Thursday, March 14, 2024

The Animal Show- Clownfish and Oxpecker Part 2

Jake: And now, let’s see what’s cooking in the kitchen with Yves St. La Roche.

Stinky: Speaking of which, I want to see if I can help him. (runs off to find Yves)

(cuts to Yves in his kitchen)

Yves: Bonjour, bonjour little animals out there! Today, we will be making… (Stinky arrives in the kitchen)

Stinky: Hi, Yves.

Yves: What are you doing here?

Stinky: I want to help around to be symbiotic.

Yves: You’re just in luck, since today, we are making a symbiotic sandwich! First, we grab two slices of wheat bread. (Stinky grabs two slices of bread and gives them to Yves)

Stinky: Here you go!

Yves: This is white bread. I need WHEAT bread! Wheat bread is a darker color.

Stinky: Sorry. (gives Yves two slices of wheat bread)

Yves: Thank you. Now, we need tomato slices. (Stinky gives Yves potatoes) These are potatoes. Tomatoes are red, potatoes are brown.

Stinky: I’m a skunk. I have poor vision, but here you go. (gives Yves tomatoes)

Yves: Now, we need lettuce. (Stinky gives Yves lettuce) Then, some turkey. (Stinky gives Yves a live chicken) This is a chicken!

Stinky: I’m sorry. (the chicken flies off) The only experience I had in the kitchen was helping mom with groceries.

Yves: If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself! (grabs turkey slices and provolone cheese, grabs the other ingredients, and quickly makes a sandwich) There, a symbiotic sandwich!

Stinky: Looks like a regular sandwich to me.

Yves: It is a regular sandwich, but it is healthy with all five food groups.

Stinky: I better get going. (walks off to see Jake)

(cuts back to Stinky and Jake)

Jake: And now, all the way from Africa…

Stinky: Africa.

Jake: Give it up for Kusai the Oxpecker!


Kusai: Jambo, Stinky. Jambo, Jake.

Stinky: Jambo?

Kusai: That’s Swahili for hello.

Jake: It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kusai. You’re called an oxpecker because you stand on oxen, right?

Kusai: Correct, though we also take rides on zebras, impalas, hippos, rhinos, and giraffes. Here, take a look!

Those are my parents, hitching a ride on a zebra.

Stinky: How do you help the zebra?

Kusai: We eat bugs and arachnids that may harm our hosts, such as ticks, botflies, and mosquitoes. Here, my wife Nala is eating fleas off of a kudu.

Stinky: Wow, that must be cool!

Kusai: However, we may overstay our welcome and start picking at certain areas so much that we may infect wounds and scars!

Stinky: Yikes. Good thing skunks don’t need oxpeckers.

Kusai: I may not be a songbird, but can I sing a song for you guys?

Jake: Sure. And now, here’s Kusai singing ‘The Oxpecker Song’.

Kusai: Have you heard of a bird

Some call the Rhino’s Guard?
We stand on the backs
Of mammals we regard
Symbiosis is the name
Of the friendship we share 
Both benefitting from each other
Our relationship isn’t rare
Many animals treat each other 
With this same respect
For it makes both lives better
And has a positive effect
We oxpeckers lives in Africa
The land of Sahara and grass
Picking parasites and bugs
Off of another animal’s……….. backs!

Jake: Very nice. Anyway, here are Bunnie and Armstrong with the Animal Award!

Bunnie: Today, the award… (Stinky runs into the room)

Stinky: Can I help host today’s Animal Award?

Bunnie: Sure thing, Stinky! Today, the award for the most colorful fish! Could it be… the Moorish idol?

Armstrong: The mandarinfish?

Stinky: The regal tang?

Bunnie: Or the queen angelfish?

And the winner is, the mandarinfish!

Stinky: Wow, that is a colorful fish! Maybe he could be a guest star one of these days.

Jake: Come on, Stinky! You’re gonna miss today’s story!

Stinky: I don’t want to miss that! (runs over to see Jake) What’s the story about today, Jake?

Jake: It’s about a bird called the plover, and he’s also symbiotic. Want to hear the tale?

Stinky: Do I ever!

Jake: Okay. “Once upon a time in Egypt, there was a plover named Ktari. She was flying across the Nile River, until one day, she noticed a crocodile in pain. ‘Ow, ow, ow!’ Bellowed the crocodile. ‘I have an ache in my teeth!’ ‘Is that all?’ Asked Ktari. ‘I’ll help you with that. Open your mouth, and I’ll clean your teeth.’ The crocodile opened his mouth, and Ktari pecked at his teeth until every last germ was gone. ‘Thank you so much, little bird!’ Thanked the crocodile. ‘How could I ever repay you?’ ‘Maybe I could live with you.’ Said Ktari. ‘I used to have a nest, but then a giraffe ate it.’ ‘That’s horrible.’ Said the crocodile. ‘You can live with me. Besides, I need someone to watch over my teeth in case I get them dirty again.’ And so, Ktari decided to live with the crocodile, and they lived happily ever after. The end.”

