Transcript for Eight Legs Vs. Two-Brains[]
Narrator: Today's words are volunteer and habitat.
(Scene: Woodview Elementary.)
Narrator: Ah, it's another safe and pleasant day in-- (A giant spider climbs on top of the school building, and the narrator screams.) A spider!
(A hand picks up the spider, revealing it to be a normal-sized spider climbing a miniature replica of the school. An old woman lifts the spider from its terrarium, showing it to Becky's class.)
Old Woman: Hello again, my darling two-eyed, two-legged Homo sapiens. That means people. (She laughs. The class remains silent.) I see you've all been taking good care of Shaggy the tarantula. Did you know that Shaggy here is older than most of you? And with the proper care, he can live to be up to 20 years old.
Violet: Oooh...
Old Woman: Unfortunately, this is Shaggy's last weekend with your class.
(Becky smiles.)
Violet: Awww!
Old Lady: On Monday, I take him back to the tarantula farm, where he's free to roam around in his natural habitat.
Becky: I know I won't miss that creepy-crawly thing. (shivers)
Violet: Why? What's not to like about him?
Becky: Well... he's a spider. So...
Violet: Oh, I forgot! You're afraid of cute little creatures that are 500 times smaller than you. (Becky glares at her.)
Old Woman: And the lucky student who gets to take the spider home for its last weekend is... (Becky shrinks back.) Becky Botsford!
(The old woman drops Shaggy on Becky's desk. Becky screams and hides under the desk.)
Violet: Awww! (She puts her hand out and the tarantula climbs onto her arm)
Becky: Violet, take my turn, please, please, please!
Violet: Sure, Becky. I'd love to. (to the old woman) I volunteer to take Shaggy home so Becky does not have to.
Becky: (climbs out from underneath her desk) That's a great idea, Violet, because I'm not sure I'd be able to do a good job. I'm too busy.
Old Woman: I'm sorry, Becky. Violet can't volunteer for you. Observing the spider over the weekend is a part of a class assignment, and everyone else has had a turn, so there's no getting out of it. (Violet drops Shaggy on Becky's desk and Becky groans.) The assignment is to observe Shaggy the tarantula over the weekend and complete three drawings of him in his habitat.
Becky: Gross!
Old Woman: There's nothing to be scared of, Becky. Just think of him like a shaggy little dog... with four extra legs. (laughs as she walks out of the classroom, revealing her to have four legs) Well, goodbye. (closes the door)
(Scene: The school yard. The student are walking home, with Becky carrying Shaggy's terrarium at arm's length while talking to Bob.)
Narrator: Later...
Becky: How am I supposed to fight crime and take care of a scary tarantula? (Bob chatters.) He's probably planning his escape from that habitat as we speak! (Shaggy scratches his head and Becky looks disgusted. Suddenly, her super hearing picks up Dr. Two-Brains laughing maniacally. Becky gasps.) Sounds like trouble. I guess Shaggy's coming with us, Bob. Uh, how about you carry him first? (throws the terrarium to Bob) No backsies! (Becky quickly walks away. Bob chatters in protest and follows her.) Word up! (flies away)
(Scene: A farmhouse. WordGirl flies up to it and warily enters.)
Narrator: Meanwhile, at a farm near the outskirts of town, Dr. Two-Brains and his henchmen are up to...
(Dr. Two-Brains is standing next to a ray and talking to his henchmen, who are moving a cow suspended in the air around. Under the cow is crates of nachos. All three are wearing farmer's clothing.)
Dr. Two-Brains: A little to the right. No, not that right, your other right!
WordGirl: Uh... Huh?
Narrator: Well, I'm sure they're up to something evil.
Dr. Two-Brains: Okay, okay, stop! Now squeeze!
(Dr. Two-Brains presses a button on his ray as Charlie milks the cow. The ray turns the cow's milk into nacho cheese, which lands on the nachos.)
WordGirl: (clears her throat) What are you doing to that cow?
Dr. Two-Brains: Isn't it obvious?
(Dr. Two-Brains and his henchmen stare at WordGirl. The cow moos.)
WordGirl: Not so obvious.
Dr. Two-Brains: I'm using my cheese ray to turn its milk into delicious, scrumptious, gooey, runny, stretchy nacho cheese! (The unnamed henchman tastes the cheese.) Ooh! How is it?
Unnamed Henchman: Mmm! Delicious!
Dr. Two-Brains: Ooh, give me one! (eats a nacho chip) Mmm... Tasty! Oh, these are gonna be big. We're gonna make a lot of money off of these. (to WordGirl) Want one?
WordGirl: (looks at Shaggy) Ugh...
Dr. Two-Brains: What, are you scared of cows or something?
