The Imaginary Invalid

[ Theme Song ]

(A battery of two barracudas are swimming near the entrance to the reef. They both chew on a rope nearby before dropping it. The rope drops nearby Sammy and Ray who're hiding behind the seaweeds) Sammy and Ray: Huh? (The two turtles both look up and see the barracudas circling nearby)

Sammy: Yes, there were two enormous barracudas. They surely came to hunt around the area. Ray: It's a good thing the entrance to the village is hidden. But if they ever find it... Sammy: So, then we can count on you, Lulu? Lulu: You can count on us, General Sammy. If the barracudas come into the village, we'll holler. Sammy All right, then. It's agreed. Lulu and his pincers will watch over the entrance to the reef. Ray and I will be in charge of warning everyone and organizing a defense strategy just in case. Pipo: That means that Mr. Lulu is guarding the entrance to the reef. Sammy: Oh, by the way, there will be no school today, children. (The kids all cheer) Ray: All right, then, I'll leave you now. I'll go warn Ricky and Rita about the situation.

Ricky: You know, Grandma, I would love to go to school, but my tummy really aches. Rita: It wouldn't be because of the quiz Mr. Lulu was planning on giving, now, would it? Ricky: Of course not! I must've eaten a not-so-fresh jellyfish last night. (Ray arrives) Ray: Oh, my, oh, my, oh, my! Why, that's very serious. It's out of the question that you go to school, Ricky. You're gonna stay here all day and rest. Ricky: (giggles) Uh... ohh! (pretends that he's about to throw up) Annabel: (outside) Ricky? Ricky? Ray: I'll go. Now get some rest. (Outside Ray's home, the kids are calling for Ricky) Annabel: Ricky? Pipo: What in the world is Ricky doing? (Ray comes out of his home) Ella: Hi there, Ray. Is... Ray: Ricky home? Yes, he is. But he can't go to school with you today. Pipo: What do you mean? Today? Ray: You have a quiz, is that it? I know. Alas, Ricky would've loved to have come. But seeing as what happened to him... Ella: What happened to him? Ray: Ricky is sick. Ella: Don't worry, Ray, he'll get better. Ricky is one tough turtle. Ray: Very sick. (Inside his home, Rita and Ricky are eavesdropping on him) The only remedy is for him to eat a-- a very rare seaweed, uh, that grows in a ball very far from here, outside the reef. But with all the barracudas that are prowling around the entrance... Oh, well, anyway, I've got things to do. (swims inside) See you later, children. Rita: What in the world are you up to? Ray: Shh. Rita: Huh? (Ray and Rita both see Ricky's friends all swim away) Ray: That little rascal's gonna spend all day in his room instead of playing with his friends. Rita: Oh! But why did you go scaring the little ones with your story about a remedy far from the reef and all that about the barracudas? Ray: I had to create a diversion. Otherwise, Ricky would've understood. And as for the barracudas, it's true.

Ella: Poor Ricky! Too bad if there are barracudas. We're going to bring back that seaweed. Annabel: Yeah! Let's save Ricky! (Ella and Annabel both swim away) Pipo: Uh... (Pipo follows his friends to the passageway to outside the reef) Ella: Mr. Lulu? Lulu: Today it's Lulu the Guard! Ella: Uh, yeah. Here's the thing-- we need to leave the reef to-- Lulu: Negative! Ella: But it's super-important! Lulu: Nobody is allowed to leave the reef! All right, then, shoo! Go on, now. (The kids all swim away)

Ella: There's gotta be some way we can get out of here. Pipo: Yeah, but how? We're not invisible, you know. Annabel: Well, I am. (camouflages herself on the ocean floor) Ella: Annabel, you're a genius! Pipo: Huh?

(Annabel camouflages herself as she carries Pipo underneath her to a hiding spot. She then sneezes) Lulu: Hmm? Who goes there? If that's you, Annabel, using your camouflage technique to try and sneak out, you'll be punished. And your mother won't be very happy, either. (The kids all come out of their hiding place) I thought I was very clear. Annabel: (changes into different colors) Uh, I'm sorry, Mr.-- I mean, uh, Lulu the Guard. (The kids all swim out of the passageway) It's just once I get started, I can't stop changing colors.

