AUDIENCE PARTICIPATIONS & STORIES

IN SEARCH OF SUN SCREEN

Utah National Parks

Divide audience into four parts.  Assign each part a word and a response.  Instruct them they are to say the response whenever they hear the word.  Practice as you make assignments.

Vance                     "I love to swim"

Swim           "Splash, splash, splash"

Cub Scouts                "Do your best"

Sunscreen "Aaaaaaaaaah, Ooooooooooo"

The day of the summer Pack Meeting was hot and dry. That was good because it was to be a SWIMming party. The CUB SCOUTS and their families were to meet at the Miller's house at noon. VANCE started getting ready at 9 o'clock in the morning. He loved to SWIM. He had just completed SWIMming lessons at the local SWIMming pool and had his card stating that VANCE had passed Advanced Beginners. He knew all his Cub Scout friends would be surprised. It was just last year that VANCE could not SWIM at all.

VANCE found his SWIMming suit and his towel and even his flip-flops without any trouble. But search as he might he could not find his SUNSCREEN. This was terrible. All the CUB SCOUTS had learned at one of the den meetings about the importance of always using SUNSCREEN. VANCE knew that he must protect his skin from the intense Utah sun while he was young so that he would not get skin cancer when he got older. Also, he did not want to get bad sunburn. One of his friends in CUB SCOUTS had fallen asleep in the sun and couldn't sit down or lay in bed comfortably for a week!

"Where are you, SUNSCREEN?" asked VANCE as he started looking through the house again. It was almost time for the SWIMming party. He didn't want to be late. That was when he found it. Way in the back of the bathroom drawer, there was the SUNSCREEN. He grabbed it but to his dismay, the tube felt very light. Oh no! The SUNSCREEN tube was empty. Try as he might, VANCE could not squeeze out even one little drop. What could he do? There was not time to go to the store before meeting the CUB SCOUTS for the SWIMming party. And he knew he should never go SWIMming without his SUNSCREEN.

Just then VANCE’s big brother Weston came bursting through the kitchen door. "What's the matter?" he asked when he saw VANCE sitting dejectedly in the living room. "I'm all out of SUNSCREEN so I can't go SWIMming with the CUB SCOUTS” was the reply. "Here, you can use mine," said Weston, tossing his little brother a new tube of SUNSCREEN. VANCE couldn’t believe it. Just that fast his problem was solved. "Thanks, Wes'", VANCE shouted as he headed out the door to the SWIMming party with the CUB SCOUTS. And for a whole week he didn't say one bad thing about his brother!

A Lesson for the Big Bugs

Capital Area Council

Divide audience into four parts.  Assign each part a word and a response.  Instruct them they are to say the response whenever they hear the word.  Practice as you make assignments.

Bees -                  Buzz-Buzz
Ants -                   Hup-2-3-4
Mosquitoes -         Bite-e-Bite
Frog -               Croak-Croak
Woods -    All sounds together

This is a story about Bill and his family and their adventure in the WOODS. One fine spring day, Billy's family decided to go for a picnic in the WOODS, where they could enjoy the outdoors. They packed a nice picnic basket and headed out on their walk.

As soon as they got to where they were going, they found a nice place to set up their picnic. Billy and his brother went to the stream where they looked at a FROG. They heard some BEES over by the wild flowers, and watched some ANTS walking on ground. Being close to the water, they were also being bothered by some MOSQUITOES.

When they went back to the picnic area, they told their parents about the WOODS. How they saw a FROG and how the MOSQUITOES were bothering them. They said that the BEES didn't bother them and that the ANTS were really hard workers. Dad listened closely as he as he unwrapped another sandwich and carelessly threw his paper off to the side. Billy's little sister had just finished a soda and dropped the can by a tree. Mom threw her paper napkin on the ground and jumped up in disgust. "That is it!" she said. "I think the ANTS are taking over the picnic."

Dad stretched out for a nap and had just dozed off when Billy's sister started to scream. She had been stung by a BEE. While Mom took care of her, Dad tried to go back to sleep. But he couldn't because the MOSQUITOES were pestering him. Finally he decided that they had better go home.

Billy protested. "Why do we have to go?” "Well, Billy," Dad replied, we don't seem to be wanted here in the WOODS. We sure haven't been treated very well. The MOSQUITOES are eating me alive. The ANTS took over the picnic. And a BEE stung your sister."

Well," said Billy, "maybe the WOODS are trying to tell us something and the MOSQUITOES, and the ANTS, and the BEES are trying to tell us something.” "What is that?" asked Dad. "Well," said Billy, "just look around us and you'll see we haven't been very nice visitors to the WOODS. Look at all the trash we've thrown around. Seems to me we're the worst bugs of all—litterbugs!"

So the family started cleaning up the mess they'd made and afterwards they felt better. They took a nice walk through the WOODS, listening to the sounds. They actually enjoyed the buzzing of the BEES, the croaking of the FROGS, and the ANTS at work.

When they returned home, they were tired, but happy they had learned an important lesson that day. The worst kind of bug in the WOODS is a litterbug!

