Friday, October 31, 2025

The Animal Show- Vampire Bat and Mosquito Part 2

 Jake: Yves is taking a day off today, so here’s Gordon Coonsy!

(cuts to the kitchen with Gordon Coonsy and a basket of fruit)

Gordon: Hello, everyone! Today, in honor of our guests, I’ll teach you how to make a blood smoothie. Don’t worry, parents, it’ll be kid friendly. First, you need a pound’s worth of red fruit. Any species will do, as long as it's red. Here, I have apples, cherries, raspberries, strawberries, and cranberries. (pulls fruit out of the basket) Now, we need a blender. I’ll go get one. (runs off to get a blender and places it on the counter) Now, you need to mix them. (places the red fruit in the blender and presses a button, making the blender mix the fruit) Now, we wait twenty seconds to the blender to make the delicious smoothie. (blender dings) Aha! Let’s try the smoothie. (takes a drink, only to figure out that it tastes horrible) Yuck! Forgot that mixing too many flavors can lead to disastrous results. Next time, I’ll exclude apples and strawberries. Besides, humans make those into tasty desserts!

(cuts back to Stinky and Jake)

Jake: And now, from all over the world…

Stinky: World.

Jake: Please welcome Mickey the Mosquito!

Mickey: Hi, Jake! Why is Stinky wearing vegetables?

Jake: He thinks you're a real vampire.

Mickey: As in drink blood? Don’t make me laugh! Only female mosquitoes drink blood.

Stinky: Then what do boy mosquitoes eat?

Mickey: Just look at the screen!

We male mosquitoes drink plant nectar and fruit juice.

Jake: So, whenever a mosquito were to bite me or Stinky, it would be a female mosquito.

Mickey: Correct! However, you have to stay away from them, but don’t tell my wife I said that.

Stinky: How come?

Mickey: Females spread diseases that can be fatal to humans. If any of them are watching, I’d recommend bug spray. For the animals, make sure you have an insectivore as a pal.

Stinky: Insectivore?

Jake: That’s an animal who eats mainly bugs. Like frogs and bats.

Stinky: I never tried a mosquito, but maybe they taste like weevils or even millipedes!

Jake: Stinky!

Mickey: That’s okay. Folks don’t really like mosquitoes, and because of that, I’m gonna sing a song.

Jake: And now, here’s Mickey the Mosquito singing ‘A Mosquito’s Lament’.

Mickey: It’s hard being a mosquito

A misunderstood bug

The girls may be parasites

But we just want a hug!

We may not make honey

Or even worth lots of money

But we just want more respect!

It’s hard being a mosquito

A misunderstood bug

But because we live outside

We don’t have to worry about touching a plug!

Next time you see a mosquito

Take this advice

Instead of swatting him

Just let him or her fly away twice

Bunnie: And now, it’s time for the Animal Awards! Today’s award goes to the smallest arachnid!

Armstrong: Arachnids? As in spiders and scorpions? Do I have to?
Bunnie: Yep! Today, the nominees are… the eriophyid mite…

Armstrong: The eyelash mite…

Bunnie: The Patu digua…

Armstrong: Or the black widow spider?

Bunnie: And the winner is… the eriophyid mite, which is so small that it requires a microscope to see it!

Armstrong: Yikes! An eight-legged creature that small? Before you know it, you’ll say that there were armadillos the size of a car!

Bunnie: That happened, too!

(cuts back to Stinky and Jake)

Jake: Before I start the story, I want to ask you something- Where's your garlic necklace?

Stinky: I gave it to Gordon Coonsey.

Jake: Good, because today, our story is about jumping beans.

Stinky: Jumping beans? But those are plants!

Jake: Not really, Stinky. Here, I’ll read the story to prove it. “Once upon a time in a toy shop, there was a box of two Mexican jumping beans. The beans love to jump, even though they have never seen each other before, since beans have no eyes. One day, however, one jumping bean named Jack jumped out of the box he was in. He knocked over dominoes, and they landed on a dart that made the jumping beans’ box topple over, making another bean jump out! ‘Who was that?’ Asked Jack. ‘It’s your sister, Jill.’ Said another jumping bean. ‘And we are not beans. We are caterpillars trapped in shrub seeds. Chew your way out, and you’ll discover for yourself. Jack decided to chew his way out of the seed, and out came a caterpillar! ‘Oh no!’ Shouted Jack. ‘My bean broke! I better repair it with string.’ And so, Jack decided to repair his seed with silk, still thinking that he’s a bean. Jill thought it was silly, so she rolled herself over to a toy truck, and it managed to break her seed. ‘I’m free!’ Said Jill. ‘I’ll go outside into the woods where real caterpillars live.’ And so, Jack and Jill went their own ways, and they lived happily ever after. The end.”

