WOMAN:
♪ Hey, now... ♪
♪ 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! ♪
THEO:
And here's
Langston Hughes!
( laughs )
Nice!
Enjoy Poetry Day!
Hey,
Mr. Webster!
Dr. Seuss.
Dr. Seuss...
Dr. Seuss.
There you go,
Mr. Webster.
Great!
Poetry Day!
LIONEL:
Poetry day!
THEO:
Poetry day!
Poetry day!
Poetry day!
Poetry day!
CLEO:
Click, raise the curtain.
Right, curtain going up!
CLEO:
Click, the curtain,
not the spotlight.
Right, curtain, yes.
Searching, searching.
Got it!
Welcome to
the Barnaby B. Busterfield III
Memorial Library's
Annual Poetry Day!
Only one rule
on this Poetry Day.
All poems must have words
with the "A-I" sound-- "ai"--
like "chain" and "train"
and "drain" and "raining"
I'm sure you will find it
quite entertaining.
( band playing cool jazz )
CUBS:
Mom?
Yes, cubs?
If Lionel and I
write a poem
can we read it
to everybody?
Absolutely.
Come on, Leona,
let's go write
our poem!
Okay!
Okay, we're going
to write a poem.
Ah!
A hundred years ago
on this very date
our founder,
Barnaby B. Busterfield III
held the first Poetry Day.
What he began long ago
we still celebrate.
If he knew that,
I wonder what Barnaby would say?
I would say, "Thank me.
"Thank me very much.
Busterfield, you are
truly great... and handsome."
Poultry Day?
Why do chickens
get a day
and not us,
uh...
Pigeons?
It's not
Poultry Day!
It's Poetry Day!
Oh!
Oh!
Poetry!
Poetry!
Never heard
of it.
A poem can transport you
take you places
in your imagination.
It can move your heart and soul.
It can...
Oh, they're starting!
Ooh!
Oh!
Hey, I see
a chicken.
( playing snazzy tune )
And now the first poem
of the day
read by the handsomest...
straight-shelf-stackingest
librarian, Theo!
( applause )
Thank you. Thank you.
THEO:
Oh, spotlight, Click.
CLICK:
Spotlight on Theo, coming up!
THEO:
Click, the spotlight,
not the curtain.
Oops.
CLICK:
I have got it!
THEO:
Okey-dokey.
"Waiting for...
Oh.
"Waiting for the Train."
A poetical extravaganza
for persons of all ages
by Theo the Lion.
Illustrated in stunning
depictions in the antique style.
Starring my sweet,
adoring family.
THEO ( reading ):
The end.
( laughing ):
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Now, that was poetry!
It had meter, a rhythm, a beat.
Yes, yes, yes!
And it had rhyme--
words that sound
the same at the end
like "train" and "rain."
BOTH:
Yes, yes, yes!
And it transported you
to another place and time
and told a story, didn't it?
Yeah, but, uh,
it didn't have a...
Chicken?
Yeah!
Maybe, it's poultry
without the chicken.
It's not "poultry,"
it's "poetry"!
Right, without
the, uh...
Chicken!
( laughing )
( stammers ):
Bah!
Hey, you having
a good time?
All right.
And now Martha Reader
and the Vowelles sing
the "ai" sound
made by the letters A-I
in the word "pail."
( Martha singing "ai" sound,
 then Vowelles repeat "ai" )
( singers sing "ai";
 then monkeys say "pail" )
( music ends, monkeys whoop )
WOMAN:
( children laughing )
( blues music plays )
♪ A-I, "ai," "ai" ♪
♪ A-I, "ai" ♪
♪ A-I can bring you pain ♪
♪ Pain ♪
♪ A-I between an R and N
can make it rain ♪
♪ A-I can wash a sunny feeling
down the drain ♪
♪ A-I can bring you pain. ♪
♪ A-I, "ai" ♪
♪ A-I can make you wail ♪
♪ Wail ♪
♪ A-I gets folks complainin' ♪
♪ When it's in the mail ♪
♪ And every time they nail you,
A-I is in the nail ♪
♪ A-I can make you wail! ♪
♪ A-I, "ai" ♪
♪ "A" and "I" together
sound like "ai" ♪
♪ They'll be there
each time you fail! ♪
♪ Don't you wonder whether
that's why people say ♪
♪ A-I is always in jail? ♪
♪ Jail! ♪
♪ A-I can bring you pain ♪
♪ Pain! ♪
♪ A-I can trickle down
your shirt ♪
♪ And make a stain! ♪
♪ Better get this information ♪
♪ Through your brain ♪
♪ A-I can bring you pain! ♪
♪ A-I, "ai,"
get it through your brain ♪
♪ A-I can bring you pain! ♪
♪ A-I ♪
♪ "Ai"! ♪
( music ends, women gasp )
If it weren't
for A-I
we wouldn't be
getting paid.
