A/N: This story doesn't really go anywhere; it's just some interesting, sometimes funny, interactions between the Fraggles, Doozers, and Gorgs of Fraggle Rock, and the Muppet animals of The Animal Show. But I will be having the Fraggles in particular learning about the animals of the world through the Animal Show characters.
By the way, I'm not very good at making up songs, so I will be abstaining from writing lyrics for the Fraggles' songs for the most part. Sorry. I'm just not talented at creating original lyrics.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fraggle Rock or The Animal Show. Both of them belong to Jim Henson's Muppets.
Look What Dropped In
"Let's have a nice round of applause for all the animals we've had starring on The Animal Show!" said Jake the Polar Bear enthusiastically.
The audience clapped and cheered as so many of the animal friends that had appeared as guest stars on the show stood up to be praised. There were too many of them there to name them all, but examples included Trudy the Chimpanzee, Lazlo the Hyena, Chuck the Lion, Jackie the Orangutan, Sly the Crocodile, Morris the Ant, Lenny the Gorilla, and numerous others. And of course, there were Jake's own co-stars on the show, like Armstrong the Chicken Hawk, Yves St. La Roache, Bunnie Bear, Rhonda Rat, and of course, his beloved bungling friend, Stinky the Skunk.
"This is the 3rd anniversary of the premiere of The Animal Show With Stinky and Jake, and I'd just like to say, man, has it been a good run the whole way!" said Jake.
"And now we plan to move on to some more really cool animals," said Stinky with enthusiasm, "Like the Sparrow Hawk, the Bush Baby, the Cobra-"
"Stinky!" Jake hissed, "We never promised that the show would go on indefinitely. We're all good friends here, but we have to find new ways to tell people about the animals of the world, or maybe tell some people that don't have so much familiarity with animals."
"What? We have to move on?" protested Stinky. "But I was just beginning to have some real fun on this show, Jake!"
"Yeah," said Rhonda Rat, "I was beginning to find it amusing to drop annoying animals through the trap door, too."
"I don't like it either, guys," said Jake, "But even the best shows have to end sometime, and their stars have to move on. Like I said, something tells me there's still so much that we can do."
"Uh, Jake, Stinky," said Bunnie Bear, "It looks like there's something wrong with our old television monitor."
"Yes," said Armstrong, "It looks like it's turning into a hypnosis machine. See the spinning circles and all? Oh, how I hate it when things go wrong here!"
Jake and Stinky turned around. The monitor they used to show real live footage of animals in action was showing spinning circles in it, all right, like some joker had turned it into a hypnosis device.
"Hey, Jake," said Stinky, "Is it me, or does it feel like we're being pulled in that direction by that screen?"
"Nonsense," said Jake, chuckling, "Even if it is hypnotic, it's ridiculous that it could be some kind of vacuum pulling us in."
But just then, the "hypno screen" seemed to come to life. It was like the air was being sucked into it, and many of the animal hosts and guests of The Animal Show felt like they were being sucked into it.
"Whoa, ho! Or maybe not!" said Jake frantically. "People, make a run for it! Don't let yourselves get sucked in by this thing!"
He didn't need to say that. Upon sensing the pull of the strange screen, the audience was putting a lot of distance between themselves and the show. Most of the cameramen managed to escape, too. But Jake and Stinky were the first to be lost in the screen's picture, and then, so were so many of the other animals of the show, hosts and guests alike, right down to Achilles the Shark and Dullard the Aardvark, Rhonda Rat's personal cameraman.
Where were they headed?
Quite possibly to the most extraordinary place that wasn't familiar with the animals of the wide Earth.
Down in Fraggle Rock, the native Fraggles were just finishing up one of their countless song and dance numbers that kept them loving and enjoying life. This one was a prelude to the next swimming contest in the Fraggle Rock's main get-together chamber, and two Fraggles in particular, Gobo and Red, were ready to show each other what they were made of.
"Betcha I can beat you this time, Red," Gobo boasted.
"Betcha you don't Gobo," said Red proudly.
"Go, Gobo!" shouted Boober, Large Marvin, Rumple, and several other Fraggles.
"Go, Red!" shouted Mokey, Red's best friend, as well as several others, including the World's Oldest Fraggle, who had come to watch, too.
