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Introduction[]
(D.W. stands in front of an undefined background with a flipchart showing a TV, a bowl of pretzels and a couch.)
D.W.: Hello, TV audience, here's something you'll need to watch today's show. A TV, but you already have one of those, because you're watching me right now!
(Bud joins her.)
Bud: What about a computer? They could be watching us on a computer.
D.W.: Okay, fine. Or a computer.
Bud: Or a phone. When we drove up from Louisiana, I watched a whole movie about octopuses on my daddy's phone.
D.W.: Would you let me finish?! Where was I?
Bud: You were about to say, you'll need some place to sit.
(He takes D.W.’s pointing stick and points to the couch. A couch appears under D.W.)
D.W.: Aah!
Bud: And something to munch on.
(He points to the pretzels and a bowl of them appears in D.W.’s lap.)
D.W.: Aah!
Bud: Pretzels? That's boring. How about crawfish poppers?
(The pretzels change into poppers.)
D.W.: Aah!
Bud: And you left off a toy dinosaur who's also your imaginary friend.
(The imaginary version of Rapty appears behind D.W.)
Rapty: (roars)
D.W.: Aah!
Bud: And most important of all, your four-houses-down neighbor.
(He sits down beside D.W.)
D.W.: (sighs) Bud Compson, even something as simple as watching TV is an adventure with you.
Bud: You got that right! Pass the poppers!
(D.W. passes the poppers and aims a remote control at the camera. The screen goes black.)
Title Card: D.W. and Bud find a statue[]
(Ladonna and Arthur build a diorama in the Reads’ dining room.)
Ladonna: And then I thought we could put Annie on the side of the mountain, like she's halfway up.
Arthur: Cool! I think she might have had some pack animals with her, like mules.
(Toy Rapty falls on the diorama)
Arthur+Ladonna: (gasp)
(Bud and D.W. come in and point at each other.)
D.W.+Bud: He/She did it!
Ladonna: Ugh! I told you not to play around our diorama. Now look what you did! You caved in part of Nevado Huascarán!
Bud: Nevado what?
Arthur: It's a mountain in Peru. We're doing a project on a famous mountain climber, Annie Smith Peck.
(He shows the young kids a book.)
Arthur: She was one of the first women to ever climb the Matterhorn.
Ladonna: And the first person to climb this mountain. They even named one of the peaks after her, "Cumbre Aña Peck."
D.W.: Wow! I want something named after me!
Arthur: You have to be a famous explorer, or discover something new.
Ladonna: I've got an idea, why don't you two explore... the yard?!
D.W.: Thanks, but I've explored the yard a million times.
Ladonna: You say you've explored it, but I look out there and I see dense jungles, jagged peaks, barren stretches and moonlike wastelands.
(All three look out of the window on a perfectly normal lawn.)
Bud: Where? I just see grass that needs mowing.
Ladonna: Well, you need to use a little imagination, but it's all out there.
Bud: She's just trying to get rid of us. But let's check it out anyway.
(Bud and D.W. run outside.)
Arthur: Wow, even I feel like exploring the yard now.
Ladonna: You don't sell the steak, Arthur. You sell the sizzle.
***
(In Bud and D.W.’s fantasy, they come out of a dense jungle wearing explorer’s clothing.)
D.W.: You're right. This lawn really does need mowing.
Bud: There it is!
(They look at a mountain.)
D.W.: The mountain without a name... that no one has ever climbed before!
Bud: Race you!
(They start running.)
***
(Still in their fantasy, Bud and D.W. climb a cliff. D.W. reaches the top.)
D.W.: (struggles) I hereby proclaim this...
Bud: Mount Bud!
(Bud is already on top of the cliff.)
D.W.: No way! I got here first! it's Mount D.W.!
Bud: Uh-uh, I saw you coming up ‘cause I was already here. it's Mount Bud!
Ladonna: Mount D.W.!
Bud: Mount Bud!
Arthur: Keep it down! We're trying to work!
(The fantasy ends. Bud and D.W. are standing on the picnic table in the yard. Arthur and Ladonna look out of the window.)
Ladonna: Yeah, if you aren't quiet, we'll make you stay out in that deep, dark jungle all night. (chuckles)
Bud: That's a great idea.
D.W.: Yeah! We'll camp out here all night. Mom!
(She runs off.)
