AVERY CHARLOTTE COW DOLORES EDITH EIDITH FERN GANDER GOOSE GOSLINGS HENRY HOMER JOHN LURVY NARRATOR OLD_SHEEP TEMPLETON WIDOW WIDOW_FUSSY WILBUR NARRATOR On a farm in springtime, orchards begin to blossom. NARRATOR First the cherry tree, then plum, and finally apple. NARRATOR Children keep watch for the first robin of the year NARRATOR while the farmer must begin to make good on all his wintertime planning. NARRATOR And no one who lives there goes untouched by the spring breeze. NARRATOR A warm, sweet air that produces a particular sensation within all who breathe it NARRATOR A feeling that life is wonderful, a sense that the feeling will linger and that nothing bad would ever happen again in the world. DOLORES Well what do you think? FERN It looks just like your last quilt. DOLORES There are small differences. FERN But these all look the same! You know, you should make something like Titi Edith makes FERN with fancy stitching and bright colours. DOLORES Fancy stitching takes time, and dye for bright colours takes money. We don�t have much of either. Nor does Edith, but that�s another story. FERN But her quilts are beautiful. DOLORES I prefer simple pleasures. Getting your chores done. Paying your bills on time. Getting food on the table. That should be enough to keep anybody happy. FERN Where�s Papa going with that axe? DOLORES Some pigs were born last night and one of them is a runt. It�s very small and weak and will never amount to anything. So your father�s decided to do away with it. FERN Do away with it? Do you mean kill it? FERN Papa! Papa! Papa, stop! JOHN Fern! FERN Please don�t kill it! JOHN You will have to learn to control yourself. FERN Control myself? This is a matter of life and death and you talk about controlling myself? JOHN I know a lot more about raising a litter of pigs than you do. A weakling makes trouble. FERN The pig couldn�t help being born small. If I had been born very small, would you have killed me? JOHN Certainly not. But this is different. A little girl is one thing. A runty pig is another. FERN I see no difference! This is an absolutely terrible case of injustice! JOHN I don�t know, Fern. FERN Please, Papa. JOHN Hmmm� Alright. The runt�s yours. FERN Thank you! JOHN I�ll let you start it on a bottle like a baby. Then you�ll see how much trouble a pig can be. FERN Oh, he�ll be no trouble at all, I promise! JOHN He�s yours. Saved from an untimely death. May your mother forgive me for this foolishness. DOLORES Ay, John. FERN Isn�t he wonderful? FERN Your name is Wilbur. DOLORES How did you think of that one? FERN It just came to me. JOHN A good idea can often arrive suddenly and without warning � like a sneeze. DOLORES Or a croak. DOLORES Good morning, Avery. AVERY Say, what�s Fern got? FERN I have a guest for breakfast. He�s a little pig, and his name is Wilbur. AVERY Ha, it�s no bigger than a white rat. Can I have a pig, Pop? JOHN I only distribute pigs to early risers. Fern was up at daylight, trying to rid the world of injustice. As a result, she now has a pig. JOHN Shows what can happen if a person gets out of bed promptly. NARRATOR Fern loved Wilbur more than anything. She warmed his milk and fed him every morning NARRATOR and rocked him to sleep every night. NARRATOR For the first few days of his life - NARRATOR Wilbur was allowed to live in a box near the stove. DOLORES Fern! NARRATOR But when Mrs. Arable complained NARRATOR he was moved to a new home outdoors. NARRATOR Mr. Arable fixed a small yard for Wilbur under an apple tree. NARRATOR and gave him a large wooden box with a doorway, so he