August 24, 2025 • 27 mins
Do you like pumpkin? Well, both Geraldine and Jo have orange pumpkin-coloured happy pants on today!
The objects in their pockets lead them to talking about BIG things. What big things do you know? There are planes, trains, deserts, ostriches... and Halloween pumpkins of course!
Tractors are big, too, so you'll hear a story about those. Plus, some songs, and heaps of interesting BIG ideas!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:13):
One, two, three. It's happy pants.
S2 (00:29):
Good day. And welcome to Happy Pants, a show especially
for kids and especially for you. My name is Geraldine
and my name is Joe. And together, we're your happy
pants team for today. Are you wearing your happy pants today?
We are today. Mine are creamy orange. The kind of
(00:51):
orange that makes me think of the warm, thick pumpkin
soup we're having for lunch. Oh, mine are orange, too,
just like yours. Geraldine. And this kind of orange makes
me think of the luscious pumpkin pie I've made for dessert. Yeah,
just right for a cold winter's day. Hot, rich, creamy
(01:16):
pumpkin soup and sweet pumpkin pie with lots of sultanas
and a crisp, crunchy crust and whipped cream on top.
Savoury or sweet pumpkin is a very versatile fruit. Big
word alert versatile means able to be used in many ways.
(01:39):
Isn't pumpkin a vegetable? Oh well. We think of pumpkin
as a vegetable, but it is the part of the
plant which holds the seeds, so it really is a fruit.
Fruit or vegetable? Who cares? It's delicious any way you
cook it. Pumpkins came from North America more than 300
years ago, and when they were first grown in England,
(02:01):
in Europe, people thought they were only good for cattle
and pig food. Well, they're much more popular now. Roast
dinner isn't complete without pumpkin. Geraldine. I don't think we're
supposed to be talking about pumpkins, though. We haven't checked
our pockets for happy pants clues yet. Well, you're right,
Happy Pants always puts clues in our pockets, and we
(02:24):
have to work out what they mean and talk about that. Now,
pocket 110, a model train. Pocket two. It's a model aeroplane.
Back pocket a picture of a whale shark. How about you, Joe? Oh,
(02:44):
let's have a look. Um. Pocket one. Oh, a model
of a mountain, it says. A souvenir of Mount Everest.
Pocket two. A handful of dry sand. The back pocket
probably has a bucket and spade. Nope. It's a picture
(03:05):
of an ostrich. Oh, hang on, there's something else. A
packet of pumpkin seeds. Concedes. Okay, let's think about this.
They must all belong together somehow. The train and the
aeroplane are machines. The whale shark and the ostrich are animals. Well,
that leaves the model mountain. The sand and the pumpkin seeds. Mhm.
(03:28):
Where do you find lots of sand? Um, well, at
the beach or in the desert? Oh, wait a bit.
The sand was dry, so it's probably desert sand. Well,
I guess we could put mountains and deserts together, but
that still leaves the seeds. They wouldn't grow in the desert.
Not on a mountain either. Well, they must all fit
(03:48):
together somehow. Oh, we need thinking music. Ah, that might help.
Something to stir up our bodies and get our brains
ticking over so we can work out this happy pants puzzle.
We could try moving like an emu. That should get
everything going. Find a space. Make one arm into a
(04:09):
long EMU neck with an emu head on the end. Ready.
S1 (06:39):
V is for vision. A is for Australia. I is
for radio.
S2 (06:46):
Mm. Any thoughts? Geraldine. Mhm. What if the clue is
not what the things are but how big they are.
Oh that might work. Trains and planes are pretty big
and mountains and deserts are pretty big too. Whale sharks
are big and ostriches are very big. Birds are that
(07:09):
leaves these small pumpkin seeds. How did those fit in? Well,
maybe it's the biggest thing of its kind that we're
supposed to talk about. I've thought of some words to
use instead of big. We could use words like huge, immense,
enormous and colossal. Oh, what great words. Let me think. Um.
