Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
a tale of a fateful trip,
that started from this tropic port,
aboard this tiny ship.
The mate was a mighty sailin' man,
the Skipper, brave and sure,
five passengers set sail that day,
for a three hour tour! A three hour tour!
The weather started getting rough,
the tiny ship was tossed,
if not for the courage of the fearless crew,
the Minnow would be lost! The Minnow would be lost!
The ship set ground on the shore of this uncharted desert isle,
with Gilligan,
the Skipper too,
the Millionaire,
and his wife, the movie star,
the Professor and,
Mary Ann,
here on Gilligan's Isle!
It was a beautiful day in Hawaii, as young Mary Ann Summers of Kansas stepped off the plane. She had one week here in Hawaii, and she was going to enjoy every minute of it. Mary Ann walked down the street, looking for something exiting to do. She wanted to get out and see the sights, before she had to go back to Kansas.
Then she saw the sign 'S.S. Minnow, Island Charter' She smiled, and a skinny man in a red shirt saw her and exclaimed,
"Oh boy! Another customer, I better go get the Skipper!" He turned around, and promptly fell overboard.
Mary Ann covered her mouth in shock, wondering if she should do something.
"Skipper!" he cried, and an older man came out of the cabin, saying
"Now what, Gilligan? Can't you see I'm busy? "He spotted the now dripping man named Gilligan as he climbed aboard, and laughed. "Little buddy, when will you learn!" The smaller man pouted.
"But Skipper, I was just gonna tell you about the customer..."
"Customer?"
He turned around, seeing Mary Ann for the first time.
"Well, why didn't you say so, Gilligan? Hello there, Miss, what can I do for you?"
Mary Ann smiled. "Can you give me an island tour? I'd love to see the sights here!"
The Skipper replied, "Why certainly. We can fit you into our next tour. We leave at one. If I may ask, your name..."
"Of course. I'm Mary Ann Summers, from Winfield, Kansas."
Gilligan's eyes lit up. "Oh boy, we're gonna have such a neat group today, Skipper, with a real live movie star, and real millionaires, and a professor, and now a real live farm girl too!"
Mary Ann smiled at his exuberance, and told the Skipper she'd be there. As she walked off, she heard Gilligan ask,
"By the way, Skipper, what does a professor do?"
It was two o'clock, and the Minnow was in a bit of trouble. There was a storm brewing, and the tiny ship was caught right in the middle of it.
The Skipper had Gilligan running around doing everything from taking care of the passengers to tying down whatever was rolling around on deck. But somehow, Gilligan managed to find the time to be gentle and caring, right in the midst of it all.
Mary Ann never forgot how he took her hand and led her into the cabin, making sure she didn't fall on the slippery deck, before dashing off again. He even brought their luggage inside, to the relief of the very rich Howells.
"I hope we get back soon, I had a date tonight!" sighed Ginger Grant, the movie star.
Roy Hinkly, the Professor, looked out the tiny cabin porthole, and replied. "It doesn't look like it, Ginger. Those clouds are cumulo-nimbus clouds. They can precipitate for days!"
"Could you repeat that in English, Professor?" purred Ginger, not wanting him to stop talking.
"Why certainly, Ginger. They're big storm clouds, and they can storm for days." He said, seriously. Ginger decided she liked his voice and thought it was comforting.
The five remained in the little cabin for hours, as the ship tossed and turned.
Mary Ann heard the Skipper shouting at Gilligan to let the anchor down, followed by a splash.
She eventually drifted to sleep, lulled by the ship's rocking.
When Mary Ann woke up, the others were all asleep, Ginger's head in the Professors lap, with his head in turn resting on her back, and the Howells all cuddled up together.
She went outside, to see what had happened during the storm, to find Gilligan fishing halfheartedly.
"Where's the Skipper?" She inquired, and he looked up and mumbled
"Oh, he's sleeping. Boy, what a storm..." He shook his head, exausted.
"But why isn't anybody steering the boat?" She asked, thinking that maybe this three hour tour hadn't been such a good idea, after all.
"There's no reason to steer, Mary Ann. We're drifting." Gilligan explained, seemingly unconcerned by the fact.
"But why are we drifting? Mary Ann was getting worried. "Gilligan, shouldn't we be going back?"
He looked at her wearily, and admitted, "We can't. We ran out of fuel last night, and we've been drifting ever since."
She was shocked. "What? We have? What are we going to do?"
Gilligan shrugged. "Nothing, I guess. At least, that's what the Skipper said... I think it's an adventure!" He grinned boyishly, yawned, and fell asleep, exausted from running around all night fighting the storm.
Mary Ann sighed and went back into the cabin, leaving him to his rest.