could walk in and out as he pleased. NARRATOR Thanks to a diet of apples and table scraps, NARRATOR Wilbur now bore little resemblance to the runt he had been. FERN Time for your nap, Wilbur. FERN It�s alright, Wilbur. Just go to sleep. Do you want milk? FERN Here, try this FERN Ah! FERN Wilbur, no! FERN It�s not funny, Avery! AVERY Of course it is! JOHN Son, cut that out now. Frankly, I�m surprised you just sat there and laughed when you could have been helping Fern. AVERY I�m sorry, Fern. JOHN But sweetheart, it didn�t seem like Wilbur much enjoyed the carriage. FERN He didn�t understand what was going on. JOHN Then you must help him understand. From the pig�s perspective, you are a best friend, a mama, and a teacher all rolled into one. And you need to take those jobs seriously and do what�s right for Wilbur. FERN Do what�s right for Wilbur? FERN Wilbur? Good afternoon. It is time for you to learn more about the world, so that you may have a wonderful and satisfying life. Do you understand? FERN Alright. The first lesson is Talking. Let�s start with your name. Wilbur. Say Wwillllburrr. WILBUR W-w-w FERN Wilbur! WILBUR W-w-willlll burrr . FERN Oh my goodness! I think that you�ll be a fine student, Wilbur. Try saying �Good afternoon, Fern. My, aren�t we having some beautiful weather?� WILBUR Good afternoon, Fern. My aren�t we having FERN Lesson 4 FERN Be formal and very polite when you meet someone. FERN Ahem. WILBUR It is my fondest pleasure to meet you. FERN Why, thank you, sir! The pleasure is mine! FERN Lesson 8 If someone is sad, try to make them feel better. For example, ask if they�re okay and if they would like a hug. WILBUR Are you okay? Would you like a hug? FERN Perfect, Wilbur! FERN Lesson 11 Sometimes you have to do things even if you�re scared. WILBUR Huh! Huh! Huh! FERN Lesson 14 If you can�t sleep, ask someone to sing you a lullaby. FERN In recognition of your outstanding scholarship, FERN I hereby present you, Wilbur T. Pig, with this diploma. Congratulations. WILBUR Thank you! DOLORES Fern, honey! Quilting bee is in an hour. Put on a dress, please! FERN A dress? DOLORES The Widow Fussy is joining us tonight. She hasn�t been out of the house in months so we should dress for the occasion. Oh, and keep Wilbur out of the house too. The poor woman�s been going through enough trouble she doesn�t need any more from an unruly pig. EDITH Fernandita! FERN Hola! EDITH Look who is all dressed up for the quilting bee. EDITH No need to be shy. That dress is splendid. HOMER I�ll say. Finest I�ve seen in all my travels from Oslo to Omaha, from Tokyo to Toledo, from Rochester to Rio. FERN Have you really been to all those places, Uncle Homer? HOMER Oh, more or less. EDITH Less. Much less. HOMER We can consult the atlas later. Now, this must be the wondrous Wilbur we�ve heard so much about. HOMER Oh, that�s ok now. Don�t be frightened little fella. WILBUR I�m Wilbur and I�m pleased to make HOMER Awww ! EIDITH Ohhh! HOMER Look at the little guy. TEMPLETON Soooo What's for dinner tonight? HOMER Good afternoon, Arables! Fern was just introducing us to HOMER Now, now, now, now, now Is that what I think it is? DOLORES Everyone knows your favourite dessert is plum pie. TEMPLETON HA! Plum pie?! Hey, belly, did ya hear that? This is the luckiest day of your life! And ol� Templeton�s life too! Plum pie! TEMPLETON So what�s my strategy, belly? TEMPLETON Wait a sec I can�t carry a whole pie on my own. Say TEMPLETON Now that�s a gullible-looking pig if I ever saw one. WIDOW FUSSY Good evening! EDITH Oh, Mrs. Fussy, look at you! Such a