01x06 - Park Swings / The Tree / The Day Chance Found a New Home

[bunniefuu]

so far it had been a busy morning Or be

realized that if you line up 30 toy cars

they stretch right across the living

room Katie discovered that when you

paint yellow on top of blue it turns

green And they both found out that if

you stick orange slices in jelly dessert

before it gels they all sink to the

bottom Orby was flying his paper

airplane from upstairs to down Katie was

playing on the stairs with his slinky

Each time Orbee ran down to get his

plane he bumped the slinky and knocked

it

over This was really starting to bug

Katie Now she did ask him very nicely to

please be careful and she did ask him if

he could use the other side of the

stairs to go up and down on but for some

reason Orbee didn't

listen After a while Katie had taken all

she could

She stood right in Orbee's way and said

"Oh no you don't Stop right there Orbee

You're ruining my game and that is not a

very nice thing to

do." Of course Orbee was very surprised

and looked at her in astonishment But

then he just pushed his way past

her Dad came out from the kitchen and

asked "What would make two best friends

talk to each other like that?" Katie

told her story and then right in the

middle Orbeez sputtered and started to

cry Katie just looked at him but dad

moved up the stairs and held him in a

big hug "What's the matter?" Dad asked

as he wiped Orbee's tears Orbeez

shuddered and his spot started to flash

a kind of green color "What was that?"