Stinky: That was a good story, Jake. Was I being symbiotic by helping out with the show?

Jake: For the most part, yes. But next time, you should ask first.

(cut to Armstrong and Bunnie in front of the habitat door)

Bunnie: Okay, Armstrong. It’s Habitat Time! Today, we’re going to Kenya. That’s in Africa.

Armstrong: If I had a quarter for every time we went to Africa, I’d have enough to buy three Choccy Hawkies.

Bunnie: But Armstrong! At least 71 animal species that have appeared on our show have homes in Africa.

Armstrong 71?! Africa must be a popular place.

Bunnie: It is, Armstrong. (opens the door) Let’s go!

Here we are in the Grasslands in Kenya. Here, we have zebras, buffalo, a gazelle, and a baboon.

Armstrong: Why is that zebra rolling around in the dirt?

Bunnie: This helps rub off dead skin and remove parasites, such as fleas and ticks.

Armstrong: Maybe he should wear a flea collar.

That looks like a rhino.

Bunnie: That is a rhino! Rhinos once flourished throughout Africa, Asia, and even Europe, but humans have been killing them for Centuries to rip off their horns to sell them for money.

Armstrong: That’s horrible!

Bunnie: It is, Armstrong. It’s gotten so bad that some rhinos have to have their horns cut off to discourage poachers.

Armstrong: That looks like Swifty.

Bunnie: Swifty?

Armstrong: He was a cheetah in an older episode.

Bunnie: That’s not a cheetah- That’s a leopard!

Armstrong: What’s the difference?

Bunnie: Cheetahs are taller and slender in build compared to a leopard, which is stronger and bulkier. Also, cheetahs and leopards have different-looking spots.

Armstrong: Finally, some birds!

Bunnie: This is a weaverbird. They build nests shaped like little balls that they live in.

Armstrong: I spotted an elephant. Want a peanut?

Bunnie: Armstrong! Wild elephants don’t eat peanuts. They eat grass, fruit, leaves, bark, twigs, and roots.

Armstrong: With all that food, good thing it knows how to back its trunk! (laughs)

Bunnie: And here is a monitor lizard.

Armstrong: A monster lizard?

Bunnie: Monitor lizard, like hall monitor. These are some of the largest lizards in the world, with Nile monitors being seven feet long!

Armstrong: Watch out! Humans are the most dangerous animals out there! My cousin has a couple thousand of them living near his home.

Bunnie: Don’t worry, Armstrong. Humans in Kenya care about the environment, and some even feed the local animals. This human, for example, is throwing a fish at an eagle.

Armstrong: I wish I was an eagle in Africa, then I would have the luxury treatment.

Bunnie: Sorry Armstrong, but we have to get going. We’ve been in Kenya long enough.

(Bunnie and Armstrong leave the desert and head back to the Animal Show studio)

For Habitat Time, it’s Bunnie Bear-

Armstrong: And Armstrong the chickenhawk.

Bunnie: Just back from Kenya.

(Tizzy flies around Stinky and Jake again)

Tizzy: Quiz time!

Jake: And what’s the quiz this time?

Tizzy: Well, here it is! (cuts to the screen below)

Which of these birds also lives in Africa? The cockatoo, the emu, or the hornbill? Give it a think. Back in a buzz!

(Cuts to Stinky and Jake trying to answer the question)

Stinky: I believe it’s the emu.

Jake: Stinky, emus live in Australia. Hornbills live in Africa. We had one as a guest before!

Tizzy: You’re actually right! There are five different kinds of hornbills found in Africa, such as this southern ground hornbill. Bee-lieve it, because it’s true!

Jake: Thanks for the quiz, Tizzy. That's all the time we have today, and until next time, keep seeing the world through the eyes of animals. Bye!
Author's Notes: I don't know if Owen the hippo had a calf, but I imagine he would.
Kusai's wife IS NOT named after Nala from The Lion King; Nala just happens to be Swahili for 'queen'.
I did the math, and at least 71 of the Animal Show guest stars so far (including official and unofficial) have homes in Africa.
I'd like to thank my sister Angela for writing The Oxpecker Song. I was in a real slump that day.
Swifty the Cheetah was a character featured in the Animal Show episode 'Cheetah and Gazelle', in which he and Tommy (a Thompson's gazelle) demonstrated predator and prey. Luckily, Tommy didn't end up getting eaten.
Jake was right: There was a hornbill on The Animal Show before with Hortense the Hornbill, who appeared in the episode "Hornbill and Woodpecker".
Well, that's it for the first half of my Animal Show reboot season. Very soon, I will finally share with you my next Pokemon Region, Pinghei!

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