The Wisconsin School of the Air presents The Friendly Giant, adapted for third-grade use
as a classroom aid to stimulate individual expression in writing and drawing.
Once upon a time, not long ago and not far away, there was a road.
You know where that road goes?
All the way from the farm to Goose Lake and beyond.
Disappears in the hills.
There's the farm. Now find the boot.
There's the boot. Now look up.
Way up. Whose boot is that?
It's my boot. A friendly giant.
And that road does go all the way to Goose Lake, all the way from the farm to Goose Lake.
That's where Jerome is. That's where he's been.
He missed a day of school. I think he's back now.
Rusty is in the castle. It's recess time and he's in the book bag.
So let's go over. I'll hurry over first and go in the back door so that I can let the drawbridge down
and open the big front doors for you. Are you ready?
Here's my castle.
Here we are inside and here's a desk for one of you and another desk for someone else.
Let's see. Everything here is the workbook and the pencils and the paper. Everything's ready.
Now look up. Way up and I'll call Rusty. Rusty?
Hi. Hi, friendly. What are you doing?
Well, I was reading. I was reading all the things the third graders wrote about nonsense.
Last week we talked about nonsense and the third graders wrote nonsense poems and stories.
You read them all?
All of them. All are good.
Has Jerome read them?
No, he hasn't read them yet. He was up at Goose Lake.
Oh, yes. We were talking about that.
He's coming back today. I think so.
We were talking about Goose Lake because we saw the road that goes to Goose Lake.
Oh, no, it doesn't.
Yes, the road that goes from the farm over the hills all the way to Goose Lake and beyond too.
No, no, it doesn't really go there. It doesn't go anywhere.
The road is right there. It stays right there. It doesn't go anywhere.
That's right. I mean, if you travel on the road, you will go to Goose Lake.
That's right. That's a riddle that I learned once.
A riddle is like this. What goes uphill and what goes downhill but doesn't really ever move?
That's right. A road. A road. That's a good riddle.
Why don't I'll whistle for Jerome and then you could tell him the riddle so he could guess.
Oh, we have a better idea. What?
I'll be down in the book bag when he comes and you tell him the riddle and tell him that I don't know it.
And then he will ask me the riddle, but I will know it.
And you'll know the and he'll be surprised.
And he'll be surprised.
That's a little trick on Jerome. He won't care.
Oh, he likes tricks. He likes to have fun.
While you're down there, would you look in the big blue book for the poem about the ocean?
Oh, that's right.
About Sea Fever.
All right. I'll do that.
I'll whistle.
There he comes.
Hi, Jerome.
Hi, friendly.
How are you?
Fine. How are you?
Good. Where's Rusty?
Rusty is down in the book bag on a little errand for me.
Oh, I see.
Back from Goose Lake.
Back from Goose Lake. It's good to be back, friendly.
Jerome, I know a riddle.
Oh, I like riddles.
What goes uphill and goes downhill, but never really moves.
What goes?
An automobile?
No, because an automobile moves.
Oh, that's right.
I know.
A river.
Well, not a river, because a river doesn't go uphill.
Oh.
And the river really moves.
The water moves now.
Oh, that's right.
I give up, friendly.
A road.
It goes uphill and goes downhill and doesn't really move.
That's a good riddle.
I'll tell Rusty that riddle.
That's a good idea.
Why don't you call Rusty up to him?
I'll call Rusty.
And you're talking the river.
Rusty.
Oh.
Well, hide your own.
Back from Goose Lake.
Did you have a good time?
Oh, yes.
I had a fine time.
I know a riddle, Rusty.
A riddle.
I like riddles.
Tell me.
Well, see if you can get this one.
What goes uphill and downhill, but doesn't really ever move.
Oh.
An automobile?
No.
An automobile moves along.
Oh, that's right.
What goes uphill and what goes downhill and doesn't move?
A river.
No.
A river doesn't go uphill.
And anyway, it moves along.
Oh.
A road.
No.
He answered him.
He knew it.
He knew the answer.
How did you know it?
Oh.
Tell him, Rusty.
Oh.
Well, it's really my riddle.
I told friendly.
And then I told friendly to tell you so you would ask me.
And you'd be surprised when I knew the answer.
Oh.
You fooled me again.
Just a little trick.
We played on it, Jerome.
That's a good one, Rusty.
And we're glad you're back from Goose Lake.
Oh, yes.
It was a fun again here.
Was it cold in Goose Lake?
It was cold.
That's why I'm wearing the hat.
It is so cold here.
No, we can hang it up now.
Yes.
I'll hang it up.
Well.
The lights are off.
Excuse me.
I'm not to hang it on the pig.
Oh, it was a half.
Oh, that's why Rusty was full.
Oh, that's a light one.
Excuse me, Rusty.
Rusty has been reading all the nonsense poems and stories the third graders wrote last time.
Oh, yes.
And you can read them later.
Oh, that'll be fun.
Are they good?
Oh, they're wonderful.
But you know what we're talking about today?
What?
What we're going to write about?
No.
Draw pictures about?
What?
Faraway places.
And you're already aren't you?
Well, I can write about goose life and all the things I did up there.
What did you do?
Well, I went sliding.
They have snow up there.
And I went walking in the snow and building snow forts.
And I fell down twice.
Thank you.
And I was going to ski, but I only had one ski.
Oh.
So I couldn't.
But you could write about everything you did there.
Oh, yes.
And about everyone you saw.
All the friends up there that you don't see here.
That's right.
And the way things look there.
You can write about a faraway place you visited.
Yes.
I could do that.
You could too, Rusty.
Well, I went up there with you on, though.
No, but you've been to Goose Lake.
Well, I was up there last summer.
And you remember what it's like?
Oh, yes.
I remember it.
So?
