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00:00Help all kids learn and grow with PBS Kids.
00:03Thank you for supporting your PBS station.
00:07That's me, Fred the house cat.
00:09When my family leaves for the day,
00:11I don't just sit inside watching the world go by.
00:14I become...
00:19Nature Cat!
00:20Backyard explorer extraordinaire!
00:22Ho, ho, ho, ho!
00:24Tally ho!
00:25Ho, ho, ho!
00:26Tally ho!
00:27We're climbing out the trees now.
00:29We're swinging through the breeze now.
00:31We're getting muddy knees now.
00:33Nature Cat!
00:34Nature Cat!
00:35Nature Cat!
00:35Nature Cat!
00:36Nature Cat!
00:37Nature Cat!
00:38So what are we waiting for?
00:40We're so excited to explore
00:42all that nature has in store.
00:44We're getting muddy knees now.
00:45Go, go!
00:45Tally ho!
00:46Go, go, go!
00:47Tally ho!
00:48We're the favorite nature guide.
00:51We just can't wait to get outside.
00:53We're swinging through the trees now.
00:55We're jumping in the leaves now.
00:57We're getting muddy knees now.
00:58We're getting muddy hands.
01:00Tally ho!
01:02Tally ho!
01:03Tally ho!
01:06Tally ho!
01:07The deal with eels.
01:11Okay, listen up, everybody.
01:13Tonight's scary squeak story is...
01:16La-dum-da!
01:17The mystery of the swimming snake.
01:19Swimming snake?
01:21Yes, my friends.
01:23It's a tale about a slimy snake
01:25that swims, travels thousands of miles,
01:28changes color, even grows teeth.
01:31Where it comes from, nobody knows.
01:34And just as mysteriously as it arrives,
01:37many years later, it just...
01:39disappears.
01:41S-s-s-snakes?
01:43Why does it have to be snakes?
01:45Ah, I'm sure it's only a story.
01:47Right, Squeaks?
01:49No, swimming snakes are real, right?
01:51Check it out.
01:52Yes!
01:53Hey, I've seen them,
01:55but, like, mini-versions
01:56traveling up the stream
01:57in Sunset Park, baby.
01:58What?
01:59They're close by?
02:00No, don't worry, Nature Cat.
02:02They're actually pretty cute.
02:03Cute?
02:04Kittens are cute.
02:06Hal, Daisy, Squeaks,
02:07you are all cute.
02:09Tell me something I don't know.
02:11But aren't you curious
02:12to learn something new about nature?
02:14Guys, I have an awesome idea.
02:15Let's forget my scary story
02:17and go to the stream.
02:18Maybe we can see those critters in person.
02:19Who's with me?
02:20Oh, me, me, me, pick me, pick me, pick me.
02:23Okay, Hal, you're on the squad.
02:24Yes, you picked me.
02:25I didn't see that coming.
02:26Oh, yeah.
02:27I am always down
02:28to learn more about nature.
02:30Oh, you want me to come with you
02:33to the water
02:34and look for a snake?
02:36Oh, sure.
02:37Oh, just let me check my calendar.
02:41Oh, would you look at that?
02:43Tonight, I have a Pilates class.
02:45Or is that a dentist appointment?
02:47Either way, I have somewhere to be,
02:49but you guys have fun.
02:51Toodles!
02:52Nature Cat, let's be honest.
02:53Since when have you ever turned down
02:55a nature adventure?
02:56Hmm, how about right now?
02:59Oh, it's too bad, Nature Cat,
03:00because I just remembered
03:02the swimming snake
03:02is looking for true love.
03:04Did you say true love?
03:07True love gets me every time.
03:11Do not despair,
03:12for I, Nature Cat,
03:14will lead a fearless expedition
03:16to locate the mysterious
03:18swimming snake.
03:20Tally-ho!
03:27So, Hal,
03:28this is the spot
03:28where you saw the little snakes
03:29heading upstream, huh?
03:31Yep, but they're hard to see,
03:32so you'll have to watch
03:33super closely.
03:37Wait, yikes!
03:38Here comes something!
03:40Is it the s-s-s-snake?
03:43Oh, ho, ho, ho!
03:44You're not a snake.
03:46Obviously, Nature Cat.
03:47Hey, Al Lorraine,
03:48what's happening?
03:49Hey, Squeaks,
03:50just hunting for a snack.
03:51You know, the usual.
