♪ 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! ♪

WHOA, BOOKS, BOOKS.

MORE BOOKS!

OH, CAREFUL, CAREFUL.

WHEW!

ALL RIGHTY, CLICK, BEGIN SCANNING HERE.

SCANNING.

( beeping )

CHARLOTTE'S WEB.

Theo: YUMMY.

OOH, THAT'S A SCRUMPTIOUS BOOK.

BOY, IT HAS THIS HEROIC LITTLE SPIDER IN IT.

HEY, LET ME READ SOME OF IT TO YOU, CLICK.

EXCUSE ME, BUT...

( beeping )

THERE ARE 59 BOOKS HERE.

IF YOU WANT TO HAVE THEM ON THE SHELVES BY TOMORROW

I SUGGEST WE READ IT LATER.

OH, YOU'RE RIGHT, CLICK.

SORRY.

CONTINUE SCANNING.

SCANNING.

THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF DINOSAURS.

Theo: DINOSAURS!

OOH, YUMMY AGAIN.

BOY, I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT DINOSAURS.

MAYBE I'LL JUST TAKE A LITTLE PEEKY-POO.

NO TIME, NO TIME.

OKAY, OKAY.

NO TIME.

CONTINUE SCANNING.

SCANNING...

THE LION AND THE MOUSE.

HMM...

IS THIS BOOK ABOUT A COMPUTER MOUSE LIKE ME

AND A LION LIKE YOU?

WELL, WE COULD... READ IT AND FIND OUT.

BUT THERE'S NO TIME.

OH, THERE IS

ALWAYS TIME TO READ A BOOK

ABOUT A MOUSE.

OH, GOOD.

I THINK LIONEL AND LEONA WOULD LIKE THIS ONE, TOO.

WELL, COME ON, CLICK.

YES.

OKAY, DAD, I'M READY.

THE LION AND THE MOUSE BY AESOP

A WRITER FROM ANCIENT GREECE.

All: YUMMY!

( Theo reads story aloud )

LET'S SEE... I HAVE TO GET SOME SWISS CHEESE

AMERICAN CHEESE, PROVOLONE AND A BIG WHEEL OF GOUDA.

I MAY BE LITTLE, BUT I HAVE A VERY BIG APPETITE.

UH-OH.

HMM... A LITTLE BROWN SNACK.

OH, PLEASE DON'T EAT ME.

IF YOU LET ME GO

I'LL RETURN THE FAVOR AND HELP YOU OUT ONE DAY.

( laughs loudly )

HOW COULD A LITTLE MOUSE HELP A LION?

EXCUSE ME, BUT MICE CAN BE VERY HELPFUL.

HMM... RIGHT.

( laughs heartily )

I DON'T UNDERSTAND.

WHY DID THAT LION LET THE LITTLE MOUSE GO?

FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK, LEONA.

THERE'S ONE WAY TO FIND OUT EXACTLY WHY

AND THAT'S FOR YOUR MOM TO GO...

BETWEEN THE COVERS.

CLICK, DRAG AND DROP ME INTO THE BOOK PLEASE.

EXECUTING COMMAND.

( shouts nervously )

Announcer: BETWEEN THE COVERS--

THE SHOW THAT GIVES YOU THE INSIDE STORY INSIDE THE STORY.

AND NOW HERE'S OUR ON-THE-PAGE CORRESPONDENT

CLEO THE LION.

TELL ME, SIR

WHY EXACTLY DID YOU LET THAT LITTLE BROWN MOUSE

SLIP THROUGH YOUR FINGERS?

DID YOU REALLY BELIEVE A LITTLE BROWN MOUSE

WOULD ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO HELP YOU SOMEDAY?

WELL, NO.

BUT THE WHOLE IDEA CRACKED ME UP

SO I HAD TO LET HER GO.

I SEE.

VERY INTERESTING MOTIVATION.

THAT'S THE STORY SO FAR.

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY.

HOME, CLICK.

( Cleo whistling through air )

( thud )

HI, MOM.

NICE REPORT, CLEO MY DEAR.

IT IS CERTAINLY NICE

TO SEE A MOUSE BEING APPRECIATED.