change! WIDOW FUSSY I wore black for six months after I lost my dear Joseph. Reckon it was time to brighten things up a trifle. DOLORES You look beautiful. DOLORES And Henry, what a nice surprise. We weren�t expecting you. HENRY Hi, Fern. FERN Hi, Henry. HENRY Um, Mrs. Arable? It�s a little too bright in town to see the stars. I was hoping to set up my telescope here during your quilting bee? DOLORES Why, of course. Anywhere you like. HENRY Thank you, ma�am. FERN I have to keep you outside. My mama said I couldn�t have a pig at the quilting bee. WILBUR I understand. Have fun! TEMPLETON Okay, belly. It�s showtime. TEMPLETON Agony! Agony! Woe is me! Woe is me! WILBUR Excuse me, sir. May I help you? TEMPLETON Can ya help me? Oh, sure ya can, pal. Help�s the only thing poor ol� Templeton needs! WILBUR What was that? TEMPLETON Oh, that�s just my belly. He grumbles when he�s empty. You get used to it. Here�s the skinny. You gotta get that pie from inside the house. WILBUR What? Oh, no I-I�m not allowed in the house. TEMPLETON Humph! Must be nice being a pig! Folks bring you slop whenever you want. And whaddya gotta do for it? Zip. Not so for a rat, pal. Not so at all! WILBUR That sounds dreadful. TEMPLETON You don�t know the half of it. It all started when I was a baby. A poor defenceless baby WIDOW I just adore this dress, Edith. Such a pretty yellow in the embroidery. EDITH Thank you! I dyed the thread myself. WIDOW My word! DOLORES So much work, you wouldn�t believe it. That�s why Zeke�s General Store is good enough for me. EDITH You could never get this colour at Zeke�s. I learned the technique back in Puerto Rico. FERN What�s so funny? EDITH We used to visit our grandmother in the summers and one time, she taught us how to dye thread. DOLORES So naturally, my sister needs the colour to be perfect EDITH I go to the barn to practise, and I accidentally spill a little dye on one of the goats. FERN Uh-oh! WIDOW FUSSY Uh-oh! DOLORES And she didn�t like the way it looked, so she FERN She what? EDITH I dyed the whole goat yellow. DOLORES The golden goat of San Juan! TEMPLETON So there I was, after all that toil, back to where I started. With nothing! Which is why I had to hop on the back of Zuckerman�s truck and come here. Now don�t you start again, belly! Woe is me. Woe is me! WILBUR Oh, I just feel terrible for you, Templeton. It isn�t fair at all! TEMPLETON What�s your name? WILBUR Wilbur. TEMPLETON Listen, Wilbur, tears are swell, but if you really wanna help TEMPLETON You need to pinch that pie for me. WILBUR Lesson 9 Help others in need. TEMPLETON Come again? EDITH This is almost exactly the same as your last quilt. DOLORES There�s no law against sticking with what works. EDITH And there�s no law against trying something new. WIDOW FUSSY Say, you two should enter the County Fair this year. FERN The County Fair? DOLORES I don�t need to win a blue ribbon. EDITH See, that�s the difference between us. I�d love to win a blue ribbon. WIDOW FUSSY And I imagine you could. A talent like yours would cause quite a stir. EDITH There is a saffron dye I�ve been wanting to try. Might be worth a trip to Burlington. DOLORES Sounds expensive. I suppose you�ll need another loan. EDITH Hm. WIDOW FUSSY Fern, honey, why don�t you go and talk to Henry, would you? He�s too bashful to chat with anyone else. TEMPLETON I�ve seen these doors before. They only stay open for a few seconds so you gotta move fast. TEMPLETON I think I hear someone coming! Get ready, pig. TEMPLETON Now, pig! WILBUR I won�t let you down, Templeton! TEMPLETON Fine. Focus on the pie! FERN So what are you looking at? HENRY Oh, uh. Nothing yet. But when it gets dark, I should have an excellent view of Ursa Major � that means �Great Bear.