Ladonna: Uh-oh, I think I may have sold too much sizzle.
***
(A while later, Ladonna and Arthur finish setting up a tent in the yard.)
Ladonna: I can't believe our parents agreed to let them spend the whole night out here.
Arthur: I can't believe we have to supervise them.
Ladonna: We'll take turns, it won't be so bad.
(D.W. and Bud come out with backpacks.)
D.W.: Hold on! You can't put the tent there.
Bud: That's the desert. It's gotta be in the jungle over here.
D.W.: I thought that was the waterfall.
Bud: No, no, the waterfall's over there, past the ancient burial ground.
D.W.: What?! Who said there was an ancient burial ground? There are no ghosts in this exploration...
Arthur: You can take the first shift.
Bud: I thought you wanted to have an adventure!
Ladonna: (sighs)
D.W.: How can you have an adventure...
***
(D.W. sit in the tent with rolled up sleeping bags and a lamp. D.W. shows Bud what is in her backpack.)
D.W.: Sandwiches, juice boxes, a rope for mountain climbing, an umbrella for walking in the rainforest and an inflatable bed. How about you?
Bud: Water, raisins, sleeping bag, playing cards, Rapty and a safari light.
D.W.: Good thinking! Let's do some more exploring before we turn in.
***
(In their imagination, D.W. and Bud leave the tent, which is now in the middle of a rainforest and they walk up to an Incan-style statue carved into a rockface.)
D.W.: It must be from some ancient civilization.
Bud: Maybe aliens made it. It's so strange and creepy.
(The fantasy ends. The statue is Ladonna who is reading a book while sitting in a chair.)
Ladonna: You know, just ‘cause you're in the jungle doesn't mean I can't hear you.
Bud: The way the wind is moaning, I could swear that statue was talking.
(Bud and D.W. walk on.)
Ladonna: (sighs)
***
(Bud and D.W. reach a rope bridge leading over a gorge with a river. There is a door on the other side.)
D.W.: Here it is, the very edge of... What are we calling this place?
Bud: Budylon!
D.W.: Fine, but I get the mountain. Just beyond that gorge is boring old civilization. Today, we vow to live forever in Budylon and never cross over again. At least not until morning.
(Bud crosses the bridge.)
D.W.: (gasps) Where are you going?
Bud: I need a bathroom break. Be right back!
(The fantasy ends as Bud runs into the house. The rope bridge is a garden hose tied to a pitchfork.)
D.W.: That boy is just not explorer material.
Ladonna: I wouldn't worry about Bud, I've been camping with him plenty of times, he's pretty resourceful.
(She walks into the house.)
***
(Ladonna stands in the Reads’ living room door and watches a TV show in which a man stands on a cliff flying a kite. She is mesmerized. Arthur walks by.)
Announcer (on TV): Extreme Kite Flying, the show where real people risk life and limb to fly kites in the most remote places on the globe.
Arthur: Haha! Who watches these things?!
Ladonna: Yeah, right.
Arthur: I'm going over to Buster's to see if he has some horse figurines for the diorama. Can you watch them and then I'll take the next two shifts.
Ladonna: Yeah, right.
(Arthur leaves. Ladonna walks to the couch without taking her eyes off the TV.)
Announcer (on TV): Port Welshpool, Australia, one of the windiest places on the planet! But for professional kite flyer Tex Bunnery, it's a dream come true.
***
(Meanwhile, Bud and D.W. eat sandwiches in the tent.)
D.W.: Let's save these for later. Ladonna said you've been camping before. Where do you store the food?
Bud: In the fridge.
D.W.: What fridge?
Bud: The one in the RV.
D.W.: Does it look like we're in an RV?! (sigh) I'll put them outside. It's probably colder out there.
(She opens the tent door. In her fantasy, the tent is now surrounded by cliffs of ice.)
D.W.: Yep, definitely colder. She puts the bag of sandwiches on the ground. Brr! Night is falling.
(Within seconds, the sun drops and the moon pops up.)
D.W.: Our food supply is running low, we'll have to survive by our wits. Or rather, my wits. My partner seems to be low on wits today.
***
(Bud and D.W. sit in the tent in the evening. D.W. turns on the lamp while Bud holds a deck of cards.)
Bud: Want to play Crazy Nines?
D.W.: It's called Crazy Eights.
