1. EXT. OLIVE’s HOUSE - FIELD - DAY It’s a snowy day in Animal Town. Wearing their snow clothes, ELINOR, ARI, OLIVE, KOA, and SILAS have gathered next to the field beside Olive’s house to play a game. The field is covered in deep snow (up to about their knees). We start with a CU: just Elinor’s face looking from side to side as she dramatically introduces today’s game. DIALOGUE NOTE: there are multiple characters saying the word “tag” in this episode. We want to make sure that the voice direction keeps this word consistent across actors, and from getting too Canadian sounding. We’re hoping for a word that rhymes with “flag” rather than “plague.”" ELINOR Okay, everyone. I THINK we’re ready for today’s game, but let’s make sure. Do we have... snow? WIDEN to reveal the kids standing on the side of the field, where the snow is not as deep. Silas grabs a handful of snow and holds it up. Silas We have snow! ELINOR Do we have our snow clothes? Olive pats the sides of her snowsuit. OLIVE We’re warm and toasty. ELINOR Do we have a bunch of awesome friends? Koa reaches up his hands and high fives the two characters to his left and right simultaneously. KOA We are totally awesome. ELINOR Great! It looks like we’re ready to play a game of... SNOW TAG! The kids <SFX: YEAH> and throw their arms in the air in excitement. But when Ari raises his arms, he’s holding a tennis racket in each hand. He pauses, looking confused. ARI Wait. I thought you said we were going to play Snow TENNIS. Ari lowers his arms. ELINOR Snow Tennis? How do you play that? ARI I don’t know. I thought you knew! But that’s why I brought these rackets. He holds the rackets in front of him. OLIVE (giggles) Ari, we’re playing Snow TAG today. It’s just like regular tag, but we play it in the snow. elinor Yeah, snow tag is much cooler. ( giggling ) Get it? Because it’s colder? The kids <SFX: GIGGLE>. ARI Ok ! I guess I won’t be needing these. Ari tosses the tennis rackets to the side in the field and immediately perks up. Elinor steps out and notices how deep the snow is. ELINOR Wow, there is so much snow today. Look how deep it is. Olive wades in. Olive Yeah, that might make it a little hard to run around. Ari runs out into the field, followed by Silas who kicks up a flurry of snow. Ari runs in place and Silas runs a quick loop around, and it’s clear that the snow keeps them from running at full speed. elinor I guess it’s not snow tag if there isn’t any snow. Should we start the game? The kids all respond <SFX: YEAH! WOO HOO!> . SILAS ( shyly ) Can I be It? ELINOR Sure, Silas! But... (good natured-ly ) you’re the fastest runner, so I’m guessing you won’t be it for long. Ari Yeah, Silas. I bet cheetahs are fast, even in the snow. SILAS (a little bashful at that) I’ll give you a really big head start. I’ll count to 25. The kids all agree at that <SFX: WALLA YEAH/OK/COOL>. SILAS (CONT’D) Ok , ready... Silas covers his eyes and all the kids scramble away, wading through the snow. SILAS (CONT’D) (counting really fast) One, two, three, four, five, six-seven, eight nine, ten eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five. ANGLE ON: Elinor and Olive, who stop running and look back. They can hear Silas counting. OLIVE (To Elinor, partway through Silas’ counting) Silas even COUNTS fast! Elinor <SFX: GIGGLES> and they both keep running. BACK ON: Silas, who finishes counting. SILAS Ready or not, here I come! Silas looks around and, as the kids all <SFX: GIGGLE>, he makes a few starts towards some of other kids, trying to figure out who to go after. There’s snow and giggles flying everywhere. Finally, he hones in on Ari. Ari Uh oh. Ari makes a run for it and scrambles through the snow. Silas gives chase. (Note: Silas is faster than the other kids, but he’s not cartoony fast. See the “Look What I Can Do” episode, and halve that effect for deep snow). It’s a good natured chase, but Silas catches up to Ari and tags him. SILAS Tag! ARI <SFX: AWWS /GIGGLES> as he catches his breath. Ari Nice one, Silas. Now I’M it. After a beat, he makes a