� It�s the most radiant in the spring. Do you have a favourite constellation? FERN Um the Big Dipper? HENRY Really? That�s perfect! The Big Dipper is part of Ursa Major. FERN Oh. That�s swell. HENRY Ah, nuts. FERN What? HENRY My grandma told you to come out here, didn�t she? It�s okay, Fern. You don�t need to pretend to be interested. TEMPLETON Psst. Over there. On the table. TEMPLETON Pull the towel underneath the pie with your teeth. Then let the pie fall on the chair. TEMPLETON That�s it that�s it TEMPLETON Yes! You did it, pig! You did it! WILBUR How do I get it off the chair? It�ll make a terrible crash when it hits the floor. TEMPLETON Uh, hold on. TEMPLETON Push it over the edge and let it land on me. I�ll break the fall. WILBUR But you�ll be crushed. TEMPLETON I�ve been through much worse. This is a cakewalk. Or a piewalk anyway. Alright, go ahead. WILBUR Oh my goodness. Templeton, I�m so sorry! TEMPLETON All in a day�s work. Now let�s scram. TEMPLETON Other way! Other way! TEMPLETON New plan, pig. TEMPLETON Throw the pie out the window. WILBUR What? TEMPLETON Put it in your mouth and throw it out the window. Immediately! DOLORES Wilbur! TEMPLETON Now or never, pig! DOLORES Oh my goodness! Oh, Mrs. Fussy, this is Ay yay yay, I can�t believe it! WIDOW FUSSY Oh, it�s just a dress. DOLORES Fernanda Arable, I told you I didn�t want any trouble from the pig tonight! WILBUR I was trying to help the rat! He told me JOHN Fern, you clean up this mess right now. We will discuss what to do with Wilbur later. FERN What? It�s not his fault. It�s mine. DOLORES We will discuss this later. FERN No, no, no, no, no, please don�t blame Wilbur! I should have taught him better. I�ll do all of Avery�s chores for a month. I�ll do whatever punishment you want! Just please, please don�t take Wilbur away! JOHN I said at the start that a pig could be trouble FERN But this is his home! DOLORES And this home isn�t big enough for him. It�s time for you to do what�s right for Wilbur. WILBUR Are you okay, Fern? WILBUR Lesson 8. Would you like a hug? WILBUR See, I remembered the lesson! You were sad and I asked if you were okay. You can tell Mr. and Mrs. Arable that the lessons are working and I won�t have to go away now. FERN You�re very sweet. But My mama and papa said Uncle Homer has a lot more space in his barn than we do. And that you�re getting too big for me to take care of you. WILBUR I don�t want to go. I want to stay here. With you. FERN I need to do what�s right for you, Wilbur. JOHN Alright, Fern. Say goodbye to Wilbur. You�ll see him after school. HOMER Honey, why don�t you show him the barn? I need to talk to your daddy for a minute. FERN Come on, Wilbur. Let�s see your new home. JOHN What�s on your mind? HOMER I know you said ten bucks, but would it be alright if I gave you six now and four later? JOHN Oh HOMER My plum trees bore fruit this season, but no one�s buying the plums. I feel so foolish. Serves me right for dreaming so big. JOHN Hey, don�t go adjusting any dreams just yet. It�s still early. In the meanwhile, let�s just say six bucks. HOMER Well, that�s a bargain. Much obliged, John. FERN Oh, this place isn�t so bad. Look at this barn. We don�t have anything like that back at home. WILBUR But you don�t live here. FERN I�ll visit whenever I can. And you�ll make new friends. WILBUR I don�t know how to make friends Wait I do actually. We talked about making friends in lessons 2, 16 and 