The Rascally Bandit Strikes Again
Characters: Rocky Raccoon, Patty Porcupine, Toby Turtle, Emmy Eft, Wally Worm, Renee Raspberry, Benjy Bear.
Raccoon Here is the Rascally Bandit, prowling in the dark, striking fear in the hearts of all defenseless creatures! And here comes some prey. Maybe he can catch it!
Patty Porcupine Hello, Rocky Raccoon.
Raccoon Oh, it’s you Patty Porcupine. Don’t worry. I won’t eat you.
Porcupine Eat me? I guess not. With these quills, I’d be a prickly mouthful!
Raccoon That’s for sure. Having quills is a good defense, Patty. You’re no fun to bite!
Porcupine Right! And if an animal gets too nosy, I swat with my tail and my enemy ends up looking like, well, a porcupine!
Raccoon The Rascally Bandit knows better than to pester a porcupine!
Porcupine That’s good! I’ll just be going along. Bye now. (porcupine exits)
Raccoon So long, Patty. The Rascally Bandit will look for something less prickly to eat down by the brook. (exits)
Toby Turtle Ah, the sun is coming up! Now I can lie on this log and catch some rays.
Raccoon Well, well, a tasty turtle treat! Just what the Rascally Bandit wants for breakfast!
Turtle You’d find me a bit HARD, Rocky.
Raccoon What do you mean?
Turtle You’d have to bite through this hard shell of mine.
Raccoon Let me see. (knocks on shell) Hey, your shell sure is hard. Well, I could just nibble on your tasty toes.
Turtle Then I’d just pull my head, tail, and legs inside my shell.
Raccoon Shucks, I wouldn’t bite a friend anyway. That shell is a good defense, Toby.
Turtle It is, but just in case, I think I’ll take a swim. So long! (exits)
Raccoon Gee, the Rascally Bandit isn’t having much luck finding defenseless prey. Wait, here comes something. (eft enters; raccoon grabs it) A red eft! Gotcha!
Emmy Eft Hey! Put me down, you big oaf!
Raccoon Gee, you’re a feisty critter. But you’re also just the right size for a tasty mouthful. Down the hatch you go.
Eft You don’t want to eat me, Rocky. My orange color should remind you about me.
Raccoon Huh? Oh, I remember! You taste awful! I don’t want you for breakfast!
Eft That’s what I thought. My poisonous skin keeps most animals away.
Raccoon I’ll bet! Boy, Emmy Eft, poisonous orange skin is a great defense!
Eft It sure is. Orange you glad I warned you? Now, I’m off to find MY breakfast. Good luck, Rocky.
Raccoon The Rascally Bandit is foiled again! But wait, what’s this he feels? A worm, right under foot. (worm enters) A defenseless creature! (grabs worm)
Wally Worm Oh, oh! Let go, let go!
Raccoon Gee, you’re slippery and hard to hold.
Worm Yes! I’m covered with slime and I can twist in any direction. Just give me a bit of wiggle room, and I’ll show you.
Raccoon Okay. Sure. I’d like to see that.
Worm Thanks! That’s just what I needed to worm my way away. So long, Rocky! (exits)
Raccoon Wow! Being wiggly and slimy is a good defense too. Wait! Oh no! There went my meal! Oh boo hoo! The Rascally Bandit is hungry! I just want something to eat!
Renee Raspberry Hi, Rocky. Why don’t you eat my berries? They’re sweet and juicy.
Raccoon (sniffling) Oh thank you, Renée Raspberry. Your berries will be a good breakfast for a hungry raccoon. I’ll just reach up here and… (moves closer) ouch! Your branches are covered with thorns!
Raspberry Yes. It’s my defense.
Raccoon Oh boo hoo! Even plants have defenses. If you want me to eat your fruit, why do you have thorns?
Raspberry So that animals don’t eat my branches and buds before the fruit is ripe.
Raccoon Oh, I get it. Well I don’t want to eat your branches anyway. If I’m careful, I think I can reach your berries without getting pricked. Mmm, yum. They’re delicious, even though they have lots of seeds.
Raspberry Yes, those will be the next generation of raspberry plants.
Raccoon Not if I eat them first!
Raspberry Actually they are meant to be eaten. I hope you will carry them to a good place to grow.
Raccoon Carry them?
Raspberry You know what I mean. In one end and out the other…
Raccoon In one end…oh! I know exactly what you mean! Yes, after I finish breakfast, I’ll go someplace where these raspberry seeds will be sure to grow!
Raspberry Thanks! Now I think you’d better go. I see a bear coming along.
Raccoon Uh oh! Too late to run! I can hide in your branches! (moves behind raspberry)
Benjy Bear (singing) Oh some berries would be yummy, to fill my empty tummy, a raccoon would taste sweet, if I had one to eat…
Why here’s a nice raspberry bush.
Raspberry Hello, Benjy Bear. I’m afraid I don’t have many ripe berries left.
Bear Looks like someone got here first! (sniffs) Hmm. I smell…raccoon!
Raspberry You guessed right, Benjy.
Bear Now where can it be? Over here? Over here? Humph! That Rascally Bandit stole my berries and got away. Oh well. My nose will find me another meal. (exits singing) Oh some berries would be yummy, to fill my empty tummy…(raccoon enters)
Raspberry That bear didn’t even see you!
Raccoon That’s right. With my black eye mask and my striped tail, I’m hard to pick out among your branches.
Raspberry You’ve got a good defense too!
Raccoon Yup, I do! And so, the Rascally Bandit lives on, to strike fear in the hearts of all defenseless creatures! (exits)
Raspberry That is, if he can ever find any!
THE END
Nearby Nature 