run towards Silas, but Silas is too fast, and he ends up going after Elinor and Olive, who are nearest to him. Eventually, he stops to take another breath. ARI (CONT’D) (panting) It’s... really... hard... to move in this snow. Elinor and Olive, who are near him, also stop to catch their breath. OLIVE (panting also) Yeah... (phew)... I have to lift my foot up high to take a step and then it sinks in the snow. ELINOR Me too. As Elinor demonstrates, she gets caught by her curiosity. elinor (CONT’D) Hmm. I wonder if there’s a way to run better in the snow. At that moment, something catches Olive’s attention. Off in the distance, we see Gael Lynx approaching the group from afar and waving. (VOICE RECORD NOTE: the Spanish pronunciation of Gael rhymes with Babel, or kale ( Kal-El ). “Tale” should be ok in the song because the second syllable is stressed and it rhymes.) OLIVE (O.S.) Oh look, it’s Gael. Ari, Olive, and Elinor approach the other kids, wading through the snow and also catching their breath. They all move to the side of the field, where the snow isn’t as deep. ARI Who’s Gael? OLIVE He’s new in town! His family just moved here from up north. ( to Gael, who just arrived) Hi, Gael! Gael bounds up to the kids and stands next to Olive. He’s a cheerful and affable lynx. He’s not wearing mittens or boots (he doesn’t need them). Like lynxes in real life, he has extra big paws and feet. GAEL Hi, everybody. I’m Gael. The kids all greet him ( SFX: WALLA HI/HELLO!>. SilAS Cool! Welcome to Animal Town. GAEL Thanks, I really like it here, but’s it’s different from where I come from. Ari What’s it like up north, Gael? GAEL Well, it’s a bit snowier. Elinor Is it really cold? GAEL Yeah. But don’t worry. I’m a lynx, and lynxes have really thick fur to keep us warm. There’s general appreciation of that by all the kids <SFX: WALLA WHOA/COOL>. OLIVE Well, Gael, you’re just in time. We’re playing a game of Snow Tag. Want to join us? GAEL Great! ( he suddenly looks confused) Um , what’s Snow Tag? OLIVE It’s the same as regular tag, but we play it when it’s snowy outside. Ari And right now, it’s REALLY snowy. Ari steps into the deep snow. GAEL Mmm , where I’m from, it’s almost always snowy, so we just call it tag. The kids <SFX: GIGGLE>. ELINOR Ok . Ari was It, but we should start over because Gael is here. Does anyone want to be It this time? GAEL I’ll be It. ELINOR Ok , count to ten and then, it’s snow tag time! The kids all start to scatter. Olive stays behind to give Gael a tip. OLIVE Watch out for Silas. He’s really fast. Olive wades out into the snow and joins the others as Gael counts. GAEL One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Here I come! Gael steps out into the field (he doesn’t sink into the snow like the other kids) and over <SFX: GIGGLES AND TAG PLAY WALLA> another round of tag begins. Gael makes a few starts to go tag other kids, who scramble away. Finally, he starts chasing Silas. Silas zigs and zags, but he’s losing ground as he wades in the deep snow. Gael, on top of the snow, gains ground and eventually tags Silas. Gael (CONT’D) (panting slightly) Tag! Silas (panting) Aww , nice, you got me! The two kids <SFX: LAUGH AND GIGGLE>. Elinor, Olive and Ari are close together. ARI (panting slightly) Whoa, look! Gael tagged Silas! OLIVE He did? But nobody ever tags Silas. Elinor Gael did. Back on Silas, we see him get back to playing. The other kids scramble and Silas chases them around. ARI I thought cheetahs were the fastest animals at running. olive Not at snow tag. Look, Silas is trying to catch Gael now. BACK ON: Silas, who looks around for a second, then bounds after Gael over more <SFX: TAG GIGGLES>. Silas chases Gael into an area with slightly deeper snow (waist high now). Silas begins to sink deep into the snow, and he slows down, making it clearer that Gael doesn’t sink as much. SILAS Gosh. The snow sure is deep over here. Gael continues to run almost on top of the snow ( snow to his ankles); it doesn’t slow him down very much. Elinor looks back and forth between the