27. FERN Oh, Wilbur. JOHN And also, if you don�t mind, don�t mention to Fern anything about the pig�s future, okay? HOMER I see. So she doesn�t know? JOHN And I�m in no rush to tell her. WILBUR I love you, Fern. FERN I love you, too. FERN I�ll be back soon NARRATOR Homer Zuckerman�s barn was very large. It smelled of hay and it smelled of manure. NARRATOR Wilbur�s new home was the lower part of the barn. Pigs need warmth, and it was warm and comfortable down there in the barn cellar on the south side. WILBUR Templeton? Templeton! Gosh, am I glad to see you! TEMPLETON Uh, who are you? WILBUR It�s Wilbur. From the Arable farm. Don�t you remember me? TEMPLETON Oh, right. Never met a pie you didn�t ruin. WILBUR Huh? TEMPLETON Hey, uh listen, I�m kinda busy here. I�m stocking up my palace. We�ll talk later. WILBUR Oh okay. Goodbye. WILBUR GOOSE You don�t have to stay in that dirty-little dirty-little dirty-little yard. WILBUR Excuse me? COW One of the boards in the fence. It�s loose. WILBUR I�m supposed to stay inside. Rule 18 is �Be obedient�. GOOSE Suit-suit-suit yourself. FERN Wilbur? WILBUR Fern! I�m so happy to see you. FERN Have you made any friends yet? FERN Well, you just need to try a little harder, that�s all. FERN It�s only thunder. It won�t hurt you. HOMER Fern, I�d better run you home. FERN But I just got here! HOMER The storm will hit soon, and it looks to be a doozy, Fern. We shouldn�t waste time. WILBUR Please don�t go. I�ve been waiting all day to see you. FERN I�m sorry. I�ll come back as soon as I can. GOOSE Such an innocent little-little fellow. He doesn�t even know what�s going to happen to him. He has no idea he�ll end up as Christmas dinner. GANDER Poor pig. WILBUR Fern would teach me lessons. We would go on walks. I would wave goodbye to her when she went to school WILBUR Those were the happiest days of my life. They seem so long ago now. What should I do? TEMPLETON Eat your dinner and be thankful that somebody brings you food. NARRATOR But Wilbur didn�t want food. He wanted love. He wanted a friend � somebody who would play with him. CHARLOTTE Wilbur? WILBUR Huh? Who was that? CHARLOTTE Do you want a friend, Wilbur? WILBUR A friend? CHARLOTTE ; I�ve watched you all day and I like you. WILBUR But I can�t see you. Where are you? CHARLOTTE I�m right up here. Now, go to sleep. You�ll see me in the morning. WILBUR But now I�m too excited to sleep. Would you sing me a lullaby, please? CHARLOTTE Well, I hadn�t planned on doing any singing tonight, but I suppose I could. WILBUR Thank you very much. CHARLOTTE Sleep, sleep, sleep my only, morning will come but soon. Don�t weep, don�t be lonely, sleep by the light of the moon. DOLORES Time for bed, mija. FERN S�, Mam�. WILBUR Um excuse me? Uhh attention, please. Will the party who addressed me at bedtime last night kindly speak up? You said you would be a friend to me. But I can�t find you. Please tell me where you are. GOOSE What�s going on? WILBUR Oh, um I�m sorry. I should have waited until you were all awake. CHARLOTTE Salutations! WILBUR Salu-what? CHARLOTTE It�s just my fancy way of saying hello or-or good morning. Actually, it�s just a silly expression. I�m surprised I used it at all. WILBUR Oh. I see. Um then salutations to you! CHARLOTTE Thank you, kindly. WILBUR I still can�t see you. CHARLOTTE Look up here in the corner of the doorway. WILBUR Good morning! I mean salutations. My name is Wilbur. What is your name, please? CHARLOTTE My name is Charlotte. Charlotte A. Cavatica. WILBUR What is that you�re hanging from? It looks like a quilt. My friend Fern has lots