00:00The
00:27Adventures of Albert the Running Bear by Barbara Eisenberg and Susan Wolfe, illustrated
00:33by Dick Gackenbach.
00:38Albert was a trained circus bear, but when his circus went out of business, he was moved
00:44to a zoo.
00:45The zoo was in the middle of a green park in the middle of a big, busy city.
00:53Albert's cage was large and clean.
00:56He had friendly neighbors on either side, nice toys, four meals a day, and a kind keeper
01:02named Norman.
01:04Although Albert was happy, he still missed the circus.
01:08Most of all, he missed making people laugh and cheer.
01:15One day, Albert decided to practice the waltz he used to do in the circus.
01:20As he pranced and twirled, a crowd began to gather.
01:28When Albert saw people smiling, he broke into a silly, wobbly kind of dance.
01:33The crowd began to laugh.
01:35Next, he grabbed his dinner bowl, turned it upside down on his head, wiggled his hips,
01:40and did the hula.
01:41The crowd cheered.
01:44Then Albert picked up the three fish that had fallen out of his bowl and juggled them
01:48in the air.
01:50The crowd went wild with applause.
01:53Albert took his final bow, but the crowd began to chant,
01:56We want more!
01:58We want more!
01:59So Albert did his tricks again.
02:03Soon Albert was performing to huge crowds every day.
02:08He loved hearing the applause and laughter again, but even more, he loved the food the
02:13crowds threw to him.
02:15The sign on his cage said, Please do not feed this animal, but people were always rewarding
02:21him with delicious snacks.
02:23Albert could not get enough of those tasty treats.
02:26There were fluffy bits of cotton candy, pointy ends of ice cream cones, chocolate bars, bubble
02:32gum, and buttery popcorn.
02:35Albert's two favorites were marshmallows and gumdrops.
02:41One day, Norman brought the zoo doctor in to examine Albert.
02:46Just look at that flab, the doctor said as he poked his finger into Albert's big fat
02:51belly.
02:52You must stop eating all those snacks and stick to this healthy meal we feed you here,
02:57the doctor warned.
03:02But Albert didn't stop eating those snacks.
03:04In fact, he soon stopped eating the zoo meals and ate only snacks.
03:10Mm-mm, this is the life, Albert thought as he held out his dinner bowl like a catcher's
03:15mitt while the crowd filled it with his favorites.
03:19Then he opened his mouth and slurped down the whole bowlful in one gulp.
03:28One day, a new sign appeared on Albert's cage.
03:31It said, This bear must not be fed snacks.
03:36Anyone caught feeding him will be fined $100.
03:40No one threw Albert anything that day, or the next, or the next.
03:49By the night of the fourth day, Albert was feeling very low.
03:53He lay in a fat heap on the bottom of his cage, muttering, Marshmallows and gumdrops,
03:59marshmallows and gumdrops.
04:02Maybe I could reach a little something for you, offered Julia the giraffe, who was Albert's
04:07neighbor.
04:08She knew she shouldn't help Albert go off his diet, but she hated to see her friend
04:13so sad.
04:18I have an idea, cried Albert suddenly.
04:22What is it?
04:23Asked Julia.
04:24Bend your head down into my cage, said Albert, and I'll show you.
04:29Julia thought Albert was going to whisper his plan into her ear.
04:33Instead, he wrapped his arms tightly around her neck and shouted, Lift, Julia, lift me
04:39to the wall.
04:44Julia was so surprised that she did what Albert ordered.
04:48Her neck rose like a great crane, with Albert dangling on the end.
04:52She placed him on top of the wall, dividing their cages, and Albert tightrope walked across
04:57the narrow wall to the bars.
05:00Thank you, Julia, Albert whispered as he slid down the bars to freedom.
05:05Gumdrops and marshmallows, here I come.
05:12When Albert could no longer see the zoo behind him, he stopped to catch his breath.
05:17Where can I get myself a little snack, he wondered.
05:21Just then, the moon disappeared behind the clouds, and it began to pour.
05:30Albert ran for shelter, stumbled into a trash can, and knocked it over.
05:35This place will be dry, he thought as he crawled inside.
05:39He wiggled and squirmed, trying to get comfortable.
05:42Then his nose began to twitch.
05:44He smelled food.
05:50Albert snacked around the small space with his great big paw until he hit something soft
05:55and gooey.
05:58It was a piece of an ice cream sandwich.
06:01He stuffed it into his mouth.
06:03Next he found half a box of Cracker Jacks, a can of fizzy cola, a crunchy candy bar,
06:09some potato chips, pickles, pretzels, and a hot dog bun.
06:13What a wonderful place this is, hiccuped Albert as he drifted off to sleep.
06:20Crash!
06:21Smash!
06:23A terrible jolt awakened Albert.
06:26His trash can had just been dumped into the loading bin of a garbage truck.
06:31He sat up and rubbed his big belly.
06:34Oh, do I feel awful.
06:37I wish I were back in my nice cozy cage.
06:41Albert rocked back and forth, moaning and groaning.