"Let's see," said Wembley, "Gobo's my best friend, and I don't wanna change that. But Red has always been the greatest champion swimmer in Fraggle Rock. Gee, I can't decide who to root for!"
"Oh, don't worry about it, Wembley," said Mokey, "You like both of them, so why don't you cheer for both of them? You don't have to play favorites if you don't want to."
"Oh, okay," said Wembley, "Why didn't I think of that? Go, Gobo! Go, Red!"
"Did you hear that, Gobo?" asked Red, "It sounds like Wembley can't make up his mind once again when it comes to picking between the two of us in Fraggle sports."
"Aw, don't worry about Wembley," said Gobo. "That's just part of who he is, remember? Let him cheer for both of us if he wants to."
Red shrugged. "If you say so, Gobo, but it still seems a little bit funny to me."
Gobo, Red, and the other competitors made ready to make their swim in the river-like pool Fraggles had chiseled long ago for their swimming races. Marlon made the signal to go, and the race was on.
In the meantime, in places near the swimming competition, Doozers such as Cotterpin, Wrench, and the Architect Doozer, were constructing their candy-radish buildings that the Fraggles loved to eat for their snacks.
And outside, in the Gorg Kingdom, Junior Gorg was busy working the radish garden while Pa and Ma Gorg sat inside their little castle and talked about matters of Gorg royalty.
Suddenly, something appeared in the sky. Junior Gorg was the first person to notice it. It looked like some kind of black-and-white spinning circle, and it had a slight drowsy affect on his eyes.
"Hmm," he drawled as if inebriated, "What could that pretty thing in the sky be?" He managed to snap himself out of his trance and cried, "Pa! Ma! You've gotta see this! A spinning hole opened in the sky!"
Pa and Ma rushed out and noticed what Junior was talking about. "I've seen things like this before," said Pa.
"Where, dear?" said Ma. "I don't recall ever seeing anything like this in my life!"
"They always used to appear when a Gorg King was about to be visited by people from the heavens," said Pa. "I must be about to get a royal welcome!"
"Uh, Pa," said Junior, "It looks to me like it's just a spinning circle that makes people sleepy."
"That's because you're still ignorant of a lot of the things about my kingdom, son," said Pa, "And after this is over, maybe I should catch up with you on some of the details-"
There was a sudden clap coming from the hole in the sky, as if thunder was coming out of it. Then, to all the Gorgs' surprise, as if in a whirlwind, a whole slew of various creatures spun out of the hole and went flying in all directions.
"Whoa!" said Junior, "Pa! Ma! Looks like we just got a visit from some creatures we've never seen before! Oh boy, this'll give me a good opportunity to find some more things to thump!"
"Never mind thumping them, Junior!" said Ma, "Get these things out of my hair! Aaahhh!"
Hector the Spider Monkey was clinging to Ma Gorg's elaborately styled hair. So was Billy Bob the Lemur.
"I'll get them out, my sweet honey-bunch!" said Pa Gorg, trying to pry the tight grip of the monkey and the prosimian away from his wife's hair, but only succeeding in pulling her hair.
"Ouch! Be careful, Deary!" she said.
"Sorry, sweet potutkins," he said, "It's hard to convince these things to let go of you!"
"Let go?" said Hector, "Why didn't you say so, silly creature? Billy Bob, let go of her."
The spider monkey and the lemur let go, but now, Junior Gorg was trying to thump them with his big, wooden club, as well as a bunch of other animals that had landed in the Gorgs' back yard. Other animals were falling into the well nearby, dropping into the Fraggles' world. Bubba the Walrus and Achilles the Shark were only a few that fell in the swimming pool where the race was taking place.
"YAAAAHHH!" yelled the swimming Fraggles, including Gobo and Red. "What are those?"
"YAAAAHHH!" Boober yelled too. "What are they? Where did they come from? Are they germ carriers?!"
"Guys! Get outta there!" yelled Wembley, "They might eat you! They sure do look ferocious!"
"Now, Boober, Wembley," said Mokey, who was as surprised as anyone, but not afraid, "Let's not jump to conclusions. Maybe they're not so bad. Maybe they mean well to us."
"Mean well?" exclaimed Boober, "One of them has huge tusks, and the other has teeth the size of a whole Doozer! They sure look dangerous to me!"
