12x08 - Stellaluna

[bunniefuu]

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

♪ Butterfly in the sky ♪

♪ I can go twice as high ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can go anywhere ♪

♪ Friends to know ♪

♪ And ways to grow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can be anything ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

Hi.

I just love nighttime.

It's so peaceful
and calm.

There's something magical
that happens

When the sunlight fades,

The stars
begin to glitter,

And the moon,
silvery and beautiful,

Rises high in the sky.

When darkness falls,

A famous night animal
spreads its wings

And flies out to feed.

It's called
the flying fox,

But it isn't
a fox.

In fact,
it's a bat.

Like most bats,

Flying foxes
hang upside down,

Sleep during the day,

And wake at night
hungry as can be.

While many bats look
for insects to eat,

Flying foxes,

Sometimes called fruit bats,
prefer fruit.

They think there's nothing
quite like a ripe fig

To really sink
their teeth into.

[Chewing sounds]

Sometimes they like
to pluck one off

To eat on the ride home.

Besides eating fruit,

Flying foxes poke into flowers
to lick nectar.

They get covered
with pollen.

They carry the pollen

To the next flower
they visit.

That's how they help
the plants reproduce.

The more they eat,

The more they help
flowers and plants grow.

I've got this great book
about a fruit bat.

It should be here.

Ah! Here it is.

One night,
this baby bat gets lost,

And her whole world
is turned upside down.

The book and the bat
are called stellaluna.

In a warm
and sultry forest,

There lived
a mother fruit bat

And her new baby,
stellaluna.

Each night, mother bat
would carry stellaluna

Clutched to her breast

As she flew to search
for fruit to eat.

One night, an owl
swooped down upon the bats,

Knocking stellaluna
into the air.

Her baby wings
were useless,

And down she went
into the forest below.

The dark tangle of the branches
caught stellaluna.

She wrapped her wings
about her,

Clutched a twig
with her feet,

And trembled
with cold and fear.

"Mother," stellaluna squeaked,
"where are you?"

By daybreak, the baby bat
could hold on no longer,

And down she dropped.

Stellaluna landed
in a nest,

Startling the three baby birds
who lived there.

Stellaluna quickly hung
out of sight below the nest.

"What was that?"

"Shh! Here comes mamma
with food."

Stellaluna was hungry,

But not for the crawly things
mamma bird brought.

Yuck!

Finally, the little bat
could bear it no longer.

She climbed into the nest

And opened her mouth.

Plop! In dropped
a big, green grasshopper.

Yuck!

Stellaluna learned to be
like the birds.

She stayed awake all day,
slept at night,

And ate bugs...

But she still slept
hanging by her feet.

Once, the curious birds
decided to try it.

When mamma came home,

She saw eight tiny feet
gripping the edge of the nest.

"Eek!" She cried.

"Get back up here
this instant!"

Mamma bird
stopped stellaluna.

"You are teaching my children
to do unbirdlike things.

You must promise to obey
the rules of this house."

Stellaluna promised.

Soon, it was time
to learn to fly.

"I'm just like them,"
thought stellaluna.

"I can fly, too."

The birds landed
gracefully on a branch.

Stellaluna tried
to do the same.

"Oomph!

"Ugh!

"How embarrassing.

I will fly all day,"
stellaluna told herself.

"Then no one will see
how clumsy I am."

The next day,
stellaluna flew far ahead

And was nowhere to be seen
at nightfall.

The three anxious birds
went home without her.

Stellaluna flew
until her wings ached.

She hung by her thumbs

And soon fell asleep.

She didn't hear
the soft sound

Of wings coming near.

"Hey!" A loud voice said.

"Why are you hanging
upside down?

Bats are supposed to hang
by their feet."

Stellaluna was confused.

"Mamma bird told me
I was wrong."

"Wrong for a bird maybe,
but not for a bat."

Many bats
gathered to see

The bat who behaved
like a bird.

Stellaluna told them
her story.

"You ate b-b-bugs?"
Stuttered one.

"You slept at night?"
Gasped another.

"Wait. Let me
look at this child."

[Sniffing]

Sniffing stellaluna's fur,

She whispered,
"you are stellaluna.

"You are my baby.

"Come with me.

"I'll show you
where to find fruit.

You'll never have to eat
another bug."

"But we can't see
at night."

"Yes, we can," said mother bat.
"We're bats."

Stellaluna was afraid,

But she let go
of the tree

And dropped into
the deep-blue sky.

She could see.

She felt as though
rays of light

Shone from her eyes.

The next day,
stellaluna brought the birds

To meet her bat family.

When night came,

Stellaluna said,
"come fly with us."

They all leapt
from the tree.

"I can't see a thing!"
Yelped pip.

"We're going to crash!"
Howled flitter.

Stellaluna grabbed
her friends in the air

And lifted them
to a tree.

She hung from a limb
above them.

"You're safe," she said.