WordGirl: (tries to hide the terrarium) Uh, no! I'm fine. Can we get back to the whole "me stopping your diabolical plan" thing?
Dr. Two-Brains: (sighs) Fine, if you insist.
(Dr. Two-Brains tries to zap WordGirl with his cheese ray. As she dodges the blasts, Dr. Two-Brains hits some of the barn's columns on the ceiling, turning them into cheese. Suddenly, Captain Huggy Face accidentally drops Shaggy's terrarium.)
WordGirl: Oh no!
(Dr. Two-Brains examines the cage. As Shaggy starts to escape, WordGirl gasps and hugs Captain Huggy Face for comfort. Suddenly, Shaggy jumps out of the cage and onto Dr. Two-Brains' face. Both he and WordGirl scream. Dr. Two-Brains jumps backwards, and Shaggy falls off his face.)
Dr. Two-Brains: Is that what I think it is?
WordGirl: A giant tarantula? Yes!
Dr. Two-Brains: (shudders) And you're just carrying it around?!
(Huggy is seen eating the cheese off the column.)
WordGirl: I didn't have a choice!
(Shaggy looks up at WordGirl sadly.)
Dr. Two-Brains: (reaches for Shaggy) I'm gonna get you-- (recoils) Oh man, I can't even look at it.
Unnamed Henchman: Hey, Charlie's got a really big foot. He can step on it!
WordGirl: No, don't step on it!
Dr. Two-Brains: I think it bit me! It bit me! I think it bit me!
WordGirl: Was it crawling on me? I feel like it was crawling on me.
(Captain Huggy Face jumps down and puts Shaggy back into his terrarium. He gives a somewhat annoyed chatter to WordGirl, who lets out a sigh of relief.)
WordGirl: Thanks, Captain Huggy Face.
Dr. Two-Brains: What do you say we pick this up later?
WordGirl: Yeah. Let's reschedule. (zooms out of the barn) I need to go home and take a shower.
(Dr. Two-Brains and his henchmen ride the cow out.)
(Scene: The Botsford residence. Becky puts chains around Shaggy's terrarium and slowly backs away from it.)
Narrator: Later that weekend, after several showers and two hours of zen meditation, Becky realizes that fighting crime, spider-sitting a giant tarantula, and completing her class assignment all at the same time is actually just as difficult as it sounds. (Becky carries the terrarium to TJ's room.) And also that her brother TJ has probably never cleaned his room.
Becky: Whoa, TJ. (TJ's floor is revealed to be a mess of costumes and WordGirl memorabilia. He is sitting in the middle of the room, reading.) Your habitat is almost as scary as Shaggy.
TJ: Thank you. I'm glad you like my habitat. (pause) I don't know what the word "habitat" means.
Becky: Oh. A habitat is the place where an animal normally lives. Shaggy's natural habitat is the desert. Well, for now it's this travel container. And your habitat is here; a pigpen, which is also a pig's habitat. (walks into the room)
TJ: If you think my room is so gross, why don't you go back to your own habitat?
Becky: Because if Shaggy escapes in my room, I'll never be able to go in there again. Can I please do my tarantula assignment in here?
TJ: (teasingly) Oh, so you're still scared of spiders?
Becky: I wouldn't say scared. They just make me... uncomfortable. (holds out the terrarium to TJ)
TJ: Well, you shouldn't be creeped out by them. Spiders are our friends.
Becky: I find that hard to believe.
TJ: It's true! They're an important part of our natural habitat.
Becky: (grimaces) Really?
TJ: Think about it. A tarantula will go after insects, and some can even take down a mouse, but humans aren't their enemies.
Becky: Take down a mouse? That gives me an idea. (Her super hearing picks up Dr. Two-Brains laughing maniacally in the distance.) And just in time! Thanks for all the info, TJ, but I forgot that I volunteered to help at the farmers' market. Gotta go!
(Becky rushes out of TJ's room and grabs Bob, who is walking by brushing his teeth.)
(Scene: The farmers' market. Dr. Two-Brains and his henchmen are holding a nacho stand.)
Narrator: Meanwhile, at the local farmers' market, Dr. Two-Brains' evil nacho cheese scheme is well underway.
Unnamed Henchman: Nachos! Get your delicious nachos here! We made it with a ray that we zapped at a cow!
(Captain Huggy Face jumps down in front of them and takes a box of nachos. WordGirl glares at him.)
Dr. Two-Brains: WordGirl! I knew you'd show up sooner or later. Might I interest you in some delicious nachos?
WordGirl: This isn't your usual bad guy stuff. What's the deal?
Dr. Two-Brains: Hey, these ray guns don't pay for themselves, and nachos are a very hot snack item right now. Sure you don't want one? (Captain Huggy Face chatters in agreement. WordGirl glares at him.)