(07:34):
How about massive? Mammoth, gigantic or vast? How about humongous
or whopping? Oh, can I add tremendous and stupendous? We
could use any of those. They all mean very big indeed. Hmm.
The first thing was trains. What's the biggest train in
(07:55):
the world? Oh, that's an Australian one. The biggest train
in the world works in the north west corner of
Western Australia, carrying iron ore. It uses eight engines to
pull 682 loaded wagons, and it's more than seven kilometres long.
(08:16):
That's one humongous train. The biggest road train in the
world was put together in Queensland. It had 113 trailers
and measured 1.5km long. Oh, just imagine trying to pass
that mammoth Road train. Mm. Well, I'm still thinking about
(08:38):
that seven kilometer long iron ore train. You could be
like that huge train. Find a space, turn your arms
into big wheels and chuff along with the music. Aeroplanes
(10:23):
came next on the list. The biggest passenger plane on
the planet is the Airbus A380. It is 73m long
and 80m wingtip to wingtip. If you measured that in
very tall dad's lying head to toe, it would be
37 dads long and 40 dads long across the wings.
(10:49):
It can carry 853 passengers, but it usually has 525
people on board. The biggest fish in the sea is
the whale shark. It's up to 18m long and that's
about as long as nine very tall dads. Head to
toe isn't any kind of whale, though it was only
(11:12):
called that because of its size. It's a giant shark.
It has several hundred teeth, but only uses them to
strain food out of the seawater. It eats really little stuff,
such as krill, small schooling fish and jellyfish, and humans
are not on the menu, so it's quite safe to
(11:33):
swim along next to one. The biggest mammal in the
world is the blue whale. It is as long as
two whale sharks, and can weigh about the same as
140 family cars. Although it's so huge it eats very
small prey called krill, which look a bit like tiny
(11:56):
red prawns. It takes in huge gulps of seawater and
squishes it out through some bony plates in its mouth.
Anything small in the water gets strained out and swallowed.
Like the whale shark, it isn't interested in swallowing big
things like humans. Both whale sharks and blue whales visit
(12:17):
Australia's coastline every year. Wow. We certainly have some massive
things that either live here or visit regularly. Hey, how
about ostriches? They are massive birds. But they don't live
in Australia, do they? No. Ostriches are the biggest bird
in the world, but they live in Africa. We can't
(12:40):
claim the prize for the biggest bird. But we do
have the second and third place getters. The cassowary comes
in second because it weighs more and the emu is third.
New Zealand did have the biggest bird called the moa,
but it died out hundreds of years ago, so that
doesn't count. Hmm. So what big things are left? Well,
(13:02):
let me see that list. Mhm. We talked about the
biggest trains and the biggest planes, biggest fish, mammals and birds. Oh.
Next was mountains and deserts. Ah. Well, Mount Everest is
certainly the tallest mountain on dry land. It's so high
(13:23):
that the air up the top is actually thinner than
what we are used to. So many climbers use air
tanks if they want to go right to the top.
There's a mountain called Manuka near Hawaii that is actually
1000m taller than Mount Everest, but its feet are on
the ocean floor and only the top sticks out above
(13:44):
the sea. Australia doesn't have any really tall mountains, but
we do have the world's biggest rock. I bet you're
going to say Uluru. Uluru does have the record for
the world's biggest monolith though. So. Big word alert. A
(14:05):
monolith is a rock that is all by itself, not
part of a range. The biggest single rock in the
whole world is Burringurrah or Mount Augustus. It's part of
an ancient range in the north west of Western Australia,
and it's twice the size of Uluru. So Australia has
(14:26):
the biggest single rock and the biggest monolith. Mm. Well,
the only pocket clues we haven't talked about are the
desert sand and those pumpkin seeds. So deserts Australia does
have plenty of deserts. And the biggest is the great
Victoria Desert. It's not in Victoria, though. It was just
(14:49):
named after the same queen. None of our deserts come
close to being the biggest in the world. The biggest
sand desert in the world is is the Sahara in
North Africa, and you could fit at least three great
Victorias into the Sahara. Not all deserts are sand deserts, though.
