King George and The Ducky - Plot

Plot

The episode opens with Jimmy and Jerry Gourd dressed as Bob and Larry, who both are trying to host the show but aren't doing a convincing job of it. When the real Bob and Larry arrive, Jimmy and Jerry explain that they figured that they've been wanting to host since Dave and the Giant Pickle, and that Bob and Larry could use a break. Bob argues that he just had a break (in that he hasn't made any new appearances for the past three episodes), but humors the gourds and lets them tell a short story they wrote called "The Englishman Who Went Up A Hill (And Came Down With All The Bananas)".

In this "story", an Englishman (Scallion #1) goes up a hill and steals all the bananas which he doesn't eat or share. Then a Swede (Jerry) goes up another hill and steals all the strawberries. As both men refuse to eat their own fruit without some of the other to go with it, but are too selfish to lend some to each other, they are stuck hoarding their respective piles from one another indefinitely, and the story ends with Jean Claude (the higher-voiced of the French Peas), who has been interjecting the story from offscreen with cries of "you're so selfish!", pointing out that they are "not very bright".

The story ends and Jimmy tries to get a verse from Qwerty, but he's been switched off. Jerry substitutes a crudely writted "Don't be selfish" message in its place, but Bob finally cuts in and tells the gourds to let him tell a REAL story, that of King George and the Ducky.

In this story, King George (Larry) only cares about rubber ducks. His servant Louis (Bob) tries to tell him the kingdom is in the middle of the Great Pie War though George doesn't care. To him, the most important person in the world is himself. As George proclaims his love for himself and his rubber duck, he notices a rubber duck which belongs to a poor boy named Thomas (Junior). Jealous, King George tells Louis to get him the duck, but Louis refuses.

At this point, Cedric the General (Scallion #) says that they need more men on the battlefield. Seeing his opportunity, George announces that Thomas wants to help and tells Cedric to put Thomas on the front line of the battle alone. With Thomas out of the way, George tells Louis to meet him at Thomas's house so they can take the duck.

At this point, it's time for Silly Songs with Larry. Today's song is "Endangered Love", in which Larry follows the tragic saga of his favorite daytime soap-opera character, Barbara Manatee. As he watches Barbara and her boyfriend Bill overcome life's obstacles, Larry sings of his own affections for Barbara.

Back in the story, King George and Louis manage to steal the duck and the King is happy. Before George can take a bath with his new duck, Cedric and Thomas come. According to Cedric, Thomas ended the war all on his own, but has suffered "the trauma of war" in the process. George quickly shooes them away and again tries to get in the bath, but is interrupted by Melvin (Pa Grape), a "slightly odd wiseman who shows up every so often" to tell a story using amazing audiovisual technology... a flannelgraph.

Melvin tells a story of two men, one who had many sheep and one who had only a single sheep. Visited by a guest, the rich man steals the sheep from the poor man to serve for dinner. Furious, George asks who this rich man is, and Melvin points out that it's George himself. His actions in stealing Thomas's duck have done nothing but prove the King's selfishness, and Melvin tells George that "Whether we are a king or just a kid, God wants us all to put others first." Looking to make up for his sins, George lets Thomas take a bath in his tub, which cures his war trauma, and then returns his duck. George then apologizes to God, Thomas, and Louis for his selfishness and is forgiven, thus ending the story.

Back on the countertop, Bob finishes up the story by adding that the next day, King George shared all his ducks with his people. As the show ends, however, the French Peas arrive and try their hand at hosting.