"I wish you could see
in the dark."

"We wish you could land
on your feet."

They perched in silence
for a long time.

"How can we be
so different

And feel so much alike?"
Mused flitter.

"How can we feel
so different

And be so much alike?"
Wondered pip.

"I think this is
quite a mystery," flap chirped.

"I agree,"
said stellaluna,

"But we're friends,

And that's a fact."

Wow.

There are over 800
different kinds of bats.

They don't all
live in trees.

Some prefer attics,
old buildings,

Or the darkness
of caves.

[Narrator]
bats are creatures of the night.

Every evening,
between dusk and dawn,

These bats fly
across hundreds of miles,

Looking for food.

Tonight,
this cloud of bats

Will consume


That's the equivalent weight
of 93 elephants.

Long before man walked
this earth,

Bats filled
the night skies.

People used to think bats
were birds, but they're not.

Bats are mammals,
like us.

I'm dr. Merlin tuttle,

And I've been studying bats
for 20 years.

We're about to enter
bracken cave in texas,

Where more
than 20 million bats

Live in a world
of darkness.

Here we are.

We're down deep
inside the cave.

This tunnel is as long
as a football stadium.

The ceiling of this cave
is over three stories high.

Everywhere around me,
everything is covered

By millions
and millions of bats.

This is
a unique environment.

The droppings
from all those bats

Turn into ammonia.

That's why I've got
this respirator on.

I'd die without protection
from ammonia fumes.

The bats
are amazing animals.

They live without
any problem here,

Despite the ammonia.

Let's look
deeper in the cave.

Because so many bats
live here

And their bodies
give off heat,

It's extremely hot--

Sometimes more than


Most bats,

Like these free-tailed bats,
eat insects.

Let's look at some bats
close up.

Here's a mother bat.

She has fur
just like dogs and cats.

It's very soft
and velvety.

Bats are the only kind
of mammal that flies.

She has long wings

That enable her to fly
very fast at night.

Her wings
are just like a hand.

This is her thumb.

It has a claw
to help her climb around.

She has four more fingers,
just like we do.

She can fly
up to an insect,

Curl these bones around,

And grab an insect
in that little webbing

In order to get it
to her mouth,

Just like you use
your fingers.

As you can see,

Bats really
are not dangerous animals.

They're among the world's
most gentle animals,

But never pick one up.

Any bat
you can catch

Is more likely
to be sick.

Any animal that's sick
can be dangerous.

Bats like
you've just seen

Could soon die out

Unless people everywhere
learn to understand them

And appreciate them.

They're gentle
and graceful.

Bats are truly masters
of night flight.

[Crickets chirping]

[Dog barks]

Nighttime may be
the right time

For bats to start
their day,

But not me.
I'm tired.

Before I go to bed,
I do certain things.

I wash my face,
brush my teeth,

Pour myself
a glass of water,

Turn down the covers,
and fluff the pillow.

I don't get
the best night's sleep

Unless I do them
in the same order every night.

What do you do
before bed?

I fix my pillow

And close the windows
because it's cold.

Every night,
I say good night to my cat.

I brush my teeth,
wash my face, fix my blankets.

I brush my teeth
and say my prayers.

I have to turn
and turn

Until I find
a comfortable position.

My mother
tucks me in.

I say my prayers,
and we just chitchat.

Before I go to bed,

I make sure
the curtains are closed.

Sometimes I have to turn
the pillow over

To get my cheek on the, um...
On the cool side.

I put my animals
on my bed,

And I say
good night to them,

And I get into bed.

Once you're
ready for bed,

There's one thing to do,
and that's sleep,

But once you
start to doze,

Your mind
doesn't click off.

More happens
when you sleep

Than you might
ever dream.

One thing everyone does
is sleep.

Our bodies
need to rest,

And we get rest
by sleeping.

First, we find
the right position,

And each of us
has our own favorite,

But we don't
stay there all night.

We move around,

Even though
we're not aware of it.

Some of us
are quiet sleepers,

And others are noisy.

[Snoring]

A couple of times
a night,

The tv in our head clicks on,
and we dream.

Sometimes we like
what we dream,

And sometimes we don't.

We know
when to wake up

Because our bodies
are like clocks.

In the morning,
when we've had enough sleep,

We're ready
to start the day.

Scientists know a lot
about sleep.

They learned about it
in labs like this

At new york's
bellevue sleep center.

Dr. Joyce walsleben
is working

With a volunteer
named jessica.

Your brain signals
when it's sleeping.

Dr. Walsleben can tell

What jessica's brain is doing
while she's sleeping

By taking
a picture of it.

These tiny electrodes record

The activity going on
in jessica's brain.

This special cream
helps the electrodes work.

It also helps them
stay in the right place

So they don't come off.

Electrodes
don't hurt a bit.

They go near
jessica's forehead,

Her eyes,

Chin...

Arms...

And legs.

How does it feel

To have these
electrodes on?

