The Tortoise and the Pots

The Tortoise and the Pots
Season 1, Episode 1
Vital statistics
Air date	4th January 2001
Written by	Jimmy Hibbert
Directed by	Tim Collings
Episode guide
Previous	Next
Flying Boots	Go Fly a Kite

The Tortoise and the Pots is the first episode of the first season.

Plot[]

One lovely autumn morning, Bill and Ben are trying to make the garden gnome laugh but they are finding it quite hard. Scamper passes by with a big nut in her mouth and when she says "good morning", Bill and Ben can't understand what she is saying.

Bill and Ben go to tell Weed about the nut and Scamper arrives to say "good morning" to Weed, they grab the nut and try to pull it out, then it comes out and Bill, Ben and Scamper collapse to the ground. Scamper is not pleased at all and Weed tells her that Bill and Ben thought the nut was stuck in her mouth, then Scamper tells her that she is collecting nuts to store them for Winter and walks off with her but just as Slowcoach arrives.

Weed has an idea - Bill and Ben could help Scamper collect nuts for her Winter store, but Bill and Ben don't fancy doing it. Slowcoach says that Bill and Ben never think of anyone but themselves, so Bill says that if Slowcoach was so keen for someone to help Scamper, maybe he should do it himself. Then they decide to have a nut gathering contest to see who's the most helpful around the garden.

Later on, Bill and Ben are playing leapfrog while Slowcoach is collecting nuts. Weed thinks that Bill and Ben should better get started and Bill tells her that they have a plan. Slowcoach gives the first nut to Scamper and tells her about the contest and she replies that Bill and Ben haven't arrived with any nuts. Now, Bill and Ben are playing hide-and-seek and still haven't started collecting nuts. Weed reminds Bill about it and Bill reminds her about their plan. Slowcoach is in next door's garden and tells Rose about the contest when she asks what he's doing.

At last, Bill and Ben think they better get started, so they rush to the tool shed to collect things for their plan. They need a plank of wood, an empty paint pot and a flowerpot. Slowcoach tells Scamper that Bill and Ben are too busy enjoying themselves because she is wondering where they are, then she tells him that he has collected seventeen now, and Slowcoach he would like to see Bill and Ben beat that.

Bill and Ben are in next door's garden and they have built a see-saw, and when they tell Rose about their plan, she is annoyed that Scamper, Slowcoach and Bill and Ben all want nuts. Bill and Ben don't have time to listen to her, so they begin their plan. Ben collects nuts and puts them in the flowerpot while Bill sets up the clever part of the plan. When Ben fills the flowerpot with nuts, Bill tells him to stand on the end of the see-saw and that is going to jump onto the other end of the see-saw, then Ben would fly into the air with the nuts all the way to Scamper's tree.

Ben begins to have second thoughts about their plan, but he doesn't have time to think of another because Bill jumps from the tree and lands on his end of the see-saw sending Ben into the air and he puts the flowerpot on the branch of the tree. Then Ben falls back down again sending Bill flying over the branch knocking the flowerpot off and it lands on Ben.

Bill falls right in front of Slowcoach and Scamper, and he tells them about the plan and how it had all gone wrong. Ben arrives to see if Bill is all right and Slowcoach them both that he has won the contest. Bill and Ben congrulate him and go to tell Weed what had happened. Weed tells them it's better not to play all day and sometimes you have to work at things too, but Bill and Ben are both fast asleep in their flowerpots and dreaming of another day.

Characters[]

Locations[]

Cast[]

John Thomson as the narrator, Bill and Slowcoach
Jimmy Hibbert as Ben
Eve Karpf as Weed, Scamper and Rose

Trivia[]

This is the first Bill and Ben the Flowerpot Men episode by Cosgrove Hall to be shown on television.
According to the production order, this is the second episode of the first season.

Compilations[]

VHS/DVD[]

DVD Packs[]

Go Fly a Kite/Here Comes the Sun

The Tortoise and the Pots

Contents