More animals "dropped in" as the swimming Fraggles hurried out of the water. Jackie and Trudy landed in the pool too, and immediately called for help, saying that apes can't swim. Max the Wasp and Morris the Ant plopped down on a Doozer construction, right in front of Cotterpin and Wrench.
The two young Doozers recoiled. So did Max and Morris.
"Cotterpin! Wrench!" shouted the Architect, "Get away from those things before they do something to you!"
"You don't have to tell us twice!" said Cotterpin as they fled from the insects as best they could. The other Doozers kept their distance, too, but suddenly, Stinky the Skunk and Rhonda Rat landed on top of a construction platform, wrecking it.
"Oops, sorry!" said Stinky when he had recovered his wits, "Did I just ruin a masterpiece, or something?" He accidently released his spray. The Doozers were soon wretching in the stench.
Outside, all the animals had managed to avoid Junior's club, partly because fierce Chuck the Lion and ferocious Lazlo the Hyena, in a rare partnership of lion and hyena, had provided a distraction, scaring Junior Gorg back into the castle with their deep growls and bared teeth. They all sought refuge in Fraggle Rock.
The Fraggles were starting to panic as more and more of these weird creatures poured into their private home. Bubba and Achilles were trying to convince the Fraggles that they weren't monsters. Max and Morris were pulling nagging Rhonda away from the Doozers and gently chiding Stinky for scaring them, although in a sense, they had scared the Doozers, too. Birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and mammals soon filled so much of the interior space. Stinky started to ask around if there was anybody that could tell him where Toronto was.
Finally, Jake the Polar bear spun in last, making a big splash in the pool. He quickly got up and out, and seeing the chaos in the place, as well as all the native inhabitants that were unspeakably perturbed at this intrusion, he gave a loud whistle, effectively silencing the mayhem.
"I'm sorry," he said a little awkwardly, "But we seem to have dropped in a little unannounced here, and I don't know exactly where, or what, this place is, but please allow me to say-"
"Who are you?" Gobo was the first to ask. "What are you? You look almost like those creatures my Uncle Traveling Matt sometimes talks about in the postcards he sends me from Outer Space!"
Stinky blinked. "Outer Space? Jake, is it true that some people think of Earth as 'Outer Space?'"
Jake scratched his head. "Not that I've ever heard, Stinky," he said, "But we haven't seen everything there is in the world. There are always more wonderful things to find everywhere you look. And it looks like we just stumbled onto one of them. So," he said, turning to Gobo, "To answer your question, I'm Jake the Polar Bear. And this is my close friend, Stinky the Skunk."
Stinky waved. "Hi!"
"And everyone else who's here are animals who either guest-starred or helped host my legendary program, The Animal Show," he said, spreading his arms to encompass all his friends.
"Wow!" said Wembley.
"Simply amazing!" said Mokey.
"Uh, what are 'animals,' if I may ask, Jake, sir?" asked Boober. "And are they dangerous?"
"They can be dangerous," said Jake, "But being dangerous isn't their purpose in life. They just want to live and let live in peace with each other, and with mankind, like our friend, Dave the Human, who, as I can see, also came along for the ride."
"Is that what you call the 'silly creatures?'" asked Gobo curiously.
"'Silly creatures?'" said Stinky, "Animals and humans aren't silly, or at least, they're not just silly. We have a lot of things to teach people who are unaware of our existence."
"Not to mention our behavior and cultures," said Jake.
"Well," said Red, "We Fraggles like to live and let live in peace with each other, too, and we almost always do."
"Yeah," said Gobo, "We all believe in friendship, too. The Doozers, those little green guys building these radish bars around us, see things a little differently, but we value friendship very highly. Of course, we have our arguments and our fights, but we always make up in the end."
"Yeah! Yeah! Yes!" said most of the Fraggles in chorus.
"That's interesting," said Stinky, "I just love making friends, even with people and things that scare me at first."
"But I think that before we say anything more," said Gobo, "introductions are in order. Who are all of you, and what kinds of creatures are you? That is, if doing each of you one by one isn't too much of a bother to you?"
Jake smiled. "Not at all, my friend," he said, "And I can start by giving a brief overview of myself, Stinky, and the other hosts of our show. How'd you like that?"
"I'm sure we'd all love it," offered Mokey.
"And what exactly do you mean by a 'show?'" asked Red. "What's that?"
"I'll explain everything right now, for your pleasure, of course," said Jake.