Oh, you got
a point there.
That's true--
no pain, no gain.
You know,
I love you all,
but I've got to go.
( cheering )
GAWAIN:
Excellent!
Gawain here once again
at Blending Fields
where two brave knights in armor
will charge together
at high speed and make a word.
Competing today we have Sir P...
( cheering )
and Sir Aint!
( cheering )
Blend on, dudes!
BOTH:
Paint!
( cheering )
Hold still.
Hold still!
Oh, it's you!
"Paint"-- excellent!
That's Gawain's word for today.
And this is Gawain saying
"Don't you complain"
because I'll see you
next time on...
ANNOUNCER ( quietly ):
Here we are back at the final
"t" of the Word Cup Masters.
Word-writing ace Tiger Words
is approaching the "t"
where he must write
the word "paint."
Could be challenging.
There's the "p" sound
at the beginning
followed by the "ai" sound
then the "n" sound,
then that final "t."
P... ai... nt...
Paint.
If he makes it, he will win
a train trip to Spain.
Tiger is selecting
his writing tool.
He's playing it safe
on this one.
It's a number-two pencil.
He gets in position
and, oh, look at that stroke--
a perfect letter P.
So far so good.
The letter P makes
the sound "p"--
the first sound
in the word "paint."
Let's see what Tiger does next.
He places his pencil and...
there it is-- the letter A
which is the second letter
in the word "paint."
Now watch.
Tiger is writing the letter N.
That makes the word "pant."
Oh, no!
He's putting his pencil away.
He seems to think he's finished.
What a disappointment.
But wait.
He's noticed his mistake.
Out comes a paintbrush.
( crowd applauds )
With that signature Tiger style
he slips the letter I
right in there next to the A
making the "A-I" sound of "ai."
He's written the word "paint,"
ladies and gentlemen.
Congratulations, Tiger
and enjoy that
train trip to Spain.
( train whistle blows )
( bagpipes, drums playing march;
 audience applauds )
Our next poet is
a very special guest.
This poet was born
in Scotland.
( inhales deeply,
 plays sour note,
 band music stops )
But later, he
lived in Samoa.
( swaying music plays )
CLEO:
Besides writing excellent books
like Treasure Island
and The Strange Case of
 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
he was also a great poet
who wrote A Child's
Garden of Verses.
Now, direct from
A Child's Garden of Verses
Mr. Robert Louis Stevenson!
( cheering and applause;
 bagpipes, drums play )
( both chuckling )
Thank you.
You're embarrassing me.
( Stevenson laughs )
Ahh!
( audience applauds )
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much!
Oh, you're very kind.
Click, a spotlight
for Mr. Stevenson.
Engaging spotlights.
( gasps )
THEO:
Click!
Och, my briscuit!
Click, raise the curtain!
Yeah!
Raising curtain.
Oops!
( gasps ):
Oh, Mr. Stevenson,
are you all right?
( groans )
Oh, at my age, a few new
wrinkles don't bother me.
And now a wee poem
that's all about the rain.
And I call it "Rain."
( cheering and applause )
CLEO:
Oh, wonderful!
Robert Louis Stevenson,
everybody!
Give it up
for Robert Louis Stevenson.
Great stuff, R.L.
Hey, hold, uh...
It?
Yeah!
Yeah, that did not
tell a... a...
Story?
Yeah!
Hey, you said
that poetry...
Poetry does not
 have to tell a story.
It can just be a word picture,
like that one
with meter and rhyme,
but no story.
That is poetry.
Hmm.
It made more sense
when it just meant, uh...
Chicken?
Yeah!
Yeah!
It never meant chicken, never!
Our next poets are my talented
cubs, Lionel and Leona
with a poem
they wrote.
Oh, hang on, hang on,
hang on, hang on.
( clears throat )
Click? Curtain!
Curtain.
( spotlight clicks on )
Very clever,
Lionel.
Yeah.
LIONEL:
Watch your step.
( clears throat )
Ready?
Yeah, yeah.
"Drain Chain"...
by Lionel
and... Leona.
Oh... me.
( clears throat )
( plays rim shot )
Hmm, ah, um, you're
going to say
that that poem
did not paint
a word picture,
aren't you?
Abso... uh...
Lutely?
Yeah!
Yeah!
Well, I suppose we could say
that that one was...
was about the words, yes.
The sounds, um... accented
by the poet's, uh, raw emotion.
Yes, yes, of course!
That's poetry, too.
My brain, uh...
Hurts?