of them. CHARLOTTE You mean this? Oh, it�s my web. WILBUR I think it�s beautiful. CHARLOTTE Thank you! I�ve always thought of my web as my office. It�s where I do most of my work. WILBUR You have a job? CHARLOTTE I trap flies. I come from a long line of trappers. WILBUR I don�t understand. CHARLOTTE Hmm What you need is a demonstration. But I�ll need your help. CHARLOTTE See that fly over there? Be a dear and shoo him over to my web. CHARLOTTE Ooh. A direct hit. Well done. WILBUR But he�s stuck. CHARLOTTE Correct. First, I dive at him. CHARLOTTE Next, I wrap him up. WILBUR What? CHARLOTTE And finally, I knock him out with an anesthetic so he won�t feel pain. Oh, it�s a little service I throw in. WILBUR Charlotte, no! CHARLOTTE Delicious. He�ll make a perfect breakfast for me. WILBUR You eat flies?! CHARLOTTE Oh, certainly. Flies, grasshoppers, cockroaches, gnats, midges, daddy longlegs, centipedes, mosquitos, crickets anything careless enough to get caught in my web. WILBUR Do they taste good? CHARLOTTE Oh, I don�t really eat them. I drink them. WILBUR Excuse me? CHARLOTTE I drink their blood. I love blood. CHARLOTTE Wilbur? WILBUR What happened? CHARLOTTE You fainted. Right after I told you that I love drinking blood. WILBUR Stop saying that! CHARLOTTE Well, I�m not entirely happy about my diet either, but it�s just the way that I was made. WILBUR It�s cruel. CHARLOTTE Well, you can�t talk. You have your meals brought to you in a pail. CHARLOTTE Nobody feeds me. I have to live by my wits, think things out, take what comes, or I�ll go hungry. And furthermore, do you realise that if I didn�t have to catch bugs and eat them, bugs would increase and multiply and get so numerous that they would destroy the earth? WILBUR Oh. CHARLOTTE Mm-hm. WILBUR Well, I wouldn�t want that to happen. Perhaps your web is a good thing after all. CHARLOTTE I�m glad you�ve come around to my point of view. That says much about you. Now if you will excuse me, I must eat my breakfast before it gets cold. WILBUR Shall we play together later? CHARLOTTE We shall. I told you I would be a friend to you, didn�t I? So long then! TEMPLETON What�s eating you, Pig? WILBUR Well, I made a new friend Charlotte. She�s clever and she said she would play with me� But she�s also brutal and bloodthirsty which I don�t like at all. Friendship is such a gamble. TEMPLETON Exactly why I don�t bother with friends. NARRATOR Wilbur was merely suffering the doubts that often go with finding a new friend. In good time he was to discover that he was mistaken about Charlotte. Underneath her rather bold and cruel exterior, she had a kind heart. And she was to prove loyal and true to the very end. WILBUR Tell me another, Charlotte! CHARLOTTE Well, once upon a time, long before I came to this barn, I built a web across a small stream. And a tiny fish leaped into the air and got tangled in the web. WILBUR That�s impossible. CHARLOTTE There was the fish, caught by one fin. And there was I, throwing my threads and fighting hard. First I threw a left around the tail. The fish lashed back. I dodged, then threw another left to the midsection and a hard right to the Head. WILBUR Then what happened? CHARLOTTE Nothing. The fish lost the fight. I wrapped it up tight so it couldn�t budge. I kept the fish for a while, and then I ate it. WILBUR A spider ate a whole fish? CHARLOTTE A whole fish. I had quite an appetite in my younger days. The end. WILBUR Gosh, that�s the best story I�ve ever heard! CHARLOTTE I�m glad you enjoyed. Now I have some work to do WILBUR Oh, I�m so happy that I met you, Charlotte. Fern