Stinky: That was a good story, Jake. Are Mexican jumping beans really from Mexico?

Jake: Yes, hence their name.

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

Bunnie: Okay, Armstrong. It’s Habitat Time! Today, we’re going to visit rotten logs.

Armstrong: That sounds as creepy as that mite! I think I’ll stay here. (smells garlic from the kitchen) Yuck, that stinks. I’ll go with you.

Bunnie: (opens the door) Let’s go!

Even though this tree died, there are still animals, plants, and fungi that found a home here.

This is a patent-leather beetle. Similar to birds, this insect throws up food into the baby’s mouth.

Armstrong: Yuck! When I was a chick, all my mom did was give me a drumstick.

Bunnie: These are woodlice, but don’t worry! They’re not the kind that get in your feathers and make you itchy. Woodlice, also known as sow bugs and pillbugs, are harmless herbivores that will roll up into a ball when they’re scared.

Armstrong: Are they bugs?

Bunnie: No. Pillbugs are actually crustaceans, making them related to crabs and lobsters.

Armstrong: Better watch out for that centipede.

Bunnie: Good observation, Armstrong. Centipedes have powerful bites that can inject poison into its prey. Even though its name means ‘with 100 feet’, most centipedes have closer to 70 legs.

Armstrong: What are termites doing here? I thought they live in wooden homes!

Bunnie: Not all termites live in suburban areas, Armstrong. Many live in mounds, though these live in the woods right here. Be careful, because they can spray acid from their foreheads.

Armstrong: Good thing we never had a termite on our show.

Is that a frog or a toad?

Bunnie: That would be a toad, Armstrong. For once, I actually want to go back first.

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

For Habitat Time, it’s Bunnie Bear-

Armstrong: And Armstrong the chickenhawk.

Bunnie: Just back from visiting a rotten log.

(Tizzy flies around Stinky and Jake again)

Tizzy: Tizzy here! Time for a quiz! (cuts to the screen below)

Which of these insects has the shortest lifespan as an adult? The mayfly, the butterfly, the earwig, or the silverfish? Give it a think. Back in a buzz!

(cuts back to Stinky and Jake, who are having a hard time figuring out the answer)

Stinky: What do you think the answer is, Jake?

Jake: I don’t know, Stinky. I already forgot the question.

Tizzy: Maybe you should hear the question again! (flies back to the previous scene) Which of these insects has the shortest lifespan? The mayfly, which only lives for a day as an adult. Bee-lieve it, because it’s true!

Jake: Thanks for the quiz, Tizzy. Well, that’s all the time we have for today, so until next time… (gets run over by rabbits)

Sean the Rabbit: Sorry for that, Jake. We’ve been told that Coonsey has been making garlic bread, so Dawn and I rounded up the kittens to have a bite. Want to join us?

Jake: Sorry, but I only eat meat. Stinky, want to go to Smelly World?

Stinky: I’ve had enough of smells for today. How about we go to your place? I won’t mind the cold!

Armstrong: Me too.

Bunnie: I can’t eat garlic.

Author's Notes: In the Animal Show episode 'Tiger and Tiger Beetle', Yves didn't like how each food chain he showcased ended with a cockroach like him getting eaten, so he made a literal food chain you could wear as a necklace. This week's edition of Baby Talk was taken from the Animal Show episode 'Dolphin and Fruit Bat'. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5-gETHI2ec&list=PLifn29u_lcafo7MqUFGnitW79pbWqDb6q&index=1&pp=iAQB Mickey the Mosquito is actually one of the CGI mosquitoes in Muppet Treasure Island that sings 'five, six, seven, eight'. I wrote the story about Jack and Jill as far back as early 2024, and I was going to include it in 'Tuatara and Salamander', but I decided to hold it back. It's only fair to tell a story about insects in an episode that co-stars an insect.
Next week, you'll learn about smelly animals when the guests are a stinkbug and a spotted skunk!

No comments:

Post a Comment