NAH, I STILL SAY HE SHOULD HAVE EATEN THAT MOUSE.

OH, YOU THINK SO, HUH?

HMM... WELL, LET'S SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.

GOOD IDEA.

YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.

"A LONG TIME PASSED..."

LET'S SEE... ROAST BEEF, BEEF WELLINGTON

CHIPPED BEEF, BEEF TARTARE...

( grunting )

Lion: HELP!

( grunting )

HEY...

AREN'T YOU THAT BIG BROWN LION WHO DIDN'T EAT ME

BECAUSE I SAID I WOULD HELP YOU SOMEDAY?

YEAH, THAT'S ME, THAT'S ME.

GO FIND SOMEONE TO FREE ME FROM THIS NET.

I CAN FREE YOU.

ARE YOU CRAZY?!

HOW CAN A LITTLE BROWN MOUSE LIKE YOU

FREE ME FROM THIS GREAT BIG NET?

( footsteps approaching )

I CAN DO IT LIKE THIS.

( roars heartily )

SEE, I TOLD YOU

I WOULD HELP YOU SOMEDAY.

YEAH, I'M SURE GLAD I DIDN'T EAT YOU.

LIKEWISE, I'M SURE.

THE END.

AND THE MORAL IS: EVEN LITTLE CREATURES

CAN DO BIG THINGS.

SPECTACULAR MORAL.

BACK TO WORK.

OH, RIGHT BEHIND YOU, DEAR.

Theo: SEE YOU LATER, KIDS.

IT MAKES YOU REALIZE HOW MUCH MICE CAN HELP LIONS

DOES IT NOT?

OH, YES, IT DOES

BECAUSE THAT LITTLE BROWN MOUSE WAS A GREAT BIG HERO.

Lionel: YEAH.

HEY, WHAT DO YOU SAY

WE FORM A LITTLE BROWN MOUSE FAN CLUB?

YEAH!

I DO NOT HAVE A FAN CLUB.

AND NOW, LOVERS OF THE VOWELS "A," "E," "I," "O," "U"

AND SOMETIMES "Y"

THE VOWELLES ARE IN THE HOUSE SINGING THE SHORT "I" SOUND

FROM THEIR HIP HIT WORD, "HIT."

( orchestra playing jazzy beat )

( background vocals sing repeated short "i" sound )

( singing short "i" sound in sync to jazz beat )

( song ends; cheering and applause )

AND NOW...

WHAT?

"IT" IS COMING?

( frantically ): IT IS COMING, IT IS COMING.

IT, IT, IT!

GET READY.

SOMETHING PARTICULARLY SILLY IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN--

I CAN FEEL IT.

( shouting frantically ): OH, IT! IT! IT!

THIS IS "IT."

I TOLD YOU.

OKAY, RUN FOR YOUR...

LIVES!

YEAH.

OH, IT'S TOO SILLY.

I CAN'T TAKE "IT" ANYMORE.

MAKE "IT" GO AWAY, I BEG YOU.

THANK YOU.

IT'S BACK.

( sighs )

Commentator: WELCOME BACK TO THE NATIONAL WORD CLUB MASTERS.

WE'RE WATCHING WORD-WRITING ACE TIGER WORDS

AS HE APPROACHES THE FINAL "T" OF THE TOURNAMENT.

HE'S GOT TO WRITE THE WORD "TRIP."

THERE'S THE TRICKY "TR" AT THE BEGINNING

THEN THE ( makes short "i" sound ) IN THE MIDDLE

AND THE "P" SOUND AT THE END.

TR... I... P.

IF HE MAKES IT, HE WILL WIN A TRIP TO TRIPOLI.

HE'S CHOOSING A WRITING IMPLEMENT FROM HIS PENCIL CASE

AND IT'S A PURPLE MARKER--

A BOLD MOVE FOR THIS WRITING WONDER KID.

TIGER STEPS UP TO THE "T" AND BEGINS THAT FAMOUS STROKE.

HE MAKES THE LETTER "R" A CONSONANT THAT SOUNDS

LIKE ( makes "r" sound )-- PURE POETRY.