03:54Little snaky creatures,
03:55it's me, Hal!
03:56Where are you?
03:57Are you in there,
03:58little snaky creatures?
03:59I'm sure, Hal,
04:00just imagine the swimming snakes.
04:02That Hal,
04:02he has such a vivid imagination.
04:06Psst!
04:07Hey, guys,
04:08look over there.
04:09Hey, there they are!
04:11Those?
04:12But they don't look
04:13nearly as scary
04:14as that thing
04:14from Squeaks' picture!
04:17Excuse me,
04:18pardon me,
04:18teeny tiny snake.
04:19Hi, it's me, Hal.
04:20Fancy seeing you here again?
04:22Hey, we're trying
04:23to find this creature,
04:24and we thought
04:25because you're swimming snakes, too,
04:26you might know where to find it.
04:29Okay, good chat.
04:31Yeah, they're not talking.
04:32Hmm, we haven't seen
04:33these cuties come up for air.
04:38I think I know why!
04:40Look!
04:40Those are gills!
04:42That means they can breathe underwater.
04:44That is very cool,
04:45and very strange.
04:47That is strange, Daisy.
04:49That is so, so strange.
04:50But just a quick little question
04:52here on the strange topic.
04:53Why is that strange, exactly?
04:55Because snakes are reptiles
04:56and don't have gills.
04:58Snakes breathe through lungs
04:59like we do.
05:00And you know what else is weird?
05:01Those look like fins.
05:02Snakes don't have fins.
05:04What's going on?
05:08They're getting away!
05:09Follow those snakes!
05:11These sure are unusual animals.
05:14How they can swim
05:15against the current like that
05:16is amazing!
05:18Where'd they go?
05:22They're over yonder!
05:26Where are they?
05:28Oh, there they are!
05:30Look!
05:31They're headed toward a waterfall!
05:33Looks like the party's over,
05:35little snakes.
05:38The party looks like it's still raging,
05:40nature cat!
05:41Whoa-ho-ho!
05:43What?
05:44Oh, boy!
05:45What do we do now?
05:46Hold on and brace yourselves, gang!
05:49Tally-ho!
06:02They stopped at the pond?
06:05There's something very strange going on.
06:07I mean, you got true love
06:08and snakes with gills and fins
06:10spending all this time in water.
06:12It's all very fishy.
06:14Fishy!
06:15Squeaks, you may be onto something.
06:17I don't think what we're dealing with here
06:18are snakes!
06:19Ha-ha!
06:20Right!
06:21And I'm not nature cat!
06:23Ha-ha-ha!
06:23No, seriously!
06:25Think about it!
06:26They have gills and fins,
06:27which fish have
06:28and snakes don't!
06:30So exactly what are you saying?
06:33That I think they're fish!
06:35Man, oh man!
06:36It's true!
06:37Fish that looks like a snake!
06:39Look!
06:40These here are called elvers!
06:42Elvers?
06:43What, pray tell, are those?
06:46Hmm.
06:46An elver is a young eel
06:48and eels live in water
06:50and are fish!
06:51It says American eels
06:53come from the Sargasso Sea.
06:55That's in the Atlantic Ocean!
06:57Ha!
06:58Ha-ha!
06:59A snake!
07:00Save me, huh?
07:01Oh!
07:02Hi there.
07:03Don't be afraid.
07:04Besides, I'm not a snake.
07:05I'm an eel.
07:06And eels are fish.
07:08Name's Leslie Eelson.
07:09Wait a second.
07:10You're an eel, too?
07:12But now you're a different color
07:13and a lot bigger!
07:16Oh, Leslie, what gorgeous slippery skin.
07:19I take it the slime is for protection.
07:21Bingo!
07:22It makes me so very hard to catch.
07:25I used to be small and looked like that.
07:28But after spending lots of time in the pond,
07:30I've gotten quite big.
07:32Wow, you sure must have eaten a lot
07:34to have grown this much.
07:35So if you're an eel,
07:36you didn't always live in this pond?
07:38Oh, yes, that's right.
07:40So if you came here from somewhere else,
07:43where did you come from originally?
07:45And what about true love?
07:47I can't say for sure where I came from.
07:52But I have a distant memory of hatching from an egg,
07:55then rising close to the ocean's surface.
07:58Then I floated a long way in the salty ocean water.
08:02Oh, right!
08:03The Sargasso Sea!
