The Noodle Story
performed by Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch (both Carroll Spinney)
Written by Jerry Juhl
Oscar: Let me see. So far, we’ve done A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M. That’s enough! Let’s go home!
Big Bird: Gosh, Oscar! We’ve got lots of letters to go. The next one is N.
{Music starts.]
So now I shall tell a story that’s filled with words that start with the letter N.
Oscar: I don’t want to hear it.
Big Bird: Gosh, Oscar! Don’t you want to hear all those N words with the great “nn” sound?
Oscar: No!
Big Bird: Right! “No” is an N word.
Oscar: Ugh!
Big Bird: Now, see if you can hear some others, Oscar. Once upon a time, there were nine naughty noodles.
Oscar: Nine naughty noodles?
Big Bird: Sure. Now, these nine naughty noodles lived in a nest. And their names were Ned, Nat, Norman, Nathaniel, Nelly, Nan, Nancy, Norma, and Naomi.
Oscar: Oh, no.
Big Bird: Now, one day, Nora moved into the neighborhood.
Oscar: Nora? Another noodle, I suppose.
Big Bird [laughs]: No. Nora was a nectarine.
Oscar: Naturally.
Big Bird: From Nora, the noodles learned not to be naughty but nice.
Oscar: Doesn’t this story ever come to an end?
Big Bird: Ah, you want this story to come to an end?
Oscar: I sure do.
Big Bird: O.K. One day, Nora and the noodles went for a walk and found a great huge letter N carved on a stone.
Oscar: So?
Big Bird: So [giggles] you wanted the story to come to an N.
[Music ends.]
Oscar: Oh, no, no, no, no...!
[Fade out.]
Transcribed by William Powell and Silvery Shoe
Originally released on
The Muppet Alphabet Album (1971)
Children's Television Workshop
The same album was reissued in 1996 as
Sing The Alphabet (CD) and on Cassette
also released on the album
Big Bird Sings! (1974)
Children's Records of America
and on the album
Let A Frown Be Your Umbrella (1974)
Children's Television Workshop