The Turtle Who Wanted to Make Friends is a Sesame Street story read by Bob. (First: Episode 1959)
Sheldon the Turtle, or Shelly (performed by Jim Henson), is new to the forest and wants to meet his new neighbors, but he fears that they won't like him. Every time an animal comes along, Shelly cowers into his shell and is left unnoticed. Bob, who becomes frustrated with Shelly's hiding, tries to convince him to stick his head out of his shell and introduce himself the next time another animal approaches.
When the animals come over to have their yearly picnic, Casey the Rabbit (performed by Fran Brill) is about to stand on Shelly's shell (which he thinks is a rock) to give his annual speech. As he proceeds to do so, Shelly pops his head out, proclaiming that he's not a rock. He introduces himself to the other animals and befriends all of them, relaying the lesson he's learned to Bob.
Notes[]
- Additional performers for the story include Martin P. Robinson (as a caterpillar), Richard Hunt (as a frog and a squirrel), and Cheryl Blaylock (as a canary).