Annabel: I'm sorry, my friends. Ella: We mustn't give up. (Pipo swims away, but he bumps into Jimbo who's sleeping) Pipo: Aah! Oh. It's Jimbo. He scared me... again. I thought he was, you know... Ella: I've got an idea.

Ella: Lulu the Guard! Lulu the Guard! Lulu: Don't insist! I told you you can't! Ella: It's Jimbo! I think that he's, you know... (Annabel pretends to play dead) Lulu: Again? It's just a false alert, rest assured. He always likes to look like he's dead when he's sleeping, when, in fact, not at all. Pipo: Except that this time, we wanted to wake him up, and he didn't move at all! For real! Lulu: You mean that-- Jimbo! (The kids all swim past Lulu and into the passageway. Lulu opens Jimbo's eye, but Jimbo is still asleep) Hmm? (He sees several black sea urchins nearby. Lulu tries to grab one, but they all move away) Huh? Oh! Ohh! Uh... Mm-hmm. (Lulu uses his pincer and snaps Jimbo, waking him up) Jimbo: Huh? (swims up in surprise) Aaah! Lulu: No need to thank us, soldier. It's a good thing we have our life-saving certificate. We saved your life, my friend. Jimbo: Come on, I was only sleeping. I can't believe this! (swims away) Lulu: What? The children told me that-- (notices the kids are all gone) Where'd they go?

Ella: Annabel, do you think you can camouflage us like you did earlier on, except without changing colors this time? Pipo: Oh, it's never gonna work! Ella: Stop stressing out, Pipo. I trust you, Annabel. And plus, I've got an idea. (Later, Pipo and Ella are hiding underneath Annabel who's disgusing as the ocean floor) Breathe. (Annabel changes color to yellow) Camouflage! (Annabel camouflages herself, and a barracuda swims past her) Breathe. (Annabel exhales as she changes color to red) Camouflage! (Annabel camouflages herself) Pipo: But he's approaching. Ella: Don't panic. Annabel, do you remember what we said to do in case there was a problem? (A barracuda swims toward the kids) Now! (Annabel squirts ink at the barracuda. She then grabs Ella and Pipo, and swim away)

Ricky: I should've gone to school. (moans)

Pipo: Ohh, we'll never find that stupid seaweed. Maybe it doesn't even exist. Ella: Stop complaining, Pipo. That'll get us nowhere. Annabel: Ohh! Look at those pretty plants, Pipo. Which ones? Those ball-shaped eones over there? Ella: (gasps) Ball-shaped? You guys are the best! Come on, we each bite off a piece and go back to give Ricky his remedy. (A manta ray appears, but Ella escapes before the manta ray traps Pipo and Annabel underneath her) Aaah! Pipo: Help! Annabel: No! Ella: (to Seaweed Ball Guardian) Hey, what do you think you're doing? Let my friends go. Seaweed Ball Guardian: Out of the question. I'm the guardian of the ball-shaped seaweed, and you dare to damage it. Ella: But we need a piece of the seaweed to save our friend Ricky. It's the only remedy. Seaweed Ball Guardian: Nobody's allowed to touch the sacred seaweed. My family has been watching over it for generations because, uh-- In fact, I can't remember exactly why anymore. Because that's the way it is. Ella: Can't you make an exception just for once? Please? Seaweed Ball Guardian: Hmm, the only solution would be to correctly answer the guardian's riddle. Ella: But... you're the guardian. Seaweed Ball Guardian: Oh, yeah, that's right. All right, here's the riddle. (falls asleep) Ella: Um... Mrs. Guardian? Seaweed Ball Guardian: (groans) Yes? What can I do for you? Ella: Huh? Um... I saw two barracudas make off with a piece of your sacred seaweed. They went that way! Seaweed Ball Guardian Oh, the scoundrels! (swims away) I'll be right back! Ella: (to Pipo and Annabel) Quick, we've got to get out of here before that crazy old ray comes back!