WITH THE LETTER "T," THAT MAKES THE SOUND "T"-"R"-- "TR"--

THE FIRST SOUND OF THE WORD "TRIP."

TIGER NOW RAISES HIS PURPLE MARKER, LINES UP HIS STROKE

AND, YES, IT'S A PERFECT LETTER "P"

WHICH SOUNDS LIKE ( makes "p" sound )

THE LAST SOUND IN THE WORD "TRIP."

BUT HE STILL HAS TO ADD A VOWEL

TO MAKE THE ( makes short "i" sound ) IN THE MIDDLE.

LET'S WATCH.

( crowd gasps )

OH, TOO BAD.

HE WROTE THE LETTER "A" WHICH MAKES THE "AAH" SOUND.

HE'S WRITTEN THE WORD "TRAP."

WHAT A SETBACK FOR TIGER.

AND THE WORD IS IN MARKER-- HE CAN'T ERASE IT.

WAIT-- THIS KID IS NEVER OUT OF IDEAS.

HE'S USING A LAWNMOWER TO ERASE THE LETTER "A."

AND... HE'S DONE IT!

YES, HE'S WRITTEN THE LETTER "I."

HE'S WRITTEN THE WORD "TRIP."

WHAT A TRIUMPH FOR TIGER WORDS!

HE WINS THAT TRIP TO TRIPOLI.

( crowd cheering )

SICK OF ALL THE RHINOS RUINING HER PICNIC

GRITTY LITTLE MONICA MAXWELL HAS ROUNDED THEM UP

AND ZIPPED THEM INTO A BIG ZIPPERED BAG.

BUT WAIT A MINUTE-- WHAT'S THIS?

OH, NO!

IT'S THE EVIL "UN" PEOPLE.

THEY'RE PUTTING AN "UN" IN FRONT OF THE WORD "ZIPPED"

CAUSING THE ZIPPER ON THE BIG ZIPPERED BAG

TO BECOME UNZIPPED.

THOSE DRATTED RHINOS ARE LOOSE AGAIN.

DESPAIR NOT, GRITTY LITTLE MONICA

THE HEROIC "RE" PEOPLE ARE HERE.

LOOK, THEY'VE REROUNDED UP THE RHINOS

AND REZIPPED THEM INTO THE BIG ZIPPERED BAG.

THANK YOU, "RE" PEOPLE.

YOU'RE INCREDIBLE.

( audience applauds each time new word is formed )

( crowd 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 "T" AND SIR "ICKLE."

BLEND ON, DUDES.

( crowd cheering )

( laughing )

Gawain: "TICKLE," EXCELLENT!

THAT'S GAWAIN'S WORD FOR TODAY.

AND THIS IS GAWAIN SAYING

I'LL BE TICKLED TO SEE YOU NEXT TIME ON...

Chorus: ♪ WHAT'S COOKING WITH THEO AND CLEO ♪

♪ CHECK OUT WHAT'S COOKING. ♪

OH... ( slurps )

WHAT'S COOKING TODAY, THEO

MY BIG LEG OF ANTELOPE?

OH, HEH-HEH-HEH.

( Cleo cracks pointer )

Cleo:

YUMMY!

SOUNDS LIP-LICKIN' GOOD.

Cleo: ONE-- ( cracks pointer ) "PUT ON BIB."

PUT ON... BIB.

BIB ON.

OH, YOU LOOK DASHING.

OH, THANK YOU, MY DEAR.

NOSY, NOSY, NOSY, NOSY.

TWO...

( cracks pointer )

"PICK UP THE STICK."

AHA! STICK...

PICKED.

THREE-- ( cracks pointer )

"TICKLE THE RIBS WITH THE STICK."

AHA!

( chuckling )

TICKLE, TICKLE...

OH, YES, OH, YES.

TICKLE, TICKLE, TICKLE...

( laughing )

OH, YES!

( panting )

ALL TICKLED.

( chuckles )

( sighs )

FOUR.

OH!

( smacks board )

"PICKLE THE RIBS FOR 24 HOURS."

HMM... 24 HOURS?

NAH!

NAH!

( both growling hungrily )

( slurping and grunting eagerly )

Theo: OH, SO GOOD!