♪ HEY, WOW... ♪

♪ HERE'S HOW ♪

♪ COME AND READ ♪

♪ BETWEEN THE LIONS ♪

Chorus: ♪ COME ON ♪

♪ COME IN ♪

♪ BEGIN ♪

♪ THE WORLD AWAITS ♪

Woman: ♪ BETWEEN THE LIONS ♪

♪ BETWEEN THE COVERS OF A BOOK ♪

♪ IT'S TIME TO LOOK BETWEEN THE LIONS ♪

♪ BEHOLD THE TALES BEYOND THE TAILS ♪

Chorus: ♪ BEHIND THE DOOR ♪

♪ BECOME, EXPLORE ♪

♪ COME IN BETWEEN THE LIONS ♪

♪ BEGIN BETWEEN THE LIONS ♪

♪ BE HERE BETWEEN THE LIONS! ♪

Leona: LIONEL?

WHAT?

IF THE MOON IS FULL, CAN IT OVERFLOW?

WHAT'S IT MADE OF?

HOW FAR AWAY IS IT?

I DON'T KNOW.

UH, ROCK... FAR.

OH.

HEY, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?

WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE IN BED.

I'M GOING TO FIND A BOOK ABOUT THE MOON!

WELL, I'M COMING, TOO.

( snoring and cooing )

( quietly ): LEONA?

LEONA?

LEONA?

Click: YAWN.

( yells )

I AM IN SLEEP MODE.

SHOULDN'T YOU BE, LIONEL?

I'M LOOKING FOR LEONA.

OH, FOLLOW THE MOONBEAM.

YAWN.

LEONA?

OH, THERE YOU ARE.

LIONEL, LOOK AT THIS BOOK

LOOK AT THIS ONE.

LOOK, LOOK, LOOK...

( yells )

UM, AREN'T YOU TWO SUPPOSED TO BE IN BED?

( yawning )

YEAH, AREN'T WE... UH, YOU, SUPPOSED...

( yawns )

WE WILL BE, DADDY

AS SOON AS YOU READ THIS BOOK TO US

PLEASE...

( yawns )

OKAY, BUT, UH...

I'LL GET THIS ONE, DEAR.

UH...

LET'S SEE, WHAT HAVE WE GOT HERE?

READ IT, MOM, READ IT.

"THE QUEEN WHO WANTED TO TOUCH THE MOON"--

A CARIBBEAN FOLK TALE RETOLD BY HOOTIE KABOODLE.

HOOTIE KABOODLE.

YEAH, GO AHEAD, MOM.

( panting )

OH, I SHOULD HAVE CUT BACK ON ALL THOSE MACAROONS.

DRAT, I'M ALMOST THERE.

BRING UP THE NEXT THING!

Cleo: "BUT HER SERVANTS CRIED OUT THAT THEY'D RUN OUT OF STUFF."

DON'T GIVE ME EXCUSES.

I'VE NOT FAR TO GO.

I KNOW WHAT WILL REACH-- THAT BIG, BLACK PIANO.

( stammering )

NO BUTS, DO IT!

WE'RE BURNING MOONLIGHT HERE.

OKAY?!

Cleo:

OH, OH, OH...

( yelling )

OH, THIS IS GOING TO BE BAD.

( crash )

WELL...

THAT HIT THE SPOT.

NOW, LET'S GET SOME SHUTEYE.

AND WHAT DID WE LEARN FROM THE STORY?

RIGHT.

WHAT DID WE LEARN FROM THE STORY?

WE LEARNED THAT IT WAS A TERRIBLE STORY

BECAUSE THE QUEEN DIDN'T GET TO TOUCH THE MOON.

YEAH, I WANTED HER TO TOUCH THE MOON, TOO.

THE STORY TEACHES US THAT YOU CAN GET INTO TROUBLE

IF YOU THINK ONLY ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT

AND YOU DON'T WATCH WHAT YOU'RE DOING

WHILE YOU'RE TRYING TO GET IT.

GOOD LESSON.

NOW LET'S GET SOME SHUTEYE.

NO, I CAN'T SLEEP THINKING ABOUT THAT POOR QUEEN.

OH!

CAN'T WE TALK ABOUT IT IN THE MORNING, LEONA?

WHY?

DON'T WORRY, LIONEL TO THE RESCUE!

I'LL WRITE A STORY THAT FIXES EVERYTHING:

WHERE THE QUEEN TOUCHES THE MOON--

AND I'LL WRITE IT REAL SOON.

SO WE CAN ALL GO... UH, TO...

TO SLEEP, YEAH, YEAH.