Ray: Ahh, how nice it is to be outside. Ricky: That's good to hear. 'Cause I feel a whole lot better now. I can go join the others. (Ricky is about to swim away, but Ray grabs him) Ray: Definitely not. You never know. Just because it no longer hurts doesn't mean you're all better. Ricky: Aww. Grandpa, Grandma... in fact, I'm not sick. I just pretended so I could miss Mr. Lulu's quiz. (Ray and Rita both laugh) Ray: Your grandmother and I knew that all along. What we didn't tell you was that there was no school today. Ricky: Huh? Ray: That'll teach you a good lesson. Ricky: You mean to say that, to punish me for lying, you lied? Ray: Mm-hmm. Ricky: Uh...

(The kids are hiding behind a rock to avoid being seen by the barracuda) Ella: And don't forget, the barracudas mustn't see you enter the reef. (The kids all gasp when a barracuda sees Ella out of her hiding spot) Uh, hi there. How's it going? (The kids all scream as they all swim away from the barracuda. However, another barracuda appears, and they both circling the kids. Ella looks up and sees the Seaweed Ball Guardian above them) Pipo: All right, we give up. Ella: You're gonna get to eat us, you lucky devils. Pipo and Annabel: What?! Ella: Yes, indeed! And to congratulate you for having caught us, we present you with this superb seaweed necklace of honor. (to Annabel who's holding the seaweeds) Go on. Annabel: Uh... uh... (sees the Seaweed Ball Guardian nearby) Ahh! Pipo: Uh... Annabel: One for you. (puts a seaweed on a barracuda's nose) And one for you! (puts another seaweed on another barracuda's nose) (Ella grabs Pipo's fin) Pipo: Ahh! (Annabel and Ella both giggle) Annabel: Yeah! (Ella looks up and sees the Seaweed Ball Guardian) Ella: Guardian! I think these are the guys you're looking for! Seaweed Ball Guardian: My seaweed! Attack! (The two barracudas both scream and swim away, dropping the seaweeds. The Seaweed Ball Guardian chases after the barracudas away, leaving the kids to all laugh in amusement) Annabel: I don't think the barracudas are about to come back around here anytime soon. (The kids all laugh)

Ricky: Ella? Annabel? Pipo? Oh, where did they go? (Meanwhile, the kids all appear entering the reef) Lulu: What? Where were you? How in the-- Pipo: There are no more barracudas! We chased them away. You can go back to being Mr. Lulu, our teacher. Lulu: Really? Bravo! Uh, I mean, no, that's not good at all! You had no right leaving the, uh-- (the kids all swim away) Children? (The kids all swim to Ray's habitat) Annabel: Ricky! Ricky! Ella: Ricky! We found a remedy! Pipo: A piece of ball-shaped seaweed. Annabel: You're saved! (Ray swims out of his home) Ray: What? You really went to go get the seaweed? Ella: (shows Ray the seaweed) Mm-hmm. Ray: But it was just a joke. Rita: All right, now, you tell them. Ray: Well, in fact, that seaweed has no healing powers whatsoever. And what's more, Ricky was never sick. (Ella drops the seaweed in surprise, but Annabel catches it) He lied so he could miss school, and we wanted to-- (Rita clears throat to Ray) Uh, I mean, I wanted to teach him a lesson. There you go. I'm sorry, children. I never thought you would've-- Ella: So Ricky isn't sick after all? But that's super! Then where is he now? Rita: I think he's out looking for you, since he's no longer punished. (The kids all cheer and they swim away to search for Ricky. Ray sighs as Rita points to the inside of his home to punish him)

The kids: Ricky! Ricky! (The kids all find Ricky at the playground) Ricky: Ah, there you are, my so-called friends! You could've told me there was no school. Guess you were too busy having fun, is that it? Pipo: No, Ricky, we were-- Ricky: Yeah, right. I don't want to hear about it. Boy, talk about selfish. Annabel and Ella: Ohh! Hmm. (Later, Ella have angrily placed the ball-shaped seaweed into Ricky's mouth. She, Pipo, and Annabel all swim out of the playground.) Ella: Be careful not to get indigestion. Sure wouldn't want you to get sick! (Ricky grunts)