Dad said Orbee just looked very sad

Katie was watching from down at the

bottom of the stairs She told her dad

that Orbee had been stepping on her

slinky and wouldn't stop Katie was very

angry with Orbee She should be the one

crying Dad told Katie "Not now." And

Katie picked up her things and ran into

the living room Dad was very worried

about Orbee He seemed to have a strange

color around his eyes and wobbled like

he was dizzy and whose spots were

getting greener and greener

Dad picked him up and took him to his

hanger in Katie's closet He tried to

help Orbee get on the hanger but do you

know that Orbee was feeling so strange

but he couldn't hold on something was

very

wrong Dad put him in Katie's bed and

pulled the covers up Mom came into the

room and asked what happened between

Katie and Orbee She just took one look

at Orbee and knew that he was sick

Orbeez still looked very sad

Mom hurried down to see if Dr Hwitt

could

help She found Katie sitting on the

floor in the kitchen sniffling She asked

Katie if she was feeling all right and

Katie told her about Orbee Mom was very

surprised that two best friends couldn't

find a way to get along

together Then she told Katie that Orbee

was feeling sick Maybe he just couldn't

listen to what she was saying

But sadly I can tell you Katie was still

very

angry Dr Hua had told mom to give Orbee

lots of juice and rest and that he

should be feeling better tomorrow Mom

hung up the phone and she sat on the

floor with Katie She explained that

sometimes when people don't feel well

they behave in strange ways Mom asked

Katie to try to understand that Orbee

didn't intend to be mean and that she

was pretty sure he would feel bad about

it Katie decided she would wait and see

Mom said it was important to forgive

people and Katie nodded her head I think

she knew that Mom asked Katie if she

wanted to help her take the apple juice

up and Katie said

no Well it happened that Katie decided

to do her puzzle next And it also

happened that her puzzle was up in her

room She tiptoed in

Dad was leaning over Orbee putting a

cold cloth on his forehead When Dad saw

Katie he thought she'd come to help

Orbee feel better and said "Ah now here

she comes the best nurse in town." Even

though Katie was trying to feel angry

she did smile a bit Orbee looked over at

her with little sad eyes and green spots

and right at that moment Katie knew how

hard it was to stay angry at your best

friend

She hurried over to the

bed A whimper came out of Orbee and

Katie moved up on the bed to get closer

Dad left and went to talk to

mom Orbee made a sad little sound that

meant he was sorry Katie told him that

she was very angry at him and that mom

had explained about when people don't

feel well Orbee smiled and made

a mom knows everything kind of sound I

think she does Katie said Then a funny

thing

happened Orbee popped right up in

Katie's bed and made the sound that

meant "Let's go play in the park

swings." Katie looked at Orbee and of

course was a little surprised "You want

to play in the swings?" she asked Orbee

jumped out of bed and cartwheelled

across the floor His spots were still

green but his sad face was

gone As they ran out the front door

Katie called to mom that they were going

to the park

She always told her mom whenever he left

the house Mom just stood in the kitchen

and said to dad

"We Dad ran up to see if Orby was still

in bed All he found was Katie's

stuffy." Dad ran down the stairs and

right out the front

door He found Katie at the slide and

asked where Orbee was Katie pointed to

the swings Orbee was hanging onto the

swing but it wasn't moving He actually

looked worse than before His spots were

darker and his eyes were getting

redder As dad headed for home carrying

Orbee he told him "You can't play on the

park swings when you're sick." Orbee

made a very weak why kind of sound Katie

didn't understand If he felt like

playing then he must be well enough Dad

explained to Orby and Katie who was

running to keep up that if you get sick

out in the park there might not be

anyone to help Dad also pointed out that

being outside could give him a chill and

make him sicker Orbeez snuffled a

bit His body needs to rest and get

better Dad told Orbee that some of the

little children who come to play in the

park might catch what he's got and get

sick too Orbee felt very bad There were

lots of things to play with at home and

that was the best place for

him When they got home mom was very glad

to see him and told him that she was

very worried Katie and Orby felt very

bad that they had worried her I think

Orby felt even worse because he was so

sick and he started to

cry Mom thought that maybe Orbee should

sleep for a while Later he and his best

friend did the puzzle and dad read the

silliest story

Orbee fell asleep right in the middle of

it He dreamt of playing with Katie in

the park swings They were laughing and

swinging as high as they could go And

you know what in two days his dream came

true

Did you know did you know did you know

did you know if you mix blue paint and

yellow paint it makes green and if you

mix red paint and yellow paint it makes

orange And if you mix blue paint and red

paint it makes

purple But don't mix it with your

clothes That makes a mess

it had been a strange night Orbee dreamt

that he was a pirate on the high seas

Katie dreamt she was flying on a magic

broomstick through a wild but wonderful

sky And they both woke up with a start

When they heard just about the loudest

crack sound ever It was so loud that it

woke mom and dad up too A fierce wind

was winding through the streets When

they looked out of the window they saw

the wonderful old tree that stood in

their yard almost completely snapped in

two Dad was glad it hadn't fallen on the

house Mom was glad it was night when no

one was around to get hurt But both

Katie and Orbee were sad because that

was one of their most favorite

trees In the morning they all went out

to look at the damage Katie and Orbeez

stood near the snap trunk Mom really

wanted dad to try to save the tree So

Dad asked the tree surgeon to come and

have a look at

it The tree surgeon drove up in his

little truck And even as he got out of

it he was shaking his head "You know I'd

love to save but the damage goes down to

the roots It must have been some mean

wind to crack a tree like that," he said

Katie took Orby's hand at the thought of

it

The tree surgeon said his men would come

a little later in the day to clean up

the fallen tree A very real kind of

sadness fell over Katie and Orby The

tree had been there all of Katie's life

Mom made them some apple juice and

cookies and they sat in the living room

She reminded Dad that one of the reasons

they bought the house was that the tree

welcomed them with its wonderful

spreading arms And she reminded him that

he had put a little birdhouse in it to

let people know they had moved in

Dad

smiled Katie told them that it was the

only tree she could

climb Orby reminded them that the first

time they flew a kite the tree tried to

catch

it And Katie reminded Orbee that

sometimes they love to just sit in the

tree and sing

songs Dad told them all that the tree

had lived a very long time It had been

wonderful but now it was gone Katie bit

her lip and Orbee snuffled a bit

Just then two trucks drove

up Mom said Katie and Orbee could watch

from the window Two men scured around

with small saws and cut away at the

branches Katie was sure to hurt the tree

but mom reminded her that the tree was

dead The men put the branches into a

machine at the back of one of their

trucks and it made a loud searing noise

The branches

disappeared Orbee thought this was great

Katie felt very

unhappy Soon the smaller branches were

gone and the two men used another bigger

saw to cut the thicker parts of the tree

Bit by bit the tree turned into logs

that the men piled by the side of the

house And bit by bit the tree

disappeared The men used another machine

to dig up the roots so they wouldn't be

sitting there with no

tree And finally they were finished

Things looked pretty

bleak outside There was a wonderful

smell of fresh wood There were hundreds

of small twigs in the ground And dad

asked Katie and Orby to pick up as many

as they could The two friends raced

around the yard making a twig

[Music]