HUH, DAD, HUH?

"MOON."

"OO."

( making "m" sound )

( making "oo" sound )

"MOO."

( making "t" sound )

"TOO."

( making "t" sound )

"TOOT."

"TOOTH."

Commentator: IT'S ANOTHER FINE DAY AT THE NATIONAL WORD CUP MASTERS

WHERE THE YOUNG WORD-WRITING PHENOM TIGER WORDS

IS STEPPING UP TO THE "T".

HE'S GOT TO MAKE THE WORD "TOOTH."

IT'S A TRICKY WORD, WITH THE "T" SOUND AT THE BEGINNING

THE "OO" SOUND IN THE MIDDLE, AND AT THE END

THE INTERESTING "TH" SOUND.

T... OO... TH.

IF HE MAKES IT, HE WILL WIN A TUBE OF TOOTHPASTE.

HE'S TAKING A WRITING IMPLEMENT FROM HIS PENCIL CASE.

IT'S A NUMBER-TWO PENCIL, A SMART CHOICE FOR THIS WORD.

TIGER POSITIONS HIMSELF AT THE "T."

JUST LOOK AT THAT PERFECT STROKE.

HE WRITES THE LETTER "O," AND LOOK

IT'S A SECOND BEAUTIFULLY EXECUTED LETTER "O"

MAKING THE VOWELS "O-O," WHICH MAKES THE SOUND "OO."

WITH THE LETTER "T," THAT MAKES THE SOUND "T... OO," "TOO."

IT'S REALLY LOOKING GOOD FOR TIGER.

NOW ALL HE HAS TO DO IS

ADD THE "TH" SOUND AT THE END OF THE WORD.

HE RAISES HIS PENCIL...

OH, WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT!

HE WROTE THE LETTER "F," WHICH MAKES THE SOUND "F."

HE'S WRITTEN THE WORD "TOOF."

BUT... BUT WAIT, HE'S NOTICED HIS MISTAKE.

HE'S TURNING HIS PENCIL AROUND, AND HE'S ERASING THE LETTER "F"

AND YES, YES, HE'S WRITING THE LETTERS "T-H," "TH"

CHANGING THE WORD TO "T... OO... TH."

"TOOTH"!

HE'S DONE IT AGAIN, AND THERE GOES OUR CHAMPION, TIGER WORDS

TO ACCEPT HIS TOOTHPASTE.

CONGRATULATIONS, TIGER.

"TOOTH."

"TOO."

( making "l" sound )

"TOOL."

"OOL."

( making hard "c" sound )

"COOL."

AND NOW, ONCE AGAIN, IT'S TIME FOR THE ADVENTURES OF SAM SPUD

PARBOILED POTATO DETECTIVE.

Potato: THE NAME IS SPUD, SAM SPUD.

I WAS WORKING LATE ONE NIGHT.

THE LOOSE BULB IN THE NEON SIGN OUTSIDE MY WINDOW

WAS ABOUT TO DRIVE ME CRAZY

WHEN THERE WAS A KNOCK AT MY DOOR...

YEAH?

AND SHE WALKED IN.

IT HAD BEEN A LONG TIME

BUT SHE STILL LOOKED GOOD, REAL GOOD.

"COWL"? THAT'S NOT RIGHT.

"O-W"-- THAT'S "OW."

THAT SHOULD BE "O-O,"-- "OO," "COOL."

SHE WAS A CUCUMBER.

SHE SAID SHE HAD A SCOOP FOR ME.

SHE DID-- TWO SCOOPS, PISTACHIO.

SHE KNEW I WAS A FOOL FOR PISTACHIO.

THAT'S WHEN SHE LOWERED THE BOOM.

I WOKE UP THE NEXT AFTERNOON.

IT FELT LIKE SOMEONE WAS DOING A TAP-DANCE ON MY NOODLE.

AS A MATTER OF FACT...

WAY TO BOOGIE, TOOTS!

Girl: MOM, THERE'S A TALKING POTATO WITH A HAT ON AND NO MOUTH.

Mother: THAT'S OKAY, DEAR

IT'S EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION.

I'M SURE IT WILL HELP YOU IN SCHOOL... SOMEHOW.

( clucking )

( telephone rings )

BARNABY B. BUSTERFIELD III PUBLIC LIBRARY

INFORMATION HEN SPEAKING.

( high voice babbling )

OH, WELL, YES, DEAR, THE LIBRARY IS ABSOLUTELY FREE.

EVERYONE CAN COME HERE AND READ

OR YOU CAN BORROW A BOOK AND TAKE IT HOME.