08:05Oh, but that is so far away from here!
08:07How did you get here?
08:08How'd you know where to go?
08:09What is going on?
08:11The ocean currents carried me to a distant coastline.
08:15I started to look like this elver,
08:18but I was still transparent.
08:19You could practically see right through me.
08:21Then I traveled like it did,
08:23upstream from the salty ocean to freshwater,
08:25scaling rocks and dams that got in my way,
08:27and even across land,
08:29until I ended up here.
08:33A fish walking on land?
08:35Whoa!
08:37Wow, Leslie, that's insane.
08:40Respect thy elvers, am I right?
08:44Do all eels end up in this pond?
08:46I mean, is this, like,
08:48the best eel pond in the world or something?
08:50Actually, there are many ponds
08:52where we eels go for food and shelter,
08:54lakes, streams and rivers, too.
08:56But now, after so many years living in this one spot,
08:59it's time for me to leave.
09:00To where, may I ask?
09:02I can't quite describe it.
09:04All I know is I'm about ready to head back
09:06the way I came so very long ago.
09:08So you don't know exactly where you're going,
09:10but why are you going there?
09:12I feel that I need to find a mate,
09:14a male eel that will father my offspring,
09:16and hopefully one with a good personality.
09:19Intelligent, charming.
09:21True love!
09:22It's all about true love!
09:25True love gets me every time!
09:28Oh, I bet you're so excited to find true love!
09:30Yes, my body's already starting to change
09:32to prepare for the trip.
09:34I've stopped eating,
09:34my eyes are growing to help me see better in deep water,
09:37and my underbelly is just starting to change
09:39from yellow-green to silver.
09:41Oh, silvery, suave, sophisticated,
09:44swimming with style!
09:45Leslie Ilsen!
09:47Gorgeous!
09:49Yes, I suppose.
09:51But it will also help provide camouflage
09:52to help me avoid sharks
09:54and other things that like to eat me.
09:57Right, right, and there's also that.
09:59Yeah, obviously.
09:59Hmm, so that would explain
10:02why Leslie and the Elver are different colors.
10:05Will the Elver be going with you?
10:07No, the Elver isn't ready yet.
10:09Needs time to grow up, just as I did.
10:12It may not leave for many years.
10:14Now, if you'll pardon me, farewell.
10:17If only we could see where Leslie goes
10:19to find out how this incredible story ends with true love!
10:24Wait, remember?
10:24Leslie said that she's heading back
10:26to where she came from!
10:28The majesty of the Sargasso Sea.
10:30So that must be where Leslie's going now!
10:33I'm game to follow her if you guys are.
10:35Oh, I'm always game, baby!
10:37Uh, Nature Cat, to do this,
10:39we're gonna have to travel on water.
10:42For a story about true love,
10:44tis worth it.
10:46Onward and Sargasso Seaward!
11:15Leslie looks different.
11:17So, so sophisticated?
11:20I'm sorry.
11:23Ah, true love!
11:26Hey, where'd she go?
11:27Huh?
11:28We've lost drag of her!
11:29She's gone!
11:31Oh, to have come all this way
11:33and not know how her story ends.
11:36It's just so unfair!
11:38Nature Cat, I know it's disappointing,
11:40but did you ever think that maybe,
11:43just maybe,
11:43there are some things about nature
11:45that we don't yet understand?
11:48I suppose we can't know everything.
11:51Ah, yes.
11:52The wonders of nature, nature, nature.
11:55Viva la nature!
11:58Farewell, our Leslie Ilson,
12:00wherever you may be,
12:01and stay safe.
12:02Oh, I sure hope she finds true love out there.
12:06So do I, Daisy.
12:08So do I.
12:12Skip it!
12:16Ah, what a perfect day to be at the lake.
12:19The sun is shining.
12:21The birds are chirping.
12:23The water is...
12:24a safe distance away.
12:26Am I right?
12:27Well, what should we do first, guys?
12:29We can play with Harold!
12:31Benny!
12:32Or build a sandcastle!
12:37Oh, yes!
12:38Yeah!
12:41Or maybe we could play with me,
12:43Harold, everyone's favorite.
12:45We could fly a kite!
12:49Oh, I know!
12:50We could, um...
12:51Let me guess, play with Harold?
12:52Hey, how did you know I was gonna say that?
12:54Can you read my mind?
12:56We can do it all, gang!
12:58Isn't that right, Rocky?