It feels kind of weird,
but interesting, too.

I like it.

Good.

All the electrodes get attached
to a connector box.

It's like a big plug.

Before we go
to sleep,

I'll plug you
into the polygraph

And see if
the connections
are working.

The polygraph machine
translates

The signals from jessica's
brain and body

Through the electrodes

And draws a picture.

Blink your eyes
for me really fast.

Your eyes are moving
on this graph nicely.

You have
good eye signals.

Can you grit
your teeth?

See your
teeth signals?

Do it once more.

Very good.

This is really cool.

What happens to my brain
while I sleep?

I'll watch your brain

Go through
the stages of sleep.

When you're dreaming,

Your eyes
will be darting around.

Are you ready?

Yes.

O.k., Let's go.

O.k., You climb in.

Get comfortable.

Do you sleep
on your side?

On my tummy.

I'll hang this up
out of your way.

Just get cozy
and forget it's there.

O.k.

All set?

Mm-hmm.

We'll watch you
on a special television

That sees in the dark.

Good night.

Good night.

It's about 15 minutes later,

And jessica
drifts off to sleep.

The graph shows

Her brain waves
are slowing down.

She's relaxing.

We're seeing her
fall asleep.

Dr. Walsleben watches
as jessica falls

Into a deeper sleep

And can tell
when she's dreaming.

Jessica enters into the stage
of sleep called rem,

Which stands
for rapid eye movement.

When you dream,

Your eyes move about
very quickly.

Great.

She's entering
rem sleep here.

We have rapid
eye movements,

And she's dreaming.

Jessica slept soundly
through the night.

Dr. Walsleben recorded
her brain waves

And body movement
the entire time.

In the morning,
she wakes jessica.

Jessica.

Jessica.

She'll remove
the electrodes

And show jessica
the results.

How did I do?

Great. You're
a real sleeping champ.

This is
when you're awake.

I'll show you
the difference
when you're asleep.

You get big,
slower waves

Because your brain
is sleeping.

Then look
what happens.

What
a difference!

Look at your eyes.

See how fast
the eyes are going?

This is when
you're dreaming.

Why is sleep
so important?

It makes us
function better.

With a good night's eep,

We can study well,
play better,

Feel good,

And enjoy being awake
a whole lot more.

That's why scientists
will keep studying sleep

And find out as much
about it as they can.

Just one more story,

And I promise
I'll go to bed.

How many times
have you said that?

Here are three reasons
to say it again,

But don't take
my word for it.

You may think
it's crazy,

But I think bats
are really cool.

If you don't
believe me,

Look at@this book
called amazing bats.

It's loaded
with bat facts,

Like a little
bat encyclopedia.

Did you know
bats are mammals?

Their favorite time
is night.

Upside down--
that's how they hang.

Look at this bat--
a vampire bat.

It feeds on the blood
of other animals.

Yuck!

This bat should be
in a rock group.

It's a punk bat.

Can you guess
what this one's called?

It's a wrinkle-faced bat.

I'm jared.

Everything about bats
is in this book.

Give it a try--
amazing bats.

Step into the night--

It's a poetic story
about a girl

Who journeys outside

To meet the creatures
of the night.

In the night,
we meet many animals.

We imagine what it's like
to be a skunk,

A spider,

Or a bat.

The pictures help you feel
like you're the animals.

Look at that mouse
in the leaves.

Look at the light
of that firefly.

The pictures
are so beautiful.

Isn't nighttime
mysterious?

I'm kai. This book
helped me to imagine

What it's like
to be an animal

And step into the night.

Hi. I'm daniel.

I read a book called
sleep is for everyone.

It's packed
with information.

We all have our own ways
of sleeping.

You curl up at night,

But elephants sleep
standing up.

I guess th
saves money on beds.

Sleep gives your body
a chance to rest.

Scientists did
an experiment on sleep.

They stayed awake
for days!

They got mean, angry,

And even yelled
at their friends.

Soon, they simply had to
sit down to rest.

This book tells us

Luding us,
that every animal,
I

Needs to sleep.

Pleasant dreams.

[Yawning]

Well...that's it.

This is my favorite
time of night,

When I relax,
snuggle down,

And go to sleep,

But not until I say,
"good night, sweet dreams,

And I'll see you
next time."

Uhh...

[Sniff]

Mmm...

♪ Butterfly
in the sky ♪

♪ I can go
twice as high ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book@♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪♪

Today's reading rainbow books
are...

Stellaluna,
by janell cannon,

Published by
harcourt brace & co.

Amazing bats,
by frank greenaway,

Photographs by jerry young
and frank greenaway,

An eyewitness junior book

Published by
alfred a. Knopf.

Sleep is for everyone,
by paul showers,

Illustrated
by wendy watson,

Published by
harper collins.

Step into the night,
by joanne ryder,

Illustrated by
dennis nolan,

Published by
four winds press.