will be so pleased to know that I�ve made a friend. CHARLOTTE The pleasure is mine. WILBUR Tell me another story! CHARLOTTE I was just saying that I have some WILBUR Please. CHARLOTTE You know, Wilbur. I am delighted to be your friend, but I have found that having one friend is usually not enough. CHARLOTTE You should try making some other friends in the barn. CHARLOTTE What is it? WILBUR I�m not very good at making friends. CHARLOTTE Oh, you�re just new, that�s all. I know the feeling well. I wasn�t born here either, remember? WILBUR Then how did you wind up in the barn? CHARLOTTE I just blew in one day on a warm wind. And I, too, was afraid to talk to anyone. WILBUR What did you do? CHARLOTTE Mustered up the nerve, that�s all. WILBUR Lesson 11 Sometimes you have to do things even when you�re scared. Fern taught me that. CHARLOTTE Very smart girl. OLD SHEEP Hey there, little fella. OLD SHEEP What�s the matter? Cat got your tongue? It�s not just an expression. I knew a goat once. A cat got his tongue, which well, as you can imagine it made it rather difficult to talk. WILBUR I- I- was wondering OLD SHEEP Fox! / It�s the fox! / Oh, no! / GOOSE Fox! / It�s the fox! / Oh, no! / GANDER Fox! / It�s the fox! / Oh, no! / TEMPLETON Fox! / It�s the fox! / Oh, no! / OLD SHEEP He�s right over there! Gander The Eggs! GOOSE Oh! No-no-no! No-no-no! No-no-no! GANDER I�m going. GOOSE No-no-no! Please no! GANDER Once the fox sees the egg, it�ll be too late. GOOSE But I can�t lose you! WILBUR Lesson 11 GOOSE Someone else can go. Templeton, you do it. TEMPLETON Fat chance. I�m a rat, not a hero. GANDER Templeton, please! TEMPLETON Funny how quickly you pick me for the dangerous work. Why not the sheep or the pig? CHARLOTTE Where is Wilbur? CHARLOTTE Hurry, Wilbur! WILBUR Ahhh! OLD SHEEP Hurry! / Go! / Faster, Wilbur! / Go, Wilbur, go! / Run! GOOSE Hurry! / Go! / Faster, Wilbur! / Go, Wilbur, go! / Run! GANDER Hurry! / Go! / Faster, Wilbur! / Go, Wilbur, go! / Run! CHARLOTTE Hurry! / Go! / Faster, Wilbur! / Go, Wilbur, go! / Run! EDITH Fuera de aqu�! Beat it! OLD SHEEP Go, Wilbur! / Thank you, thank you, thank you! / Yeah! GOOSE Go, Wilbur! / Thank you, thank you, thank you! / Yeah! GANDER Go, Wilbur! / Thank you, thank you, thank you! / Yeah! WILBUR Awww. FERN Awww. CHARLOTTE Awww. GOOSE I�d like to say thank you-thank you-thank you to our friend Wilbur. We all know this gosling would not be here if not for your help. WILBUR Hello. I am most pleased to meet you. WILBUR Let�s go, Junior. NARRATOR Summer days on a farm are the happiest and fairest days of the year. NARRATOR Lavender blooms and makes the air sweet and bees visit around the plum trees. NARRATOR It�s also a jubilee time for birds, as their song travels to all parts of the farm. LURVY Alright, in ya go, go on. GOSLINGS I can count to five-five-five-five/ Why did the gosling-gosling-gosling cross the road? / I�m so so so so hungry. So hungry./ Follow follow me. OLD SHEEP Why, hello there, Junior. OLD SHEEP You know, I can�t recall a gosling who wasn�t speaking by the summertime. GOOSE Why do you think we call her Junior? She�s just quiet-quiet-quiet. Like her father. FERN Good morning, everyone! OLD SHEEP Howdy, Fern! / Good morning, Fern!/ Hiya, Fern! GOOSE Howdy, Fern! / Good morning, Fern!/ Hiya, Fern! GANDER Howdy, Fern! / Good morning, Fern!/ Hiya, Fern! GOSLINGS Howdy, Fern! / Good morning, Fern!