13:00My most favorite loyal rock friend!
13:03No rock is more perfectly sized,
13:06more perfectly flat,
13:08more perfectly smooth,
13:10or more perfectly perfect than you!
13:14There's nothing that could ruin this perfect day!
13:17Oh, hello, Nature Cat!
13:21Oh, hello, Nature Cat!
13:35Ronald!
13:36Today, I've skipped my way to first place
13:39three years in a row!
13:40But who's counting?
13:42I guess I am!
13:44You are competing, aren't you, Nature Cat?
13:47Competing?
13:48Of course I am!
13:50I skip with my rock all the time!
13:52You could even say I'm an expert on the subject!
13:55Watch this!
13:56Skipping with my rock, I'm skipping with my rock!
14:00I'm skipping with my rock!
14:01Look at him!
14:02Uh, Nature Cat?
14:04That's not how you skip a rock!
14:05It's not?
14:06I mean, of course it's not!
14:09That was just part of our warm-up!
14:11Right, Rocky?
14:15Now, Nature Cat,
14:16skipping rocks is when you throw a rock across the water
14:19so it bounces along the surface before it sinks!
14:22Let the champ show you how it's done!
14:24Rock me!
14:25Here you go, champ!
14:30Man, oh man!
14:32Look how far it went!
14:33How many times did it skip?
14:35I ran out of fingers and toes to count with!
14:37Uh-oh!
14:39Think that was good!
14:41Watch this!
14:43Uh, wait!
14:45I can't throw you, Rocky!
14:48How about you watch safely from my pocket?
14:52Okay, buddy, you got it!
14:53Rock and roll!
14:54Rock and roll, Nature Cat!
14:59Woo-wee!
15:00Mm-mm-mm!
15:01Better keep practicing, Nature Cat!
15:03Looks like my victory is set in stone!
15:06Get it?
15:07Stone!
15:08I cracked myself, bro!
15:12Why didn't my rock skip?
15:14Well, that was the first time you ever skipped a rock!
15:17With practice!
15:18Lots of practice!
15:19You'll be able to win the tournament!
15:22You're right!
15:23Come on, gang!
15:24Victory is only a stone's throw away!
15:28You want rocks?
15:30I give you...
15:32ROCKS!
15:33We've hit the rock jackpot!
15:35Great thinking, Squeaks!
15:39There are all different kinds of rocks, but we need to find the right rock for the job!
15:44I bet this rock would be good for building big things like walls and bridges!
15:48Oh, and this rock is good for riding on it with chalk!
15:51Wow!
15:51But, uh, we're looking for a good rock to skip!
15:54And these little rocks would probably be good for, uh, uh, I don't know, being little and cute or something?
16:00Ugh!
16:01There are just so many different sizes and shapes of rocks!
16:04I know!
16:05Pretty cool, huh?
16:05I learned about this at my rock stars club.
16:08See, over time, big rocks get broken into smaller rocks by wind or water or other rocks!
16:15Wait, so this was once a bigger rock?
16:18Say hi to your big brother, little pebble!
16:20Hey, bro!
16:22Huh, but what will make a rock right for the job of skipping across the water really, really far?
16:28Yeah, how do we find that out?
16:29By skipping lots and lots of different kinds of rocks!
16:33Well, you don't have to ask me twice!
16:35Nice!
16:37Okay, gang, grab as many rocks as you can carry!
16:40Tally-ho!
16:44Okay, let's first test the size of these rocks!
16:48Rocks at the ready!
16:53Little pebble, ready!
16:57Median-sized stone, ready!
17:01Bigger rock, ready!
17:05An even bigger rock, ready!
17:10My rock didn't even skip once!
17:13But Daisy, your rock skipped the most and went the farthest!
17:16What kind of rock did you throw?
17:18I'd say it was kind of like this!
17:20Medium-sized, not too big and not too heavy for me!
17:23Yes, yes!
17:24Not too big or heavy for us!
17:27Tally-ho!
17:31I got a medium-sized rock for me!
17:34So do I!
17:36Me too!
17:37Me too too as well as well!
17:41Now, onward and throwward!
17:55Hey, mine skipped five times!
17:58Hmm, but we all used medium-sized rocks!
18:01Yeah, Big Dog, why did yours skip so much better than ours?
18:04Well, mine had a flat bottom, so that might help!
18:07Hey, wait!
18:08That's right!