two and takes notice of this. Elinor Wow, look. Silas sinks into the snow, but Gael doesn’t. Ari Whoa. You’re right. It’s like Gael can run on top of the snow. Olive Yeah. Maybe that’s why he can run faster. Silas has to run through the snow, but Gael just runs on top of it. Elinor That... is SO interesting! Eventually Silas slows to a stop. He’s out of breath <SFX: PANTING> and plops down. SILAS ( panting ) Phew, I give up. Gael turns back and walks over to him. GAEL Are you ok, Silas? Silas pants, takes a deep breath. SILAS (pants, takes a deep breath) Yeah. You’re way faster than me. They both <SFX: LAUGH> as Gael helps him up. The kids all gather back at the side of the field. ELINOR Wow, Gael. I can’t believe you made Silas tired. OLIVE You’re so fast running in the snow. Ari flops backwards into the snow, his feet sticking out. Ari Yeah, I got tired just watching it! Did you eat some kind of special breakfast this morning? GAEL Uh, I don’t think so. I ate the same thing I eat every morning: Oatmeal with extra maple syrup. We eat a lot of maple syrup up north. ARI Mmm, I love maple syrup. His stomach grumbles a little and the kids <SFX: GIGGLE> a bit. ELINOR ( thoughtful ) Hmm. Gael, we noticed that you don’t sink in the snow as much as we do. Is that why you can run faster? Olive Yeah, when we walk in the snow, we sink down but you don’t. Olive steps over to the field to demonstrate. Gael Huh. I hadn’t thought about it before. He walks over next to Olive, and it’s clear that Olive sinks down a lot more. Gael (CONT’D) You’re right! I always walk on top of the snow. It’s what lynxes do. Koa wades in, sinks, and look up at Gael. Koa Whoa, that is so cool. Elinor Hmmm ... I wonder why you don’t sink in the snow like we do, Gael. You’re about the same size as us. From Elinor’s POV , we see her use her hand to compare Gael’s size to another kid standing on the side of the field. Back on Elinor, we see her scratching her chin. ELINOR (CONT’D) There must be another reason. We need more observations! Ari joins in the hypothesizing. ARI Maybe it’s because Gael is a cat, and cats can walk on top of the snow. Olive But cheetahs are also cats, and Silas can’t walk on top of the snow. ANGLE ON: Silas, still panting. Elinor has an idea. ELINOR Gael has thick fur. Maybe thick fur helps you run on top of the snow? KOA Umm , I also have thick fur, but I sink in the snow. ELINOR True. I know, Gael has long ears. Maybe having long ears keep you from sinking in the snow. Olive looks at Elinor’s ears and maybe points at them. OLIVE Uh, Elinor... Elinor suddenly realizes what she’s saying. She looks up as if trying to see her own ears, turning her head from side to side, then bending them down. ELINOR Oops, I forgot I have long ears too, and I sink in the snow. She and the other kids <SFX: GIGGLE>. ARI Well, whatever the reason, I think it’s super awesome, Gael. Give me a high five! Gael flops backwards onto the snow next to Ari, his feet sticking up. He high-fives Ari and we see their two hands meet up close. Elinor <SFX: GASPS>. ELINOR Gael, I see something else that’s different about you. Your paws and your feet are bigger than our paws and feet. In a SCIENCE CLOSE-UP: we see that Gael’s paws and feet are amazing - they’re huge, wide, and furry compared to Ari’s. Olive They are SO COOL. They’re big and wide and furry. The kids all take a thoughtful moment to hold up their paws and feet and look at them. GAEL Oh, thank you! We lynxes all have paws and feet like this. ELINOR Maybe that’s why you don’t sink as much, Gael. ARI Yeah, none of us has paws like that! ELINOR When we step in the snow, our smaller feet sink. She steps into the snow and we see her feet sink. Elinor (CONT’D) But maybe because your feet are so wide, they don’t sink as much. Gael hops to his feet. He moves his feet up and down and we see that because of their width, they don’t pierce through the snow as easily. GAEL I think you’re right! Olive We figured it out! On their good cheers, we go into the DITTY MONTAGE. They sing (COMPOSER