pile When all the twigs were picked up

Dad put them into the compost pile

Then mom and dad rad up the leftover

stuff from the grass Dad told them they

would add it to the compost pile too and

soon it would be warm bedding for plants

during the

winter Didn't look warm to Katie but she

guessed a plant was different than the

people When all was done the family had

lunch Mom made macaroni with thick

cheese on top Katie and Orby told Mom

and Dad that the whole house looked

different without the tree there They

agreed it was sunnier in the house and

they could certainly see the street a

whole lot better But that tree had been

the most perfect thing for that part of

the

yard Mom talked about the earth needing

trees Mom said that trees help the earth

breathe and stay cool and that they help

the

ecology Orbee burbled his confusion He

didn't know what ecology was So mom

explained that the tree was wonderful

for them to look at It also served as a

home for birds to nest in and a place

for squirrels to hide their nuts in and

hibernate in the winter Maybe even bats

slept in the tree in the

daytime which I have to tell you Katie

thought was a bit gross Mom laughed and

explained that for the most part bats

are wonderful creatures because they eat

bugs and that keeps the bugs from biting

Katie Trees also provide shade and they

drop leaves in the fall that eventually

become food for the soil

Katie didn't know that trees were such a

big deal Katie looked at Orbee and told

him that they weren't the only ones that

were going to miss the tree With this

Dad said "All right everybody into the

car." No matter who asked where we were

going Dad just said "You will see." In

about 5 minutes they turned off the road

into a place that had rows and rows of

trees There were all kinds of different

trees This was a tree store It was

called a nursery Katie and Orbee just

looked in amazement until Dad told them

not to just stand there but to go find a

tree they

liked Mom smiled and gave Dad a kiss for

understanding that they really needed to

have a place for the birds and the

squirrels and the

bats Then she ran after Katie and Orby

to tell them what each tree was like It

took a while and dad talked to the

saleswoman about how to plant a tree

where one had been before When he looked

up his whole family was waving at him So

he went to see what they had found It

was a flowering crab apple tree Katie

explained right away but that didn't

mean the apples were crabby It meant

they were small Dad was awfully glad to

hear it because he certainly didn't want

a crabby tree in his yard

Orbee told him about the wonderful pink

flowers mom said they would have in his

spring and Katie added that they would

smell

yummy Dad stood for a minute and looked

at all the other trees in the nursery

And he turned to mom and Katie and Orby

and told them that he figured they had

picked out the very best tree at the

nursery for their front

lawn It took a lot of digging and

packing and mulch carrying to plant the

new tree

It was small and certainly didn't look

like the old tree but Katie and Orbee

hoped the birds and the squirrels and

the bats would think it was good enough

And you know as they were sitting on the

front step with a nice cold drink a

little yellow bird came and landed on

one of the tiny branches It sang a

beautiful song And mom said that it

looked like the little tree would fit in

perfectly And I can tell you now it

really did

Did you know did you know did you know

did you know a chameleon is an

extraordinary lizard which can change

its color and match its

surroundings This makes them hard to

find and helps them hide from other

animals

Chameleons are great at playing hide and

seek

[Music]

it had been quite a day orbee found out

that if you go out in the winter you'd

better wear something warm on your feet

or your polka dots will turn blue katie

found out that when you try to keep a

mini snowman inside the house it doesn't

stay long and they both realized that

when you try to catch snowflakes on your

tongue not very many of them get there

mom and dad had talked long and hard

about getting a pet and finally they

agreed that they would go down to the

animal shelter and find just the right

one katie thought they were going to the

pet store but dad told her they were

going to a place that kept lost animals

until they found a new home that was a

good idea orbee thought about training

his new pet elephant and Katie thought

about how she would ride her

horse in the car when mom heard about

Katie's horse she laughed and told Katie

that a horse wouldn't fit very well in

their living room they didn't have a

stable and the elephant well they would

at best have to move to the zoo mom and

dad were thinking of something much

smaller katie and Orbee looked at each

other the guessing began was it a goat

was it a raccoon was it a monkey but I

bet you guessed by now that mom and dad

were thinking more of something like

like a

cat when the two friends heard this they

both smiled a cat sounded like a

wonderful pet and they wouldn't have to

buy a zoo or a stable it would just fit

right

in when they got to the animal shelter

they saw long runs that held all kinds

of dogs in them inside the animal

shelter there was a very nice man he

looked a little bit like Katie's grandpa

his name was Jake and he smiled at them

and thanked them for coming which Katie

thought was very nice of him he looked

down at Katie and Orbee and asked them

if they were looking for a new pet they

both nodded their heads jake looked at

his list of animals and said "I think I

might have just the right pet for you."

