Episode 11: Boy Blue

Mother Goose Stories
Written by	David Angus
Director	Brian Henson

The eleventh episode of Mother Goose Stories retells the nursery rhyme of "Little Boy Blue." The story was adapted from "The Story of Little Boy Blue" in L. Frank Baum's "Mother Goose in Prose."

Story

“Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn,
The sheep's in the meadow, the cow's in the corn.
Where is that boy who looks after the sheep?
He's under a haystack, fast asleep.”

On Mother Goose's birthday, the goslings sing "Happy Birthday to You " to their mother. She is so moved by the gesture that she says she is "as happy as Little Boy Blue's mother, " thus prompting the story of Little Boy Blue.

Little Boy Blue lives in the country with his mother. The two are very poor, just barely living off the small bits of grain left in the field after the harvest. One day, Boy Blue decides that he should get a job to support his small family. His mother objects because her son is so young, but Little Boy Blue insists. Dressed in his fine blue suit (handmade by his mother from her old dress), Boy Blue goes to see the Squire about employment

The squire is impressed by Boy Blue's suit and hires him to watch over his sheep and cow. He tells Little Boy Blue to keep the two out of the meadow and the corn, and if anything should go wrong, Boy Blue should blow his horn. Boy Blue works hard for weeks keeping the scheming cow and sheep in line and out of the Squire's crop.

One day, Little Boy Blue's mother becomes ill. He spends all night watching over his poor sick mother. The next day, exhausted from his sleepless night, Little Boy Blue falls asleep on the job. The cow and the sheep race to the field and begin eating the squire's crop.

The squire walks by and sees the animals in the field. He quickly removes his rebellious livestock and goes in search of his missing employee. When he found Boy Blue asleep in the hay, he was furious. The squire is about to fire the boy when he explains why he had fallen asleep. Impressed that a young boy would care so much for his mother, the squire insists that they both go to Boy Blue's cottage to see his mother.

The squire rewards Boy Blue for his selflessness and invites mother and son to come live in the cottage that stands by the hall.

Muppet Characters

Mother Goose, Goslings, Little Boy Blue's Mother, Sheep, Cow, The Squire

Cast

• Anthony Walters as Little Boy Blue

Video Releases

• Jim Henson's Mother Goose Stories: Humpty Dumpty (2005 DVD & VHS)

Notes

• The episode was packaged with "Jack Horner" and "Eensy Weensy" to create a half-hour episode for Disney Channel and other outlets.

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