06:45A blue cloth bag caught his eye.
06:47He grabbed the bag and stuck his paw inside.
06:53This feels nice, thought Albert as he pulled out a beautiful red sweatshirt.
06:58He put it on, pulled up the hood and tied the drawstring.
07:02He reached in the bag again.
07:04This time he took out a pair of sweatpants, which he stepped into, and a pair of sneakers,
07:10which he put on.
07:11Bang!
07:13A gunshot from behind the trees made Albert jump.
07:17Dozens of people, all running in the same direction, came into view.
07:22Albert didn't know it, but the annual city marathon had just begun.
07:29Albert watched them go by and wondered what they were running from.
07:33Suddenly, the sanitation man turned on the garbage compactor.
07:37Whirr!
07:38Munch!
07:39Crunch!
07:40Yikes!
07:41yelled Albert.
07:42Whatever it is, it's coming after me.
07:45He leaped off the truck in terror.
07:48On the park path, he zoomed past a man with the number 24 pinned to his shirt.
07:55Hey, young fellow, said number 24 to Albert, not realizing Albert was a bear.
08:03You'd better take it easy.
08:04You'll never be able to keep up that pace.
08:07So Albert slowed down.
08:09And since the man seemed helpful and nice, Albert followed him out of the park and onto
08:14the crowded city streets.
08:20As number 24 turned the corner of the marathon course, Albert lost sight of him.
08:26He was confused by the honking horns and pushing people.
08:30How he longed to get back to the quiet and safety of his cage.
08:34Never would he go looking for snacks again.
08:37A blue bus roared by.
08:40On the back, Albert spotted a picture of his own zoo.
08:47I'll follow that bus home, Albert thought.
08:50He ran along behind, coughing from the fumes.
08:54The bus picked up speed, and Albert couldn't run any faster.
08:58He stopped to rest.
08:59His muscles ached, his fur was dripping with sweat, and his mouth was as dry as cotton
09:05wool.
09:06But even worse, he was lost.
09:09Utterly lost.
09:11He sat down on a curb, put his head between his paws, and began to cry.
09:19Then Albert heard a familiar voice.
09:21Don't give up now, old buddy, the voice said.
09:24Let's go!
09:25It was number 24 again.
09:27He pulled Albert up by the sleeve into the middle of the pack of running people.
09:36Albert was moving at just the right pace.
09:39He was beginning to enjoy the feeling of running, and didn't notice when number 24 let go of
09:44his sleeve and dropped behind.
09:46Albert passed one group of runners, and then another group.
09:50He had hit his stride.
09:53Albert's arms and legs and heart and breath were all working together.
09:57He felt better than he had ever felt in his life.
10:01He didn't realize he had come back into the park, or see the crowd that had come to watch
10:06the end of the marathon.
10:08Nor did he see the white tape that stretched across the path only a few yards away.
10:13Albert was moving as if he were in a dream.
10:16Suddenly, snap, went the tape.
10:21Flash!
10:22Popped the camera bulbs.
10:24Hooray!
10:25Cheered the crowd.
10:26Uh-oh, gulped Albert as he saw the crowd rushing toward him.
10:31He spotted a platform and ran for cover.
10:34An arm reached under and pulled Albert out and up onto the platform.
10:38The arm belonged to the mayor, who was smiling.
10:42Albert grinned back nervously.
10:45Congratulations, young man, the mayor said, not realizing Albert was a bear.
10:52You have just won the annual marathon race, he continued, and he handed Albert a beautiful,
10:59gleaming trophy.
11:01The crowd cheered again and the band began to play.
11:04At the sound of the music, Albert started to dance.
11:08He wiggled and swayed and twisted and twirled.
11:11The more the crowd cheered, the more Albert danced.
11:14At last, the mayor signaled the band to stop playing.
11:18The newspaper photographers asked Albert and the mayor to pose together.
11:23Wait a minute, said the mayor as he reached up and pulled back Albert's hood for the
11:29photo.
11:30The mayor's mouth dropped into a perfect O.
11:33You're a bear, he gasped.
11:37There was a long silence.
11:38Why, Albert, old rascal, it's you, someone called out from the crowd.
11:44It was Norman, the zookeeper.
11:47Then the crowd buzzed.
11:48It's Albert.
11:49It's Albert, the performing bear from the zoo.
11:56It's Albert, the running bear now, the mayor said.
12:00Albert ran a few steps in place and waved his trophy.
12:04Everyone laughed and got in line for his paw print.
12:07Keeper Norman was the last person in line.
12:10You're a celebrity now, Albert, Norman said.
12:13Do you still want to come back to the zoo?
12:16Without a moment's hesitation, Albert jumped into the zoo van.
12:24When they got back to the zoo, Norman promised to build a quarter-mile track for Albert to
12:29keep in shape.
12:31Albert promised he would never run away again and never eat snacks.
12:35Well, maybe just a few marshmallows and gumdrops now and then.
12:41Every morning now, Albert gets up, puts on his sweatsuit, and runs on the track.
12:46And the crowds are bigger than ever.
