♪ 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! ♪

LIONEL: I just don't get it.

I'm doing what the directions say.

ROBOT: Hop... hop...

Hop...

( Lionel grumbles )

Oh, hey!

It looks like it's not working, huh?

Mmm.

Shh!

Sorry.

Sorry.

Sorry.

Yeah, I must be doing something wrong.

Can't get him to hop.

You're absolutely right.

You must be doing something wrong.

Hmm? Yeah.

ROBOT: Hop...

Maybe it's supposed to do that, Lionel--

just kind of flop over like that.

Leona, it says right here on the box:

"Bobby the Hopping Robot."

Not "Bobby the Flopping Robot"!

Well, he's very good at flopping.

LIONEL: Oh, man!

Hey, sweetie.

What's wrong, Lionel?

It looks like you've got your whiskers in a knot.

Oh, Dad, I've been trying

to make this "Bobby the Hopping Robot" work

and he just won't hop.

See?

ROBOT: Hop...

Hmm.

Maybe he's taking a nap, a little snooze.

( Leona and Theo laugh )

Okay, maybe not.

Dad, here, you look at the box.

He's jumping halfway to Mars

just like it says in the commercial.

Announcer: It's Bobby the Hopping Robot!

So easy to assemble.

( announcer reading )

BOBBY: Hop, hop, hop!

( announcer reading )

He's...

Oh, I don't know what's wrong.

I followed the directions, step by step.

Five times.

Oh, I'm sure you did, Lionel

but maybe you just left something out.

Uh-uh, I didn't, Dad, I didn't.

I read every single word!

Yeah, I watched him every time.

I'm his assistant.

Oh.

Well, why don't you just take it apart

one more time, son?

Oh...

But this time, take it very slowly, huh?

It just takes a little patience.

You know, I'll tell you what.

I'm going to put these books away

and I'll be right back to help you.

Yeah, okay.

Oh, Lionel

can I take him apart this time, huh?

Can I, please?

Well... okay.

But hey, hey, hey.

Uh-huh?

Be careful.

Oh, I will, I will.

All right.

WALTER: Hey, Clay, Lionel has

a new hopping, uh...

Uh, robot?

Yeah, a new hopping robot.

Hmm!

By the looks of things

he actually has a hopping robot... not.

Okay, so he can't make it hop

but he still has a...

Hey... hope!

Hey, Clay, did you see that?

Whoa, that's so poetic!

I love it when letters do, um...

That?

Yeah, hey, do it again, do it again.

Yeah, yeah.

BOTH: Uh... hop!

Oh... oh, oh!

BOTH: Hope!

Oh, that gives me goose bumps.

Yeah?

Ooh...!

Ooh...!

Pigeons are so easily entertained.

LEONA: Okay, one more part.

Oh, hey, great job, Leona.

Well done.

So far, so good.

All right, thanks, Leona.

Let's see here.

Hmm...

"Step one..."

( Lionel reading )

There!

Okay!

Perfect!

And now for step six, the final step.

Yay!

( laughs )

Shh!

Huh?

Sorry.

Sorry.

Hmm!

"Step six..."

( reading )

Great!

Oh, you're done!

Well, hey, turn him on.

Let's see Bobby go hopping wild.

Okay.

( both reading )

Okay.

( cranking )

Okay.

Come on, Bobby.

Yeah, Bobby, yeah, Bobby.

Yeah, yeah...

( both gasp )

BOBBY: Hop... hop... hop...

LIONS: Oh, no!

PATRON: Shh!

Oh! Uh...

LIONS: Sorry!

Now stand back and enjoy.

This is it, Dad.

This is as good as it gets.

BOBBY: Hop, hop...

( sobbing )

Oh, poor Lionel.

Poor Bobby.

Oh, don't worry, son.

Let me have a try, huh?

I'll have Bobby up and hopping in no time.

It just takes a little patience, that's all.

Sure, Lionel.

Aw, Dad can make anything work.

Huh? Uh-oh.