OF COURSE, YOU MUST BRING IT BACK, YES.

ALL YOU NEED IS A LIBRARY CARD, MM-HMM.

( voice babbling )

OH, YES, THAT'S FREE, TOO.

YOU'RE WELCOME.

( telephone rings )

LIBRARY, INFORMATION HEN SPEAKING.

OH, OH, LONG DISTANCE, WELL...

HOW MAY I HELP YOU?

ONE MOMENT, I'LL JUST LOOK THAT UP.

( singing short "a" sound )

( chuckles with embarrassment )

( making short "a" sound )

( singing short "a" sound )

( making short "a" sound )

( repeating "ch" sound )

"CHOO," "CHOO."

"A... CHOO."

"ACHOO."

( sneezes )

OOPS.

LISTEN UP.

I'M AWAKE, I'M AWAKE.

YEAH, I'M LISTENING, LIONEL--

I'M ALL EARS.

♪ HERE'S LIONEL THE LION CUB, ASTRONAUT ♪

♪ IN A SPACE HELMET MADE FROM AN OLD TIN POT ♪

♪ AND A BRAVE SMILE ETCHED ON HIS HANDSOME FACE... ♪

♪ SEE HIM SOAR IN A ROCKET HE MADE HIMSELF ♪

♪ HE LEARNED HOW IN A BOOK THAT HE FOUND ON THE SHELF ♪

♪ HE SHRUGS OFF DANGER WITHOUT ANY FEAR... ♪

♪ WHAT A HERO, CAPTAIN LIONEL ♪

♪ THE PEOPLE'S DECISION IS FINAL ♪

♪ HE'S GOING DOWN IN HISTORY AS... ♪

♪ SHARE A HISTORIC MOMENT WITH OUR LION HERO ♪

♪ AS THE COUNTDOWN WENT "THREE, TWO, ONE, ZERO" ♪

♪ AND THE CRATERED SURFACE CAME INTO VIEW ♪

♪ AND HIS SHIP TOUCHED THE MOON, AND A QUEEN DID, TOO. ♪

♪ WHAT A HERO, CAPTAIN LIONEL ♪

♪ THE PEOPLE'S DECISION IS FINAL ♪

♪ HE'S GOING DOWN IN HISTORY AS... ♪

SO, WHAT'D YOU THINK?

PRETTY COOL, HUH?

WONDERFUL.

NOW CAN WE ALL GET SOME SLEEP?

MMM, YES, GREAT STORY, LIONEL--

RIGHT, LEONA?

NO.

THAT WAS NOT ABOUT A QUEEN, LIONEL

THAT WAS ABOUT YOU!

( sputtering )

THERE WAS A QUEEN IN THERE.

OH, FOR ABOUT TWO SECONDS.

OH, MOM...

I'M STILL NOT GOING TO BE ABLE

TO GO TO SLEEP THINKING ABOUT THAT QUEEN

WHO WANTED TO TOUCH THE MOON.

I CAN'T STAY AWAKE.

I THINK I CAN STAY AWAKE A LITTLE LONGER

AND TALK TO LEONA

SO WE CAN SOLVE THIS PROBLEM.

YOU PUT LIONEL TO BED.

OH, YES, GOOD, FINE IDEA.

HOW COME LEONA GETS TO STAY UP

AND I-I-I-I GOT TO GO TO BED?

BECAUSE... UH...

DAD!

OH, I'M AWAKE, I'M AWAKE!

OH, MAN...

HMM, NOW, LET'S SEE.

AND NOW, MADISON THE OPERA DOG WITH MS. DENYCE GRAVES

SINGING THE DOUBLE "O" IN THE WORD "CROON."

( singing "oo" )

( audience cheering and applauding )

WATSON, COME QUICK AND BRING YOUR PAD AND PENC...

OH.

YES, DR. NITWIT?

THAT'S "NITWHITE!"

NITWHITE, SORRY.

WATSON, WRITE THIS DOWN:

DR. ALEXANDER GRAHAM NITWHITE

HAS JUST DISCOVERED THE ONLY WORD IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

WITH THE DOUBLE-O "OO" SOUND.

"BOO."

( chuckles )

BOO!

( screams )

( laughs )

COOL.

"COOL"?

OH, DEAR.

( typing )

OH, DEAR, I'M SUCH A FOOL.

( crying )

TOODLE-OO, DR. NITWIT.

THAT'S "NITWHITE"!

OOPS.

( laughs )

( sputtering )

( yells )

OO, I FEEL BETTER.

( fast music playing )

♪ WHO CAN HELP A COW MOO? ♪