THE FARMER'S SECRET

Utah National Parks

Long ago, about the early 1930's, there was a man lost in the back country of Georgia. Due to the fact that he was a man, asking directions was beneath him, so instead he just wandered back roads trying to find his way. Eventually he ran out of gas out in the middle of nowhere, but he remembered passing a farmer's house not to far back, so he gets out and starts walking. Finally he gets to the farmer's house; unfortunately it is already extremely late at night, so the farmer invites him to stay the night.

The farmer shows him his room and tells him that there is one condition to his staying and has the man follow him. They go out to the barn. The farmer begins moving a huge quantity of hay bales to the other side of the barn to reveal a rug. He rolls up the rug to reveal a trap door. The farmer opens the door and he and the man proceed to walk down many steps.

They keep going down and down and down (this part is very monotonous so I'll keep it as simple as that). Finally at the bottom of the steps they come to a huge iron door. It takes both of them to open it far enough to just squeeze through. The door opens up to a room containing an extremely large maze. They work their way through the maze and to another door, this one made of glass.

Again it takes the two of them to open the glass door. In this room is a very large cage with a HUGE pink gorilla in it. The farmer tells the man that he must never touch the gorilla. The man agrees and they go back (you tell all the steps to getting back). They shut the trap door, put the rug over it, and move all the hay back.

They go back to the house and go to bed. But, the man cannot sleep due to the fact that he is concentrating so greatly on what would happen if he were to touch the gorilla. He decides he is going to go find out. He goes out to the barn. Moves the huge quantity of hay bales to the other side of the barn to reveal the rug, this takes quite awhile due to the amount of the hay. He rolls up the rug to reveal the trap door. The man opens the door and he proceeds to walk down the many steps.

He keeps going down and down and down and down and down and down and down and down, etc. Finally at the bottom of the steps he comes to a huge iron door. It takes the man a great amount of effort to just open the door enough to squeeze his body through with a minimal amount of pain. The door opens up to the room containing the extremely large maze. He begins to work his way through the maze and finally to the other door, the one made of glass.

Again it takes him a great amount of strength to open the glass door. He goes over to the cage, where the gorilla remains asleep. He reaches his hand through the iron bars and lightly touches the gorilla on his little toe. All of a sudden the gorilla awakes and goes into a fit!

The man runs to the glass door and pushes it shut with a great amount of strength and adrenaline. Runs through the maze, and just as he is about to go through the iron door hears the glass door shatter. He again goes through the iron door and pushes it shut with a great amount of strength and adrenaline.

He runs up the stairs and just as he reaches the top he hears the iron door rip like a sheet of paper. He shuts the trap door, but feels it’s meaningless to replace the hay if the gorilla could just rip the iron door like that.

He runs down the road and out to his truck, climbs in and attempts to start the engine forgetting that his truck is out of gas. The gorilla runs up, RIPS the roof off of the truck, reaches in and.... touches the man saying, "TAG, YOU'RE IT!

Sputo, Sputas, Sputat,
The Sound of Watermelon Seeds

Capital Area Council

Henry had a sweet slice of watermelon. Henry’s sister and brother each had one, too. Henry’s sister took a bite of watermelon and spat out the seeds. SPUTO, SPUTAS, SPUTAT! Henry’s brother took a bite of watermelon and spat out the seeds. SPUTO, SPUTAS, SPUTAT! Henry took a bite of watermelon and spat out the seeds. Dribble, drabble, drop-drop-drop. They fell down to the ground in a sorry little heap by his feet.

“Henry can’t spit watermelon seeds,” Henry’s sister said. She wrinkled up her nose at Henry. “Henry can’t spit watermelon seeds,” Henry’s brother agreed, and he spat one—SPUTO, SPUTAS, SPUTAT! -- that sailed right over Henry’s head.

Henry said, “Sure, you can spit watermelon seeds, but can you hit the metal bucket?” Henry’s sister tried. SPUTO, SPUTAS, SPUTAT! RAT-A-TAT-A-TING!  Henry’s brother tried. SPUTO, SPUTAS, SPUTAT! RAT-A-TAT-A-TING!  Henry tried. Dribble drabble drop-drop-drop. They fell down to the ground in a sorry little heap at his feet.

Henry said, “Sure, you can hit the bucket, but can you hit the birdbath?” Henry’s sister tried. SPUTO, SPUTAS, SPUTAT! SPLOSH! Henry’s brother tried. SPUTO, SPUTAS, SPUTAT! SPLOSH! Henry tried. Dribble drabble drop-drop-drop. They fell down to the ground in a sorry little heap by his feet.

Henry said, “Sure, you can hit the birdbath, but can you hit an ant hill between your feet? “ Henry’s sister tried. She hit the metal bucket. SPUTO, SPUTAS, SPUTAT! RAT-A-TAT-A-TING! Henry’s brother tried. He hit the birdbath. SPUTO, SPUTAS, SPUTAT! SPLOSH! Henry tried. Dribble drabble drop-drop-drop. The seeds fell down to the ground smack-dab in the middle of an anthill!

And do you know what? Henry got himself another slice of watermelon and smiled the whole time he ate it.