to very, very hot and dry.

Goodness me!

What are you all doing here? I've never seen birds

like you around here before.

We're lost and looking for food and shelter.

-Best thing you can do is find a cactus.

-A cactus?

-I don't think I've seen one of those before!

-It's a green plant.

And there'll be plenty of water inside it for your little 'uns.

And so Mother Woodpecker set off across the hot, dry, dusty desert,

to find a green plant called a cactus.

Excuse me, lizard. I'm looking for a plant called a cactus.

Oh, the cactus is very popular around here. It holds so much water

-and lots of insects live there too.

-I love insects...and water!

Why does a cactus have lots of water, Granddad?

A cactus is like a big water tank. It soaks up lots and lots of water

when it rains, and its waxy skin stops the water leaking out

when it gets hot.

So where can we find a cactus?

Keep travelling in that direction.

You should find one amongst the other desert trees.

Oh, and watch out - the cactus has spines.

There! A cactus!

It might be! Let's see if there's any water in it.

There's no water. This can't be a cactus.

There are no spines, either.

Let's not give up. Come on, we're looking for a thick, green plant,

with waxy skin and prickles.

There!

I don't think that's a cactus either.

But...look behind it! Over there!

Follow me!

Now, mind where you land, little ones. Remember the spines!

Oh, my!

And look at these insects.

KIDS: Wow!

Ouch. Ouch!

What's that?

It looks like a cactus doesn't want to be eaten by rats.

A perfect nest!

I wonder if we can eat this.

It's a very good thing that the woodpeckers enjoy the fruit,

because it contains seeds.

-Why?

-Well...

When they eat the fruit, they swallow the seeds,

and the seeds come out in the woodpeckers' poo.

When the poo lands on the floor, hopefully, more cactuses will grow!

The next time there was a desert storm,

the woodpeckers were much safer.

The hole that Mother Woodpecker found in the stem of the cactus

gave them great shelter. And if you looked carefully on the floor,

you could see a little baby cactus growing too.

From the woodpecker's poo!

He-he! Yes, Sam.

What are you doing, Sam?

I'm going to gather lots of rainwater,

so I can store it like a cactus.

But you don't have prickles -

how are you going to stop me getting to it?

Hmm.

In the next story, Sam finds out that not all tortoises look like us.

Granddad! Look at these fish! They all look the same!

We look almost the same, don't we? Are all tortoises like us, Granddad?

Well, some are very different.

-Are they?

-On that island over there,

the tortoises have long legs, their shells are a different shape,

and their necks are much longer than ours.

Why's that?

Well, a long, long, long time ago,

tortoises all looked a bit like each other,

and they lived on an island where there were plenty of plants to eat.

Whoa! Hold on tight, Sam!

We don't want you washed away by the sea!

Sometimes, tortoises did get washed away from the island.

What happened to them?

Some tortoises floated across to islands

where there weren't so many plants -

where survival was hard.

It's good to be out of the sea, but...

There's not much on this island to eat.

And there's not much on this island to drink.

THEY SIGH

Some of the tortoises did not survive.

But some did, and after a long, long, long, long time,

some of the tortoises were born with longer legs, and some

had slightly longer necks.

These helped them to live on the island more easily.

-BOTH:

-Stre-e-e-etch!

Oh, that's too high.

If only my shell didn't get in the way,

I'd be able to reach it.

Being different can be really useful.

Oh, yes. And when those tortoises had babies,

some had longer legs, and some had longer necks.

And after a long, long, long, long time,

some even had slightly different-shaped shells,

that didn't get in the way of their stretching.

And it was the tortoises with the longest legs, and the longest necks,

and the different-shaped shells who survived best.

Correct.

They were better suited to living on that dry and black island.

So what about the tortoises on that island? Do they look like us?

I'm not sure. Shall we go and see?

OK!

Watch out!

Granddad! That tortoise looks like us, but he's much, much bigger!

Oh, yes!

Whoa!

-THEY COUGH AND SPLUTTER

-Don't panic, Sam!

Us tortoises float. I'll swim over and get you.

Climb up on my shell, Sam, and we'll float over to the island.

You OK?

That was a big wave!

This is fun!

-So, shall I finish the story as we go?

-OK!

You remember the tortoises that got washed onto the first island,

-and didn't have much to eat?

-Yes...

Some tortoises got washed onto islands

where there was lots of food.

Plenty of lush food!

And plenty of water!

-BOTH:

-And there's no sign of danger! Phew!

So, with plenty of food,

and no need to run away from animals that might eat them,

these tortoises grew quite large.

And when they laid eggs, some of those tortoises were bigger,

and then some of their children were bigger too!

And it all happened over many, many years, until they became...

Giant, giant tortoises!

Correct.

Tortoises that once looked like each other had become different.

Hello!

So, Granddad, how long would we have to live on this island

to grow as big as that tortoise?

Hmm...

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]