Orbee and Katie couldn't wait to see so

Jake opened up the doors and they could

see a room full of

cats the family walked in there were all

kinds old ones and young ones and black

ones and golden ones and ones with three

different colors some of them had golden

eyes some of them had green eyes and

some of them had blue eyes mom made a

kind of h sound and dad told them this

may not be easy so they started to hunt

for just the right one katie wanted to

know why there were so many cats that

needed homes jake told her that the

animals came to the shelter for all

different reasons but it's why people

came that mattered to Jake katie didn't

understand jake told her that when

people come through that door it made

him very happy because he knew there was

a pretty good chance one of his animals

would be adopted to a new home

but then Jake held up a finger we want

to make sure that each animal goes to

the right home so that it can stay for

the rest of its life katie Orby Mom and

Dad all look to the animals every time

one person found one they liked the rest

of the family would race over to see it

the thing was that deciding could be

quite a

problem orbee was having a problem of a

different sort orbeez looked at each cat

and he wanted to take each one home he

told mom that they could sleep in his

closet with him but mom said they only

had room for one jake said "You haven't

looked over in this corner yet." And

that's when it happened katie and Orbee

ran over mom and dad came up behind two

little faces lit right up when they

looked in the cage there was a tiny

little kitten

she was gold in color all over except on

her face she had a white spot in her

head jake said her name was Chance she

was very sick and wandered onto the

highway and a young teenager found her

by chance and brought her to Jake to

make her better chance got better very

quickly and now was ready to start a new

life right then and there Chance had a

new home jake told them the rules for

adopting a kitten make sure she always

has fresh water and hug her when

necessary she needed just the right food

and some other things that Jake told mom

and dad as they were leaving Orby looked

back at all the cats that didn't have a

home he really wanted to take them with

him jake smiled he hoped more

responsible people like Katie and her

family would come and adopt all the

animals in the shelter

as they were getting in the car another

car drove up and Orbee felt

better in the car Chance climbed all

over the place trying to find a way to

get out she meowed a bit and sat right

on Katie's shoulder katie told Chance

not to be afraid that she was going to a

new home where everybody would love her

and I'm sure Chance didn't understand

exactly but she just stayed on Katie's

shoulder and purred as soon as they

opened the door to the house Chance

jumped right out of Katie's arms and ran

into the living room chance hurried

through the house to find a safe place

to

hide the house didn't smell like the

animal shelter and there weren't any

cats so Chance hid right under the

skirts of the living room

couch she stayed there as quiet as could

be when Katie and Orbee walked into the

room they couldn't see Chance they

looked for her they looked upstairs and

downstairs and in the kitchen no

chance mom put out some food and water

and dad suggested that perhaps sitting

down and waiting for Chance to decide it

was time to come out was better than

hunting for her just as Orby was going

to sit in the couch he saw something

that belonged to Chance sticking out

from under the couch it was Chance's

tail he burbled and pointed and started

to bounce up and down but Dad told him

to sit quietly so everybody sat and

watched the tail katie hoped she would

get to see more of Chance than just her

tail dad explained that Chance needed

time to get used to

them soon the tail disappeared and a

little black nose poked its way out from

under the couch everyone sat very still

dad told them to watch what Chance did

chance looked around the room and

snipped at things he snipped at Orby's

toes and Orbee had to work very hard at

not wiggling them then she walked over

to Katie she stood right up in the air

and then jumped up on Katie's lap this

surprised Katie but mom just told her to

gently pat Chance and do you know that

within a second Chance curled right up

there and purred so loud that Orbee

thought it sounded like Dan's razor

everybody laughed and Chance looked up

and I think she may have smiled at

everybody in her new family at least

Orbeez said she did and I guess you know

by now that Chance did stay with Katie

and Orbee for the rest of her life