/ Hiya, Fern! WILBUR Fern! FERN Wilbur, you�re looking so big. WILBUR Farmer Zuckerman and Lurvy give me as much slop as I want. Can you believe it? I can�t imagine having a more wonderful life. FERN I�m very happy for you. TEMPLETON Ha. Just wait �til Christmas. GOOSE Templeton! WILBUR What happens at Christmas? CHARLOTTE Yes, what happens? GOSLINGS What happens-happens-happens at Christmas / What happens at Christmas- Christmas-Christmas? What happens? GOOSE See what you did? TEMPLETON Look, I love a good lie, but even I have my limits. Let�s level with him. CHARLOTTE Well? Out with it. TEMPLETON Uh, they�re fattening you up because they�re going to kill you. OLD SHEEP Templeton�s right. All the young pigs are killed as soon as the cold weather sets in. WILBUR No no Is it true, Charlotte? CHARLOTTE I�m afraid it must be. The Old Sheep has been around this barn a long time. We have no reason to doubt him. WILBUR I don�t want to die. FERN It�s all just a nasty lie, Wilbur. Papa told me I could keep you. He never said anything about this. Wait here. FERN Is it true? EDITH Is what true, honey? FERN Are you fattening up Wilbur so you can kill him? HOMER Now look, you know I�m a farmer, sweetheart. Part of my business is raising pigs and well, we don�t raise them to be pets. HOMER I�d keep all of them if I could, but unless there�s some kind of miracle FERN Papa promised I could visit Wilbur every day. How am I supposed to do that if the pig is dead? You and Papa have broken your end of the bargain. This is injustice! Plain and simple! CHARLOTTE Okay now One! Two! Three! Push! WILBUR I don�t wanna go! CHARLOTTE You�re being dramatic. I will straighten out this mess. Just hide in the woods until we send the Barn Swallow for you. WILBUR But I�ll miss you too much. CHARLOTTE It�s not safe here, Wilbur. WILBUR Okay. CHARLOTTE Alright, my friends! The biggest push yet! Do it for Wilbur! One-two-three! Push! OLD SHEEP Gang way. WILBUR Oof! GOOSE How does it feel to be free?! WILBUR I don�t like it. CHARLOTTE That doesn�t matter. You must run to the woods now! Before Lurvy finds you. FERN Wilbur is the sweetest, most well- behaved pig in the world LURVY Pig�s out! Pig�s out! OLD SHEEP Go, Wilbur! LURVY Whoa! OLD SHEEP You got it! Keep running! HOMER Here, pig. OLD SHEEP It�s the old pail trick. Don�t fall for it! HOMER Here ya go. HOMER That�ll do it. WILBUR I�m sorry. CHARLOTTE You did your best. LURVY Tell you what, boss. He is some pig. HOMER You got that right, Lurvy. Some pig indeed. CHARLOTTE Quiet now. Never once seen a tear that could solve a problem. FERN But what do we do, Charlotte? You heard Uncle Homer. CHARLOTTE I know what his plans are, dear. But we must make him change his plans. FERN But I�m just a little kid, and you�re just a spider. How can we make Uncle Homer do anything? WILBUR Yeah, how? CHARLOTTE That remains to be seen� But I will save you, Wilbur. NARRATOR Hour by hour, Charlotte sat motionless, deep in thought. Having promised Wilbur that she would save his life, she was determined to keep her promise. She knew from experience that if she waited long enough, a fly would come to her web. And she felt sure that if she thought long enough about Wilbur�s problem, an idea would come to her mind. CHARLOTTE Ha! CHARLOTTE Why, how perfectly simple. If I can fool a bug, I can surely fool a man. People are not as smart as bugs. The way to save Wilbur�s life is to play a trick on Zuckerman. NARRATOR The next day was foggy. Everything on the farm was dripping wet. And the grass looked like a magic carpet. NARRATOR And the grass looked like a magic carpet. LURVY Hey, boss. Look at this. HOMER What is it, Lurvy? LURVY Do you see what I see? HOMER Edith? Edith! EDITH What is it, Homer? HOMER It�s a miracle.