Bud: I like Crazy Nines better, it's crazier.
(Noises are heard outside the tent.)
D.W.: (gasps)
Bud: What's that?!
D.W.: Just someone trying to scare us.
(She opens the tent door.)
D.W.: Nice try, Arthur, but we're not...
Outside, a raccoon is eating the sandwiches.
Bud+D.W.: (gasp) Augh!
(They close the door and the raccoon runs away with the last sandwich. Bud and D.W. huddle inside the tent.)
D.W.: Where's your sister?!
(Meanwhile, on the Reads’ television, kite flyer Tex Bunnery is pulled towards the cliff edge.)
Tex Bunnery (on TV): Ah, string! I need more string!
Ladonna: Come on, Tex! You can do it!
(Meanwhile, back in the tent.)
Bud: I don't know, where's your brother?!
(Meanwhile in Buster’s room, Arthur checks out some toy horses.)
Arthur: I really like the look of the Clydesdale, but the Shetland pony seems more donkey-ish. Wait, do you have any llamas?
(Meanwhile, back in the tent.)
D.W.: Do you think it's gone?
Bud: I don't know, why don't you check?
D.W.: You check! You're the camper!
Bud: (gulps)
(He walks to the door and holds out Rapty.)
Bud: Waa-roar-roar!
(He looks from behind Rapty.)
Bud: He's gone... and so are the sandwiches.
D.W.: This is harder than I thought it would be. I'm hungry!
Bud: We could go get some more.
D.W.: You mean... and leave Budylon?
(Bud shrugs and nods.)
***
(In their fantasy, Bud and D.W. walk up to the rope bridge.)
D.W.: All we have to do is cross that bridge and we'll have it all. Hot food, a soft bed...
Bud: Tin foil.
D.W.: Huh?
Bud: What? Tin foil's great. It's shiny, crinkly, and keeps the cookies warm.
D.W.: (sighs) I guess this adventure's over.
Bud: Wait, we still have some food - my raisins. And if that raccoon comes back, well, I'll... I'll flash my safari light at him.
(He takes it out.)
Bud: Come on, we can't leave yet. What would Annie Smith Peck do?
D.W.: You're right, Bud, we said we'd spend the night out here and that's exactly what we're going to do. Besides, what else could go wrong that hasn't already happened?
(Thunder and lightning and then it starts pouring.)
Bud+D.W.: Run!
***
(Bud and D.W. crawl into the tent slightly wet.)
D.W.: Whewb Good thing we have this tent to keep us dry.
(D.W. touches the ceiling.)
Bud: Don't! If you touch a tent in the rain, it leaks.
(Water starts dripping down.)
Bud: See? I do know something about camping.
D.W.: What do we do now? We'll catch cold. Help!
(She tries to catch the water with her hands.)
Bud: Don't panic. I got an idea. Hand me that rope. Oh, and that umbrella.
***
(A while later the rain has stopped and the tent is illuminated from inside. Arthur returns with a toy llama and Ladonna greets him at the door.)
Arthur: Check it out, I think this llama will be perfect. How are D.W. and Bud?
Ladonna: I don't know, I thought you were watching them.
Arthur+Ladonna: (gasp) Oh no!
(They run to the tent and look inside. Bud has tied the umbrella under the leaking roof and hung the flashlight under the umbrella as a nightlight. He and D.W. are asleep in their sleeping bags.)
Ladonna: I say we do the rest of our shifts all together.
(Ladonna lies down beside D.W. and Arthur lies down beside Bud. He turns off the flashlight.)
~~~
(The next morning, in their fantasy, Bud and D.W. come out of the tent which now stands at the edge of a jungle and a desert.)
D.W.: (sighs) There's nothing like waking up in Budylon as the sun rises over beautiful Mount D.W.!
Bud: You know what we should explore next? Your kitchen!
D.W.: Yeah, maybe we'll discover some waffles or pancakes!
(The fantasy ends and they walk into the house. Shortly afterwards, Arthur and Ladonna come out of the tent looking worn.)
Arthur: Agh, your brother kept kicking me!
Ladonna: Ugh... Well, your sister snores like a lawnmower!
Arthur: Next time you suggest those two explore something...
Ladonna: I'll make it inside... (yawns) ...and near a bed.
(They go inside.)
The episode ends.