Episode 0561

Sesame Street
Air date	December 24, 1973
Season	Season 5 (1973-1974)
Sponsors X, Z, 5 This episode guide has been compiled from script materials provided by a trusted source. ⓘ

Picture	Segment	Description
	SCENE 1	Gordon introduces an audience to Big Bird, who recites a poem about the otter.
	Film	Sesame Street Animal Films: "It's an Otter!" Music: Joe Raposo (First: Episode 0284)
	Muppets	Ernie & Bert — Ernie answers the telephone. Bert overhears the conversation, which involves a baseball game, a rainy day, and a gorilla stealing a bologna sandwich. When Bert asks who just called, Ernie says it was a wrong number. (First: Episode 0305)
	Cartoon	Kids narrate a letter 'Z' drawing (First: Episode 0359)
	Film	Five Song (Song of Five) (First: Episode 0006)
	Cartoon	A girl runs home to her CASA. (First: Episode 0503)
	SCENE 2	Oscar finishes spreading some sticky stuff on his can, so people will get their hands messy if they knock on it. Instead, Susan and Gordon let him know that his can is sticky. Luis suspects he put it there to keep the rain out, and compliments him on the idea. Oscar starts wiping the stuff off the can.
	Cartoon	Two alpine climbers hike up a letter Z and stake a claim on it. (First: Episode 0281)
	SCENE 3	Oscar has finished cleaning his can. Susan and Mr. Hooper pass by, and Susan lets Oscar know that the sticky stuff is no longer on his can. Oscar has a fit.
	Muppets	Two Anything Muppet kids argue over a cookie. Cookie Monster arrives and says that the smallest person should get the cookie, and then, as the kids argue over which one is smaller, Cookie Monster shrinks himself. (First: Episode 0253)
	Muppets	Jerry Nelson narrates a story about a green Muppet hand that learns to spin a top. (First: Episode 0362)
	Celebrity	The New York Knicks make 4 baskets in a row, but miss on the 5th. (First: Episode 0154)
	Cartoon	Jazz #5 (First: Episode 0007)
	Film	Jerry Nelson introduces the letters U and N. Other letters join them and become SUN, RUN and FUN. (First: Episode 0230)
	SCENE 4	At Hooper's Store, Mr. Hooper has some kids look for the embedded spoon shapes inside a picture, then serves them pancakes.
	Film	Numbers elephant (0:50)
	Film	Things you can carry Music: Joe Raposo (First: Episode 0515)
	Cartoon	The letter X (First: Episode 0482)
	Film	The Alphabet Dancers make a letter X. (First: Episode 0456)
	Muppets	Western: A cowboy comes to see Adam T. Glaser, who is such a jack-of-all-trades that he forgets what a dentist does. (First: Episode 0408)
	SCENE 5	Big Bird imagines what he’d like to be when he grows up. He visualizes himself as a birdseed salesman, selling birdseed to people who don’t need it. Susan sees him moping over his failure to sell birdseed, and suggests he imagine selling birdseed to birds (including Little Bird) instead of people. She then mentions she could use some birdseed for her parakeet.
	Film	Sesame Street Animal Films: Ostriches walk and run. (piano music) (First: Episode 0339)
	Cartoon	Z In Space (First: Episode 0509)
	Muppets	"The Zizzy Zoomers" (First: Episode 0359)
	Cast	Wally and Ralph try to unroll a rug, but a chair in the way presents a problem. (First: Episode 0323)
	Cartoon	"Alphabet Imagination": A female voice quickly recites the alphabet followed by a male voice narrating each letter in a series of psychedelic vignettes. (First: Episode 0345)
	Cartoon	Speech Balloon: Z for zipper (First: Episode 0025)
	SCENE 6	The “zipper bridge” transition (Bridge #1 - Zipper) reveals different cast members saying “Z … zipper.”
	Muppets	Grover, Herry, and Billy rearrange themselves in different ways and count to three, until they get exhausted and faint. (Spanish) (First: Episode 0364)
	Cartoon	A peacock counts twenty feathers on his tail. (First: Episode 0406)
	Celebrity	The New York Knicks make 8 baskets in a row, but miss on the 9th. (First: Episode 0146)
	Cartoon	The Square (First: Episode 0536)
	Film	George the Farmer sets out various items and then sorts them by type. (First: Episode 0313)
	Cartoon	Christopher Clumsy jumps over a hole and says that he fooled the viewer. He then walks into a wall. (First: Episode 0439)
	Muppets	Lefty sells Ernie some air, but when Ernie waves to Bert, wanting to show it to him, he drops it. According to Bert (who didn't know what Ernie had), "It couldn't have vanished into thin air." But Ernie sobs, "Yes, it could, Bert! It could!" (First: Episode 0118)
	Cartoon	Christopher Clumsy jumps over a hole, and falls into another hole. Artist: Cliff Roberts (First: Episode 0439)
	Song	"Five Onstage Dancers" (First: Episode 0539)
	Cartoon	A chair displays the word SIT, and a beast sits on him. (First: Episode 0399)
	Muppets	Ernie & Bert — Bert tells Ernie not to eat cookies in bed, because he might get crumbs in the bed, and then he'll get crumbs in his pajamas, itch, and not be able to sleep. Ernie decides to eat cookies in Bert's bed instead. (First: Episode 0282)
	Cartoon	A turtle, a bird, and a butterfly demonstrate small, smaller, and smallest. (First: Episode 0371)
	Cartoon	A man makes a CASA for both him and his dog, who then makes a CASA for a bird.
	Muppets	Zs come out of Herry Monster's mouth as he snores. (part two) (First: Episode 0307)
	Cartoon	Z In Space (repeat)
	Cartoon	Willie Wimple went a-boatin' and polluted the river. Artist: Abe Levitow
	SCENE 7	The sponsors are announced.

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