RECORD NOTE: the Spanish pronunciation of Gael rhymes with Babel, or kale ( Kal-El ). “Tale” should be ok in the song because the second syllable is stressed and it rhymes.) ELINOR/OLIVE/ARI Listen up friends, listen well, We have a new lynx friend, The unsinkable Gael! OLIVE: His feet are wide. He’s got fluffy toes. ELINOR: These amazing feet Won’t sink in the snow. ARI: Having wide feet Help you stay on top ELINOR: So you can run faster and never stop ALL: Listen up friends, listen well, We have a new lynx friend, The unsinkable Gaaaaaaaaeeeel ! The kids all cheer their new friend. Ari is especially excited. He jumps in the air and flutters. Ari Look at me! I’m not sinking in the snow, just like Gael! Ari is fluttering backwards and lands, not realizing he's landed on the rackets, he slips a bit but grasps the netting - <WHOOPS> does a little flip and lands on the pair of rackets he had tossed earlier. He looks down and, grasping the netting with his foot claws, he lifts them one by one. ARI (CONT’D) Haha , hey look, now I have wide feet like Gael, and I don’t sink in the snow! He takes a few steps around the snow using the rackets like snow shoes. Elinor Ari, you just gave me an idea. Maybe we can ALL have feet like Gael. Olive (catching on) Yeah, if we can find wide things to put on our feet, then we can walk on top of the snow, too. KOA I’ve got two flying discs [Frisbees] at home I could use. silas I have some toy plates at home. Olive I have a couple of ping-pong paddles. ELINOR And I have things at home I can use, too. Gael, will you wait for us here? Gael Of course! ElinOR Great, let’s see what we can make! The kids all scramble, and through a quick Watterson split-screen cross-fade montage, we see the different kids grabbing their things and jerry-rigging them. On the last cross-fade, we end up back at the snow field to reveal that everyone has a version of snow-shoes. Triumphantly, Elinor holds up the makeshift snowshoes she has on her feet. She took a pair of twigs and wrapped them around to form a loop, then used twine or cloth to wrap and make a surface that attaches to her feet. (They look like rudimentary snowshoes) ELINOR (CONT’D) ( CONT'D ) Ta-da ! We did it. Gael Those look awesome. KOA Cool, I have lynx feet. ELINOR Who wants to try theirs first? OLIVE I do! Olive steps out in the snow with her ping-pong paddle shoes. OLIVE (CONT’D) ( laughing ) They work! Having wide feet keeps you from sinking in the snow. Soon, all the kids step out. Ari takes a few running steps. Ari And now we can run on top of the snow instead of through the snow. Watch me zoom like Gael! He gets a little over eager, and trips and tumbles in the snow. Ari (CONT’D) Umm , it might take some practice to be like him. The kids all <SFX: GIGGLE>. OLIVE What do you think about our lynx shoes, Gael? GAEL They’re great. All this tromping around in snow makes me feel like I’m back up north. Thanks for making me feel so welcome today. Elinor Thank YOU for teaching us something new today. Now... who wants to play... SNOW TAG! Elinor catches herself. Elinor (CONT’D) Oh, uh, or should I say, who wants to play TAG! Silas Yeah, and I’m still it! The kids all <SFX: LAUGH AND WALLA CHEER> as they run out into the field and chase each other. The camera pans up into the winter sky as we... IRIS OUT SEGMENT. 2. 1. Int. Mz . Mole’s Classroom -- Winter Day Looking out the classroom window, a bird feeder hangs nearby. The scenery is blanketed in white snow. A cardinal lands on the bird feeder and quickly flies away. Inside the classroom, Mz . Mole puts on some strange fluffy white snowshoes over her feet. Olive Mz . Mole? What are those? Mz . Mole These are my ptarmigan feet, for walking on the snow. The kids all look at each other, confused. gael Your what? Mz . Mole My ptarmigan feet. I made them myself. ELINOR Mz . Mole, (giggling) what are ptarmigan feet? MZ . MOLE Oh, they are so much fun. Let's read about them! Mz . Mole takes out her storybook and opens the front cover. CLOSE ON the storybook which shows a ptarmigan, a brown bird about the size of a chicken, standing on the ground in the summer arctic tundra. 