WordGirl: All right, this has gone on long enough, Two-Brains! That cow didn't volunteer to help you do this. You can't just steal helpless animals from their habitats and use them in your evil plans. Unhand that cow!
Dr. Two-Brains: I'm sorry, miss, but you're disturbing the paying customers. (aims his cheese ray at WordGirl) I'm going to have to ask that you leave.
(Dr. Two-Brains tries to zap WordGirl with the cheese ray. She dodges out of the way and grabs the cow.)
Dr. Two-Brains: Hey, that's my cow!
WordGirl: Not anymore! Now, Huggy!
(As Captain Huggy Face takes out Shaggy's terrarium, Dr. Two-Brains tries to zap them his ray gun. Captain Huggy Face drops the terrarium as the cow falls on top of WordGirl. Dr. Two-Brains laughs mockingly as WordGirl reaches for the terrarium. Shaggy is not wearing a red cap like Captain Huggy Face's. WordGirl touches Shaggy, and he recoils. Dr. Two-Brains prepares to zap her with his cheese ray as Captain Huggy Face and the cow warn her. WordGirl finally grabs Shaggy and throws him towards Dr. Two-Brains and his henchmen.)
Unnamed Henchman: Oh no, he's back! (recoils)
Dr. Two-Brains: (screams) What's that thing doing here?!
WordGirl: Meet my new sidekick: Shaggy. (Captain Huggy Face chatters in protest.) Right. New assistant sidekick.
Unnamed Henchman: Uh... I just remembered that Charlie and I volunteered to help my friend move today.
Dr. Two-Brains: What do you mean, you volunteered?!
WordGirl: The word "volunteer" means to offer your help to someone who needs it.
Dr. Two-Brains: Oh, you mean the way my henchmen volunteer to do my laundry every week.
Unnamed Henchman: No, you force us to do that.
WordGirl: I always volunteer to help the citizens of the city by putting an end to your cheesy plans!
Dr. Two-Brains: Oh. So you volunteer to fight crime? Huh. I always thought the city had you on salary. Go figure. Anyway, that's very nice of you guys to help out a friend, but what about me? We've been planning this nacho cheese thing for ages!
Unnamed Henchman: Sorry, boss, but you know how it is. (He and Charlie start to back away.) I have a truck.
Dr. Two-Brains: You have a truck?
(The henchmen drive away in said truck. WordGirl clears her throat. Dr. Two-Brains looks at Shaggy and backs away in fear. Shaggy glares at him as Dr. Two-Brains starts to hyperventilate.)
Dr. Two-Brains: Make it stop! Make it go away! Don't come any closer! (screams and starts to huddle in a corner)
WordGirl: It's not even doing anything.
Narrator: It looks like Dr. Two-Brains is stuck between a rock and a huge, hairy, eight-legged spider.
Dr. Two-Brains: Okay, you win! Call it off! I surrender! Just take it away! (breaks into sobs) Oh, please!
WordGirl: Okay, okay. (uncomfortably grabs Shaggy and puts him back in his terrarium) Here you go, little buddy! Back in your habitat. Whew! I used to be scared too, but the more you know about them, the less scary they get. (Shaggy climbs to the edge of the terrarium, and WordGirl recoils before getting used to his presence.) High five, Shaggy! (Shaggy raises his legs.) Uh, I mean... high eight?
(Two police officers come to arrest Dr. Two-Brains. The cow chews on one's hand while the other eats some nachos.)
(Scene: Woodview Elementary.)
Narrator: As Becky's time with Shaggy draws to an end, they prepare to give their tear-filled goodbyes. (Close-up on Shaggy's eyes filling with tears.) Eww!
Becky: (looking through a window in the terrarium while drawing) I'm gonna miss you, Shaggy, old buddy, old pal. We sure have been through a lot.
Violet: Wow, Becky! You and Shaggy really hit it off.
Old Woman: Excellent. Another friend has been caught in Shaggy's web of wonder and affection. (laughs)
Becky: Well, I never thought I'd say this, but I love that tarantula. Well, maybe not love, but I can touch him! (pets Shaggy)
Old Woman: Maybe you'll have your own pet tarantula one day?
Becky: Yeah, no. (notices Shaggy looking sad) But who knows? If he ever comes back to visit, I might even volunteer to watch him. You never know when a giant tarantula might come in handy.
(The old woman wheels Shaggy away while the two wave goodbye to the children.)
Narrator: And so once again, WordGirl and her new eight-legged friend have saved the day by volunteering their crime-fighting services to a city in need and returning a stolen cow to its natural habitat. (The cow is shown in the barn, eating hay.) Yes, everything is back to normal... for now. (A man walks into the classroom carrying a huge snake around his neck. He also has a snake tongue as well.) Tune in next time for another exciting adventure of WordGirl!