18:09My first rock was pretty flat, too!
18:12Sounds like we just narrowed our rock search, gang!
18:14Medium-sized, flat rocks!
18:19Found one!
18:19Found one!
18:20Me too too as well, too too!
18:23Okay, so we each have a rock that is not too heavy and not too white, but just the right
18:28size for each of us, and is pretty flat!
18:31Yeah, but, uh, look, mine is round, yours is really jagged, yours is, like, long and skinny,
18:36do you think the shape of the rock matters, too?
18:39Only one way to find out, gang!
18:42Ready!
18:43Now, let them fly!
18:55Ugh, mine just sunk again!
18:58But Squeaks' rock skipped the most number of times!
19:02It was like this one, flat and smooth.
19:05Shape didn't seem to have much to do with it.
19:07So maybe flat, smooth rocks that are not too big and not too small skipped the best!
19:12We need to test more of these flat, smooth, medium-shaped rocks!
19:19Ha-ha!
19:21Yes!
19:21That is definitely the right shape and size!
19:24Mine just skipped three times!
19:27Three times?
19:28Oh, wow, that's really great, Nature Cat!
19:31Almost as great as...
19:32This!
19:33Oh!
19:38Yeah, that'll show them, champ!
19:41Ah, but still none of our rocks went as far as Ronald's!
19:43Nope!
19:44Never have!
19:45Never will!
19:46Oh!
19:47And it is almost time for the contest to start!
19:49Good luck!
19:50Toodle to the oo!
19:53I'm doomed!
19:55Oh, come on, Nature Cat!
19:57Need to think, think, think!
19:59If only it were a flying disc-throwing competition!
20:04Whoa!
20:08Whoa!
20:10Did you see how that skipped across the ground?
20:12Just like a rock on the water!
20:15Hmm...
20:16Just throw your rock like you throw Harold!
20:18Waist level using your wrist to give it a spin!
20:26I'm getting better!
20:28The competition's about to begin!
20:31Skippers, to the stage!
20:32Ha!
20:34Let's skip!
20:35A-what?
20:40Welcome to the 4th Annual Neighborhood Rock Skipping Championship of the World!
20:45Are you ready to rock?
20:46Skip rocks, that is!
20:48Yeah!
20:50Woo-hoo!
20:51Woo-hoo!
20:52Skippers, take your positions!
20:55In three, two, one, throw!
20:59Woo-hoo!
21:00Woo-hoo!
21:13And the winner is...
21:16Woo-hoo!
21:16Hold your horses, everyone!
21:19I can't believe it!
21:21We have a tie!
21:22A tie?!
21:24Nooo!
21:25That's right!
21:26Nature Cat and Ruddle skipped their rocks the same distance!
21:28Looks like we'll have to go to a tiebreaker. One final throw!
21:33Hm. Beginner's luck.
21:34Go get him, champ!
21:37I need another rock. And not just any rock. The right rock for the job.
21:43I don't see any more around here.
21:45Pretty hard to compete if you don't have a rock, huh, Nature Cat?
21:49Guess they'll just have to crown me the rock-skipping champion. Again!
21:54Hm. I just need a flat, smooth, medium-sized...
22:00Wait. I have the most perfectly sized, most perfectly flat, most perfectly smooth, most perfectly perfect rock there ever was.
22:09Rocky? But Nature Cat, you love Rocky. You can't throw him.
22:14I do love you, Rocky. But as the saying goes, if you love something, let it skip across the lake.
22:19Goodbye, Rocky.
22:20Okay, Ronald. Let's do this.
22:23Competitors, take your marks!
22:26Three!
22:28Two!
22:30One!
22:31Tally throw!
22:51Two!
22:52Two!
22:53Two!
22:54Nature Cat, weird!
22:56Ha, ha, ha!
22:56Woo-hoo!
22:58Give it up for our new rock-skipping champion, Nature Cat! Ha, ha, ha, ha, yeah!
23:03Woo-hoo!
23:04You did it, Nature Cat!
23:06No, we did it. I couldn't have done it without you guys.
23:10What do you say we keep skipping rocks?
23:12Come on, gang. Let's rock!
23:16Nature Cat, Squeaks, Daisy, and Howl are cartoon characters and not real animals.
23:22To keep all of our animal friends safe, check with a grown-up before you bring a pet on your
23:27next nature adventure.
23:29Ha, ha!
23:30Ha, ha!
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