Well, I could write about that, couldn't I?
You could write about that.
And it'll be different from Jerome's because I was up there in summertime.
And it'll be different than wintertime.
It'll be different from the same faraway place.
It would be very different from what you're on.
So you can write about a faraway place you visited.
Just the farthest place you've been if it isn't very faraway.
That's right.
Another way of writing about faraway places.
What's another kind of faraway place?
Well, you could write about a place that's made believe.
That no one has ever been.
It doesn't really...
Mm-hmm.
...anywhere.
It just makes believe a pretend made up place.
You could make it up just the way you want it to be.
I know.
Like the song I know.
The Big Rock Candy Mountain.
Yes.
There isn't really a Big Rock Candy Mountain.
No.
But it's just the way someone wanted it to be.
It doesn't make believe faraway place.
Sing it.
Oh.
You know it all?
I know the whole song.
Sing it.
Oh, the buzzing of the bees in the bubblegum trees.
Near the soda water fountain.
At the lemonade springs where the popsicle sings.
On that Big Rock Candy Mountain.
There's the ice cream hill where you have your fill.
And the donuts grow like flowers.
You can play each day.
Every day's a holiday.
And the days have a hundred hours.
Oh, the buzzing of the bees in the bubblegum trees.
Near the soda water fountain.
At the lemonade springs where the popsicle sings.
At the Big Rock Candy Mountain.
Very good.
Oh, I like that, Jerome.
That was good.
And that was a faraway place that no one has been to,
but you make it up.
Make it up.
That's the way you want it to be.
Make believe.
Any kind of a place.
That's right.
So that's two ways of writing about faraway places.
Yes.
A faraway place that's real and that you've been to.
Visited.
And a make believe faraway place.
Yes.
What's another kind of faraway place you could write about or drop another.
Another place?
Well, I don't know.
Well, a real faraway place even if you've never been there.
Well, how could I write about a place I haven't been to?
You could write about a real faraway place even if you haven't been there
if you've read about it or heard about it or talked to someone who's really been there.
That's right.
Now Rusty has never been to Scotland, but you know about Scotland.
That's right.
You told me a lot about it.
Because Jerome has been to Scotland.
And I've never been to the ocean either.
Or the mountains.
But I know some things about them because I've read about them.
Yes.
Rusty?
That's right.
Did you read that poem about the ocean and the big blue book when you went down in the book bag?
Well, that's about the ocean.
Yes.
Yes, I did.
That's why we wanted the big blue book.
Here it is.
And friendly, I have a marker in the right place.
Watch out for my hat there.
Oh, I'll be careful.
All right.
Go to hat.
Oh, excuse me.
Almost got caught.
The lights almost went out again.
Caught behind the hat.
Mm-hmm.
This is about the ocean?
Mm-hmm.
This is written by a man who's been there.
But if we read what he says about it, then we'll know about it.
Even though we haven't been there.
Ma.
Everyone has read something about the ocean.
Oh, here it is.
I got a marker in there.
Oh, you found it so hard.
So I read this one?
You read it, friendly.
Yes.
It's by John Macefield.
And it's called Sea Fever.
Ready?
Mm-hmm.
I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky.
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by.
And the wheels kick in the wind song and the white sails shaking.
And a gray mist on the sea's face.
And a gray dawn breaking.
I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide is a wild call.
And a clear call that may not be denied.
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying.
And the flung spray in the blown spoon.
And the seagulls crying.
I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life.
To the gull's way and the quail's way, where the wind's like a quite a knife.
And all I ask is a merry iron from a laughing fellow rover.
And a quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long tricks over.
Oh, I could just about feel the ocean, friendly.
And you could see the ocean.
The wind and the spray and the white sails.
I like that white sails.
That was nice.
So, there are three ways to ride about faraway places that we know.
One, Rusty.
Well, you can ride about faraway places that you've been to.
On your own.
And you can ride about faraway places that aren't real.
Just make believe places.
And faraway places that are real, even if you've never been there.
If you know about them, why reading about them?
We're talking to someone like Jerome who's been there.
Oh, that's right.
Well, Rusty, would you get the giant pipe, please?
Can we put your hat on again, Jerome?
All right, fine.
Rusty gets a lot of...
Oh, friendly.
Here's a giant pipe.
Just a minute, there's something else down here that...
Oh, my!
What?
Friendly, look at this.
Look what I found on here.
Oh!
What a...
Oh!
Well, for goodness sake.
Wow!
A skee in the book bag.
Well, Jerome, you should have had this along with you up at Goose Lake.
Well, then if you had this one, you could go skee.
You could have gone skeeing while you were up there.
Well, no, I couldn't, Rusty.
Well, you said you had one skee.
Well, whoever heard of a giraffe skeeing with two skees, I need four.
Oh!
Anyways, I think...
I want to write about the mountains, Jerome.
Write about the mountains.
Even though I've never been there.
What's a good idea?
I think I'll write about...
Let's see.
What should I write about?
A make-believe place?
A make-believe place.
Where everything is tall.
Everything is tall.
That's a good idea.
Because I'm tall.
Bye, Jerome.
Bye, friendly.
Bye, Rusty.
Bye-bye.
It is late.
But this desk will be waiting for one of you.
And a smaller desk for another.
When you come again to school in the castle.
Now, I'll close the big front doors and fill up the drawbridge after you're gone.
Bye.
The
Friendly Giant is produced and portrayed by Bob Hummee.
Ken Oast plays the parts of Rusty and Jerome.
Direction by Gary Natenson.
The program has been adapted for third grade use as a classroom aid to stimulate
individual expression in writing and drawing.
First and second grades may use it with limited participation.
This program was produced by the University of Wisconsin
Television Laboratory for the Wisconsin School of the Air.