Yeah!
Ooh!
MAN:
♪ When two vowels go walking ♪
♪ The first one
does the talking ♪
♪ In "boat" you hear
the "o" and not the "a" ♪
♪ In "meat" you hear the "e" ♪
♪ The "a" sits quietly ♪
♪ The second vowel you see
but you don't say. ♪
But...
Shh!
♪ Just the two of us together ♪
♪ In "train" and
"pail" and "rain" ♪
♪ The "a" speaks up;
the "i" does not. ♪
But...
♪ Shh! Let me explain. ♪
♪ When two vowels
go walking ♪
♪ The first one
does the talking. ♪
MAN:
♪ In "brain" you hear the "a"
but not the "i" ♪
♪ In "soap" the "o" is clear ♪
♪ The "a" you'll never hear ♪
♪ In "say" you say the "a"
but not the "y". ♪
But...
Shh!
♪ Isn't it neat? ♪
But...
Shh!
♪ It can't be beat. ♪
But...
Shh!
♪ It's such a dream ♪
♪ Don't mean to boast ♪
♪ But here's a toast ♪
♪ We're quite a team. ♪
MAN:
♪ When two vowels go walking ♪
♪ The first one
does the talking ♪
♪ I'm sorry, number two;
it's such a shame ♪
♪ Although it gives you pain ♪
♪ The rule is very plain ♪
♪ When two vowels walk,
the first one says its name. ♪
But...
Shh!
MAN:
♪ Yes, when two vowels walk,
the first one says its name. ♪
( imitating water bubbling )
Dr... dr...
d... r... dr... dr.
Ai... n.
D... r... ain.
Dr... ain.
Drain... drain.
( imitates water draining )
Flying off the shelf once again
 it's the continuing
 daring and dangling
Adventures of Cliff Hanger.
 Today's adventure:
number 2,498:
 "Cliff Hanger and the Rain."
 We find Cliff Hanger
 where we left him last:
 hanging from a cliff.
 Suddenly, it begins
 to rain and rain and rain.
 Cliff strains to reach
 into his backpack
 and soon obtains
 his trusty Survival Manual.
 Using his expert decoding
 skills, Cliff begins to read.
CLIFF:
Hmm... "brain," "grain"...
Ah, here we are: "rain."
( Cliff reading )
 Is this it?
 Has Cliff Hanger finally
 gained his freedom?
CLIFF:
Drat!
♪ And that's why he's
called Cliff Hanger. ♪
MALE VOICE:
Whoa! Heavy, dude!
Hey, very nice.
Thank you, strange chicken.
It's sad to see this day now end
but I hope we've started
a poetry trend.
Thanks to all the poets
who came all the way here.
And we'll see you all again
next year.
Wait, wait.
We have um, uh...
Uh... uh...
A poem?
Yeah!
Yeah!
What? Oh, run for cover!
Those pigeons
will just annoy you!
( clears throat )
It's called "A Poem."
( sighs ):
Oh, no!
Uh... uh...
Us?
Yeah!
Yeah!
Yeah, written by us.
You start, Walter.
Oh, thanks, Clay.
( clears throat )
Okay.
WALTER ( reading ):
"It transports you
over time and space.
"Takes you to another place.
Though here you must remain."
CLAY:
"A solitary bust of stone
"alone no more,
with no restraints.
Alive in worlds a poem paints."
WALTER:
"Finally has no complaints."
CLAY:
"For all the burdens
he has known
"float away,
then fall like rain.
"About the poem, that's like..."
a... a... a...
ALL:
Train?
BOTH:
Yeah!
( chuckling, audience applauds )
BUSTER:
Wonderful!
I feel transported!
I can't believe they wrote
such a beautiful poem...
for me!
Closing curtain!
I did it!
STEVENSON:
Applause for mouse!
Bravo, Walter and Clay Pigeon!
You are more talented than
I ever gave you credit for.
That was beautiful poetry.
Uh, I still don't
get how you can have
poultry without
uh, uh...
Chicken?
Yeah!
Yeah!
I take it all back.
There are games and stories at
the Between the Lions Web site:
pbskids.org, or America Online
keyword: PBS Kids.
What's that, Lionel?
Oh, that, Leona,
is a lug nut.
Oh!
A kid who gets
wild about reading
gets wild about learning.
Be a designated reader.
What's that?
Mmm, lug nut.
♪ ♪ ♪
[Captioned by
 The Caption Center
WGBH Educational Foundation]
CHORUS:
♪ Between the lions... ♪
♪ Between the lions... ♪
WOMAN:
♪ Come in between the lions ♪
♪ Begin between the lions ♪
♪ Be here between the lions! ♪
