Driving Miss Granny

(Scene: an armored truck sits outside a toy store. Two security guards appear to be loading money into their armored car. One of them is holding a bag of money.)

Narrator: One fine morning...

Guard 1: I’m pretty sure her sidekick’s a monkey.

Guard 2: A monkey in a superhero costume?

Guard 1: Yeah!

Guard 2: I don’t know, I still think it’s a hairy little kid.

(As they talk, a car is seen swerving down the road behind them. As it approaches, Guard 1 pushes Guard 2 out of the way, and the car comes to a stop just short of the truck.)

Granny May: (opening the driver’s door and stepping out) Are you boys ok?

Guard 1: We’re fine, ma’am.

Guard 2: (brushing himself off) Just a little shaken up.

Granny May: What? Speak up. Don’t be shy, and… (pauses, thinking of the right word)

Guard 2: Timid?

Granny May: No, I’m not Tim. Just call me Granny May. Now, would you nice boys move all that money into my car?

Guard 2: (laughing) Thanks for the laugh, lady!

Granny May: You look just like my grandson Eugene! (calling toward the car) Oh, Eugene? (turns back to the guards) Eugene’s a little shy.

Guard 1: Oh, he’s timid.

Granny May: No, Tim’s not shy at all.

Guard 1: (exasperated) No, timid means sh-- aw, forget it!

Granny May: Eugene, come out here right now!

(The passenger door opens, and a pair of huge legs step onto the curb. The guards look up as the shadow of a large person approaches them.)

Granny May: Show these nice boys that I wasn’t kidding! (Eugene grabs a nearby mailbox and rips it off the ground, and the guards cry out in fear.)

(The scene changes to a sidewalk across the street. Becky, Bob and Violet are walking together.)

Narrator: Meanwhile, on their way to art class...

Becky: I know the poem is due today, but I couldn’t think of anything to write about.

Violet: Whenever I’m stuck, I just write about people or objects that are around me.

(Across the street, Violet spots Eugene, who has just slammed the trunk of Granny May’s car closed.)

Violet: (to Eugene) Hi!

(Eugene looks around, unsure of what to do. He quickly ducks behind the car so he can’t be seen.)

Violet: (improvising a poem) I was walking along, and what did I spy? A very large boy who was overly shy! (to Becky) Now, you give it a shot!

Becky: Okay! (trying to think up her own poem on the spot) While walking in the city, I ran into a boy who was very large. Another word for large is enormous. He was also very shy. Another word for shy is timid. I can’t think of a word that rhymes with timid, but I didn’t really rhyme enormous with anything either. (to Violet) What do you think?

Violet: (awkwardly) Not bad.

(Granny May jumps out of the armored truck with a bag of money in each hand, and throws one into her car through the open window. Then she spots Becky, Bob and Violet, and freezes.)

Granny May: Aren’t you two the prettiest little girls I’ve ever seen! And what a cute little dog!

Violet: Thank you! Who’s the shy boy in your car?

Granny May: That’s my grandson Eugene. He’s timid.

(One of the guards appears from the side of the truck, only able to hop because he is bound from head to toe.)

Guard 2: Hey, you did hear me when I said timid! And you stole all the money from our truck!

Granny May: Whoops! Gotta go! (quickly gets into the car, and drives off) Bye bye, baby!

Violet: They’re crooks? But she’s so sweet, and he was timid! It’s hard to believe, right Becky? Becky??

(As Violet is talking, Becky slips away. A moment later, a streak is seen going by.)

Guard 2: WordGirl! (hops again, and then falls over)

Narrator: Where will Granny May and timid Eugene strike next? Have you ever seen an old woman leap like that? Have you ever heard a worse poem than Becky’s? All these questions may be asked again during another electrifying episode of… WordGirl.