( groans )

ANNOUNCER: Thanks for joining us back at the national Word Cup Finals.

And it's a beautiful day for writing.

Our young star, Tiger Words, is at the "t."

He's got to write the word "top."

It starts with a "tih" sound

followed by the "ah," then "puh."

"Tih," "ah," "puh"... top.

This should be a piece of cake for Tiger.

Let's sit back and enjoy.

He takes a black pen.

Tiger clearly feels confident about this one.

If he makes it, he will win lots of tops.

He's lining up the word.

Now he steps up to the tee and...

Wow! This kid is certainly feeling cocky.

I don't think I've ever seen anyone

write the letters "o" and "p" so quickly.

Ooh, but perhaps a bit too quickly, I'm afraid.

Tiger has written the word p-o-t, "pot"--

not the word t-o-p, "top."

Sometimes, cocky is not the way to go

and Tiger certainly knows that now.

But it's in pen.

What will he do?

Let's watch.

He's taking something out of his pencil case.

And it's green paint!

He's painting over his mistake.

And now he's trying to write the word "top" again.

There he goes, writing that "o" after the "t"

followed by the final "p"

making the word "top"-- t-o-p, "top."

What an amazing young writer!

Tiger Words has once again won the championship

and lots of tops.

( applause )

( gasps )

The Monkey Pop-Up Theater!

( crowd murmuring )

( Celtic band playing high-energy dance tune )

( feet stomping )

( singing )

( feet stomping, sticks clopping, drums throbbing )

( dancers whooping, audience cheering )

( laughing )

And now, Arty Smartypants will read

without any assistance whatsoever

four words with the short "o"-- "aw"-- sound in them.

Thank you!

May I have a "build-the- excitement" drum roll, please?

( drum roll )

Thank you!

( clears his throat )

Hop!

AUDIENCE: Hop!

Hopping!

AUDIENCE: Hopping!

Hopped!

AUDIENCE: Hopped!

Hopper!

AUDIENCE: Hopper!

Hop...

Hopping...

Hopped...

Hopper!

( audience cheering and whistling )

AUDIENCE: Oh!

Wh...

Grasshopper!

Hop, grasshopper.

Thank you!

AUDIENCE ( chanting ): Arty! Arty! Arty!

( Theo growling )

THEO: I don't know!

I followed the instructions

step by step by step.

Five times I pulled him apart.

Five times I put him back together.

And nothing.

Nothing!

Nothing! Nothing!

PATRONS: Shh!

He kind of looks like he's hopping

if you put your head on the table and look at him this way.

Leona?

Huh?

If he was supposed to do that

they would have called him

"the-Bobbie-that- just-lie-there- on-the-table-

and-twitch-its- little-legs robot!"

( sobs )

Excuse me, Mr. Library Lion, sir

could you please sob a little bit more quietly?

Hey, would you mind keeping a lid on it?

ALL: Shh!

What? What?!

Shh!

ALL: Sorry!

Oh!

Hey, what is going on here?

We're getting complaints from the readers.

Dad and I have been trying to put

Bobbie the Hopping Robot together.

We followed the directions

but he won't work!

He won't work!

I'm telling you, it's either Bobby or me--

one of us is defective.

( moans )

Oh, Theo!

Why? Why? Why?

What's "defective" mean?

LIONEL AND THEO: It means he's no good, broken.

MONKEY: Hey, maybe he's broken.

He's probably doing something wrong.

Or he's doing something wrong!

Shh!

Shh!

Sorry.

Sorry.

Oh, Theo, dear, don't worry.

Look, let me see the directions.

I'm sure we can figure this out.

All it takes is a little patience.

Oh, Mom, Mom, can I take him apart for you?

I'm really good at it now.

Oh, good, thank you, Leona.

And I will have Bobby, your father and your brother

up and hopping in no time.

If you need any help, just shout!

Sorry.

ALL: Sorry.

What?

( imitating snake charmer )

Oh...

( imitating squeaking on window )