1981
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School
Jodie is preparing the store for a Back to School sale. Jeff wonders what school is. Jodie explains that sooner or later all children go there to learn. Meanwhile, Jeff is helping Jodie and putting a box of baseball hats onto the counter. He tries to put his hat in and becomes a mannequin again. Jodie doesn't notice and she keeps handing him school bags to hold until the weight of the bags bends him over. Then Jodie notices, puts the hat on, and says the magic words.
Jeff asks us to warn him if he tries to take his hat off again.
Sam runs into the children's department with news, which he promptly forgets. Jeff asks if he's ever been to school. Sam thinks he's trying to be funny, but answers that of course he went to school, though it has been so long he's forgotten about it.
Jodie suggests Sam show us all what happened when Sam went to visit a day care center, which is something like a school.
Sam is shown all around the day care center, and then he tells the kids a story about his childhood. In appreciation, the "teacher" gives him a gold star.
Now Sam remembers his message. A package has arrived for Jodie with school books in it. Sam and Jodie go to unpack it.
Jeff is alone in the children's department. He is wishes he could go to school and is about to take his magic hat off to try on a baseball cap but we warn him and he doesn't do it. He's depressed that he'll never really get to go to school or wear a baseball cap.
Muffy comes by and wonders why Jeff is so sad. He tells her he's sad because everyone gets to go to school but him. Muffy explains that mice don't go to school either. "I know things because I'm clever!" Muffy says, in fact, she says she knows everything. She invites Jeff to test her knowledge with a question.
"What sort of things go into a school bag?" Jeff asks.
Muffy whispers to us: "I wish I hadn't boasted so, for the answer is I do not know."
Jeff turns to us for help. When a sandwich is suggested, Muffy decides to go make one. Jeff figures even Muffy has some things to learn. He wishes sadly that he could leave the store, go to school and learn everything there is to know. He sings "Learn, learn, so much to learn..."
Sam is looking for Penelope in the computer room. Sam remembers about the first time Penelope ever went outside. Robyn Hayle (the voice of TXL), provides Penelope's voice as we see pictures of her first trip.
TXL remembers that Sam wasn't very skilled at working her at first. He responds that she wasn't much help. But he knows how to use it now, and he proves it by punching out the code for a quiz.
Sam is making his rounds in the store restaurant and he hears music coming from the children's department. As he goes to investigate, he says, "I hope it's not a puma or a gnu or anything wild and crazy like that."
The Canadian Brass are in the store playing a spiritual called "Just a Closer Walk With Thee". Sam tries to confront them but they all scatter. "Who were those brass men anyway?" Sam wonders.
Back in the children's department, Jodie tells us about her school days and remembers her first teacher Miss Hammond, who was always asking questions. We flash back to Jodie's school days when she could never get called on for answers she knew but when she finally got a chance to answer she gave a silly answer. The question was: "What grows on your front lawn?" To which she answered "Two blue apples." Of course now she knows the answer is grass. As she gets up to resume her work, she bumps into Jeff who is reading the Book of Knowledge.
"I'm going to learn everything!" he tells Jodie.
"Everything. That will take a long time." Jodie answers.
"I know." Jeff replies.
Now the Canadian Brass are in the store restaurant and they are playing "Flight of the Bumblebee" very, very fast with a tuba as lead instrument.
Sam finally catches up with them and says, "I must admit that you do a pretty fine job of that Boogie of the Flight Attendants or whatever it is." But he claims he can play it faster. The C.B. object, saying Chuck, their tuba player, holds the world's record for playing the fastest "Flight of the Bumblebee". He invites them to let him try. At first he seems to be playing the tune on a trumpet impossibly fast, but then the C.B. find a tape recorder nearby, the tape all tangled up.
In Sam's computer room, Sam is eating a peanut butter and jam sandwich, but TXL tells him it's time to check the store on computer -- he scans the department displays for the school sale, and when he checks the children's department, he sees Jeff looking miserable. Sam decides to go down to help.
Jeff is discouraged because it's hard to learn things all by himself. Now he'll never know everything like Sam and Jodie and Muffy.
Sam explains that we all learn something new every day and that there are things even Muffy doesn't know.
Muffy insists she knows everything there is.
"Really?" Jeff asks earnestly. Muffy has to admit that it's not really true.
Now that Jeff knows that he's not alone and everyone has something to learn, he feels a lot better. Sam suggests they play a learning game, and they all sing "It's your turn to make a sound," they make sounds and the others try to guess what the sounds are.
Jeff is feeling much better now, in fact he feels wonderful.
Muffy says she now knows you can learn things at school, at home, or anywhere.
Together they sing, "Learn", again, as Jodie puts baseball caps on Sam, herself, and finally Muffy. It's a little too big for Muffy!
Quizzes:
- Can you guess what this is? (A very, very, very long pencil. Muffy shows up and sharpens it until it's a very, very short pencil!)
- Which penguin is different?
- What kind of animal is this?
Nursery Rhyme:
Notes:
- In "School", Muffy says that she's never been to school, but this was changed later in "Memories" when she recalls her high school graduation.
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