Day 325: Trying Tweet

Trying Tweet
by
Matt Zurbo

 

Tweet was an ordinary bird.
(Small, cute bird.)

Everyone seemed happy with that.
(Four or five birds sitting on a hippo’s bum.)

But one day she decided that wasn’t enough.
(All other bird huddled in nest, screaming for worm mother bird is holding. Tweet storming off.)
“I’m going to do something amazing!” she insisted.

Tweet always admired Lion, so announced; “I’m going to be the first bird that roared!”
(Lion roaring, bird, small, being sent tumbling by roar.)

She studied for weeks, then…
(Lion pointing to drawing on Lion roaring. Bird taking notes.)

…TWEET!
(Bird, eyes scrunched, straining, screaming.)

(Bird storming off, everybody rolling around, laughing.)

“Okay,” Tweet announced. “I’m going to be as tall as a giraffe!”
(Bird on stilts, giraffe head and neck in background, eating leaves.)

“Woh…!”
(Bird and stilts falling.)

“Right! I’m going to be the first bird to ‘fly’,” Tweet insisted.
(Bird, working to blueprint, building a little bush-style make-shift box glider…)
“Why?” asked Wombat.
“Because!” Tweet said, defiantly.

CRASH!
(Plane crashing into tree. Bird being thrown clear. A few other animals ducking for cover.)
Nope.

“I’m going to row across the- Gah!”
(Bird in little wooden crate boat, with giant croc mouth about to consume it…)

“Be the first bird to fly upside down to-”
(Bird flying upside down.)

BONK! DINK! THUD!
(Bird bouncing off owl, wombat, possum…)

“Use voodoo and- YIKES!”
(Bird using voodoo and rattles on crickets, but doesn’t see snake about to eat it from above…)

Tweet then spent months forming a band.
(Bird on bass, out front, monkey on drums, wombat on keyboards, water buffalo on guitar, leopard on sax.)

But, on their first ever show…
“A one, and a two, and a…Yoiks!”
(Band members all trying to eat each other. Wombat running away.)

RUMMMMMBLE…
(All of them stopping, looking wide-eyed at reader.)

Oo…! Ow…! Ouch…!
(All of them being bowled over by a stampede.)

“Give it up,” said Wombat. “Not everybody can be special.”
(Wombat eating grass. Bird upside down, ruffled in the dust.)

That just made Tweet even more determined to do something amazing.
(Bird, determined face, standing on top of wombat, feathered finger in air, announcing…)
“I’m going to be the first bird in outer space!” Tweet chirped.

And studied…
(Surrounded by blueprints and books, nailed to trees, held up by butterflies and mozzies, even a snake…)

And built…
(Making a small, wooden rocketship, with a tennis ball helmet, and little jumpsuit. Frog or two watching.)

And…
(Bird in small rocketship, gorilla biting tongue, puling it back in slingshot.)

“Hey! Look out!”
(Bird/ship zooming over four ducking animals.)

“Wah! No!”
(Bird/rocket bouncing off trees, rocks and animals, bird being thrown about, losing feathers.)

I can’t…”
(Bird trying and failing to hold on, as if being bucked off.)

BOOM!
(Big word, bits and pieces and bird being thrown through air. Animals below are all grimacing/holding hands/paws, etc, over eyes.)

It just wasn’t fair! Tweet wanted to do something amazing SO BAD!
Bird depressed, holding all that is left of rocketship – the steering wheel.)

Wombat felt bad for her, so brought Tweet a ticket to the Amazing awards.
(Wombat in suit, fixing bow tie. Bird walking alongside him, looking depressed.)

Tweet sat next to the juggling jaguars.
There were the smart monkeys, and sweetly singing elephants, dingo’s that howled the history of the Dreamtime…
(Bird looking depressed at table surrounded by amazing animals.)

So many amazing animals, so many amazing deeds!
(Bird looking up, embarrassed, at Elephants using water from their snouts to juggle. Behind it, a monkey is building a time machine, and an emu is singing.)
“Relax,” said Wombat.
But Tweet just felt incredibly jealous, embarrassed and small…!

Then, Goanna announced; “The Most Amazing Animal of the Year award goes to… Tweet the bird!”

“Huh?” said Tweet.
(Bird startled! Behind it, Goanna with piece of paper, by microphone, announcing…)

“But I…” she stammered. “I… I haven’t succeeded at a single thing!”
(Bird, embarrassed, by microphone. All other animals watching, blank faces.)
Poor Tweet just wanted to fly away and hide…

“Haven’t succeeded?” protested the announcer.
“You’ve tried, and tried, and tried… and tried again,” hooted Owl.
“And not stopped trying once!” insisted Gorilla.
(Goanna, Owl, and Gorilla, all much bigger, surround bird, with their hands out, explaining in outrage and awe. Bird holding small trophy, puzzled.)

“And will NEVER stop trying…!” said possums.
“You’re a hero…” said Bee.
(Bird, still puzzled, looking up at dangling possums, a bee flying by. A spider is holding its own hands in admiration.)

Oh, Tweet cried…
(Bird, smiling, tear in eye, hugging trophy.)

(Bird sleeping, snoring loudly in nest next to trophy. Owl in background with night vision goggles on.)

Next day, Tweet tried to do something else amazing…
(Juggling but failing.)

And tried…
(Getting angry building bike with all its bits in the wrong place.)

And tried…
(Bird carrying kite string. Kite, key and bird all being fried by lightening…)

And tried…
(Bird, determined, biting tongue in concentration, shaping up to box much bigger wombat. Wombat looks baffled. Both wearing gloves.)

And tried again…
(Bird riding weird looking bike it built, with wheel for seat, seat coming out the side, handle bars all wrong, etc… Small love heart of two coming off bird as it rides.)

 

 

The End

The End