2. THE STORYBOOK The storybook comes to life and the ptarmigan begins to walk around, pecking at berries on a short bush. MZ . MOLE A ptarmigan is a bird, an amazing bird with amazing feet. In the summer, the ptarmigan's feet have no feathers. But watch this! With a quick flap of its wings, the ptarmigan hops up on a rock. The pages flip quickly creating a flipbook style of animation. Paper cutout snowflakes begin to fall. As the bird stands, its brown feathers gradually become white and fluffy. MZ . MOLE (v.O.) When it starts to snow, the ptarmigan changes! What do you see? Elinor (V.O.) It turned white! MZ . MOLE (V.O.) That’s right! The ptarmigan grows white feathers all over its body. But my favorite part is the feet! What changes do you notice? CLOSE ON the ptarmigan’s feet. In a flipbook style, the feet grow white feathers all over, and its toenails grow a bit longer. Olive (V.O.) Wow! It's feet are bigger now. MZ . MOLE (V.O.) Yes! The ptarmigan grows fluffy feathers on its feet, and its toenails grow longer. GAEL (V.O.) Why does it do that? Cutting to a wider view, the scenery is now white with snow. The ptarmigan hops down from the rock onto the snow and begins walking. The white bird now blends in with the snowy backdrop, and it leaves footprints in the snow as it walks. Mz . MOLE (V.O.) Having bigger feet makes it easier to walk on top of the snow. It’s like a built-in pair of snowshoes! ELINOR (V.O.) Just like Gael. He has huge paws. 3. INT. CLASSROOM -- Winter Day Mz . Mole closes the storybook, picks up a bag of birdseed and heads outside. MZ . MOLE Now, let’s see how my ptarmigan feet work! Out the window, the kids watch Mz . Mole walk on the snow and fill the bird feeder with seed. <SFX: KID WALLA Wow! Cool! Look at that!> End END.

EWW129A The Unsinkable Lynx RECORD 21-Feb-20 .

<SFX: AWWWW> WHOOA WHOOOA> WHOOOOAA> spiderling

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ELINOR WONDERS WHY 129A: THE UNSINKABLE LYNX Written by Rosemary Mosco Elinor’s Question: How do lynx move fast in deep snow? Logline: When the kids discover that Gael the lynx’s feet prevent him from sinking in the deep snow, they make their own snowshoes. Curriculum Goals: LS2 . Living things have different body parts to suit their needs. [The kids learn that Gael, who comes from Up North, has wide, flat, fluffy feet that help him walk on snow.] ND3 . ( RTL Crosscutting concept ‘Structure and Function’): Understand that structures and materials in the natural world can be used or can inspire the engineering of structures with similar function in the designed world. [Inspired by a lynx’s feet, the kids design their own set of snowshoes.] SEP3b: Compare and contrast objects and events by describing similarities and differences in detail [The kids compare themselves with Gael to determine which variable is causing Gael to sink into snow.] SEP6a: Use background knowledge experiences, and data to construct reasonable explanations and theories of natural phenomena [The kids hypothesize that wider feet make it easier to move in snow.] Main Characters: Elinor, Olive, Ari, Gael, Koa, Silas (in winter clothes) Props: Two tennis rackets, roll of duct tape, shoelaces, twigs, pieces of felt, sheet of shiny snowflake stickers, bag of banana chips Locations: Field near Olive's house FIRST DRAFT: 20-Dec-19 SECOND DRAFT: 16-Jan-20 POLISH DRAFT: 07-Feb-20 RECORD DRAFT: 21-Feb-20 ARI ELINOR OLIVE GAEL KOA SILAS ELIOR (V.O.) (O.S.) (O.C.) (CONT'D) (SUBTITLE) INT EXT I/E 1 2 1 3 4 5 6 THE END. INT CLASSROOM -- DAY SUNLIT FOREST CLEARING -- CONTINUOUS PARK -- DAY EXT -- PARK EXT -- LAKE WATERS -- CONTINUOUS EXT -- LAKE SHORE -- CONTINUOUS EXT -- LAKE WATERS -- A MINUTE LATER EXT. OLIVE'S HOUSE - FIELD DAY NIGHT AFTERNOON MORNING EVENING LATER MOMENTS LATER CONTINUOUS THE NEXT DAY CUT TO: FADE IN: FADE OUT. FADE TO: DISSOLVE TO: BACK TO: MATCH CUT TO: JUMP CUT TO: FADE TO BLACK. Order Title Location ELINOR ELINOR