(15:11):
The biggest desert in the world is Antarctica. Huh? But
that's covered in ice. That's water. And deserts don't have water.
A desert is any place which never has much rain.
And where very little grows. It's too cold for rain
in Antarctica. And there are very few plants that grow there.
(15:33):
All that water trapped in the ice is of no
use at all because it's permanently frozen. Antarctica is a
desert and ice desert. Well, I never. Oh, I have
worked out why happy pants put those pumpkin seeds in
our pockets, though I suppose we could plant them. And
(15:53):
then we would have pumpkins for lots of soups and
pies and roast dinners and Pumpkin scones. Well, not these ones, Geraldine.
The fruit's not much good for eating. These are the
seeds of giant pumpkins. And they're grown for competitions. For
the biggest pumpkin. Now, the biggest pumpkin in the world
(16:14):
was grown in America, and it weighed in at a
bit more than one ton. About the same as a car.
The biggest in Australia weighed 867kg. Now think of all
the kids in your class at school, all packed into
the back half of your car, and you'll have some
idea about how big and heavy these pumpkins can grow.
(16:38):
Do you know the seeds cost $8 each? How many
seats were there? Geraldine? Did you count them? I think
there were ten, Joe. Now, where did I put them?
Not on the desk or on the table. Hmm. Well,
we'd better find them, then how much were they worth altogether? Well,
(17:01):
there are ten of them, and they were $8 each.
So that comes to, um, ten. Lots of eight. Well,
that's going to be a lot of money when you've
worked it out, Geraldine. Oh, you would give that job
to me, wouldn't you? I'm thinking ten. Lots of eight.
(17:22):
That's the same as eight. Lots of ten and ten. 20, 80, $80. Yeah.
Better check that. Do the leaving off the zero from
the tantric. Okay. Ten without the zero is one and
one lot of eight is eight. Put the zero back
(17:44):
on the end and you get 80. Yep. $80. Now
we do have to find those seeds. Tell you what, Joe.
We could have some imagination music while we look. Oh.
Good idea. How about some mountain music? We were talking
about mountains a few minutes ago. Find a comfortable place
(18:07):
and let the music tell you what's happening. Maybe you're
climbing and it's very steep and rocky. Maybe you come
to a smooth, clear place where you can just stroll along.
Perhaps you hear a rock falling, bouncing away down the mountain.
Then when you get to the top, there might be
(18:28):
a warm, gentle wind blowing the clouds around, and you
can stretch out as if you're at the top of
the world and you can touch the sky. Walking down
would be easy. No hard bits to climb over. Thunder. Oh!
(19:27):
Where were they? In my pocket. Ah, just in time.
So we can relax and listen to today's story. It's
about a boy called Frankie who loved one special kind
of big thing more than anything else. We'll let Frankie
tell you all about it. All of the factors of
why I Love Tractors by Davina Bell and Jenny. Lovely.
(19:54):
I'm off for an outing with mama today. And not
just down to the park for a play. Where are
we going? Can you guess? Take a look. I'll give
you a hint. And the hint is a book. Down
past the school and the pool and the shop. I
run through the door with a skip and a hop.
(20:14):
The library. Hello there, Francie McGee. Miss squid, the librarian
whispers to me. It's a place where you're not meant
to shout, yell or cry. So I whisper back hi
as I walk quickly by. Oh, no, says my mum
(20:36):
with a very big groan when I show her the
book I want to take home. There are more than
a squillion good books here to try. Why is it
always those tractors, Frank? Why? Why? Thank you for asking,
I say with great glee. I'd love to explain why
(20:56):
they're special to me, and all of the various glorious
factors that make up the love I have for all tractors. First,
four big black tires on wheels that can travel through
huge muddy fields and across pits of gravel. A rumbling engine,
(21:16):
a pipe that spits smoke, a rake if you're raking
a hoe that can poke a seat for the farmer,
a wheel that she steers, and a grumbling noise when
she changes the gears, levers and buttons and pedals to press.
Trucks have those too. Mama loudly protests a little more. Hush!
(21:41):
Thank you, Mrs. Magee. The librarian calls. Use your library voice. Please,
I say softly. But mama trucks just cannot do all
the things that attract a can. Let me tell you.
A tractor has all different bits that attach a shovel
(22:03):
for digging, a vegetable patch, a plow to turn earth
so it's ready for seeds, a sharp blade to chop
all your troublesome weeds. Oh, please stop, says my mum.
I've heard quite enough, but I'm only beginning. They do
heaps of stuff. You used to like trains, my mother complains.
(22:28):
But then I got bigger and so did my brains.
And I realised trains only chug round on a track.
How boring. I'm snoring. Just thinking of that. Police cars
have sirens, gliders have wings, and forklifts have forks if
(22:49):
you're into those things. But not one of those things
is a good enough factor to challenge my love for
a shiny red tractor like an old Massey Ferguson. Oh,
what a machine. Or if Red's not around, well, I
guess I'd take green. It's the color of tractors made
by John Deere. I know, says my mum. I've been
(23:14):
hearing all year. What about fire trucks with ladders and
hoses or planes with their wide wings and cute little noses?
Cranes are so tall they can help build a wall.
They can lift things up high. They can lower and
haul a cement mixer. All it can do is go
(23:39):
round a steamroller. Just sort of squashes the ground. A
Martha launches a big bunch of yawns and a trawler
can only go trawling for prawns. What's wrong with tractors?
I don't understand. Oh, Frank, I'm sorry, but I just
(24:04):
can't stand any more books about them. Will these do instead?
Cable cars, submarines, taxis, a sled. This one has rockets
high flying in space. Or one that has cars driving
fast in a race. No, thanks. I say in my
(24:27):
most polite voice. But I think you'll be pleased with
my choice. I'll lend it to you if you're interested too.
There's so much you could learn about what tractors do
for yells mama. She says, Miss Squid, did you find something, Frank? Rank.
(24:51):
Why yes, yes I did. For many various glorious factors.
I want this book and it's all about tractors. I
would never have guessed, says Miss Squid with a wink. Well,
you know yourself best when you want something different. Just
(25:12):
come and find me. A boy who likes books is
a nice thing to see. See, mama? I say as
we check our books out. I like books. That's what matters.
Not what they're about. And don't worry, I add. I
know this one by heart. I can read it to
(25:35):
you all the way from the start. That was a
reading of all of the factors of why I love tractors.
The writers were Davina Bell and Jenny Lovely, and the
reader was Geraldine. Mm. So what have we done today, Geraldine? Well,
(25:55):
we heard about a whole lot of humongous big things,
many of which are in Australia. Actually, Australia is a
pretty big thing all on its own. The biggest island, actually.
It is such a big island that it's counted as
a continent. We had lots of lovely big words to
(26:18):
use instead of big. And two big words to add
to our list. There was versatile, which means something that
can be used for many purposes, and monolith, which means
a big rock that stands by itself. Our story was
about Frankie, who loved tractors, not bulldozers or cranes or
(26:41):
even fire engines, just tractors. If there was anything in
today's programme about which you would like to know more.
Or you would like to know how we made our
pumpkin soup or pumpkin pie. You can contact us on
radio at Vision Australia. Keep wearing those happy pants and
(27:02):
we'll catch you next time.
S3 (27:16):
Happy pants is produced on the lands of the Whadjuk
Noongar people. Vision Australia Radio acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples as the first Australians, and the traditional owners
of the land across our working area. We pay our
respects to elders past, present and future in maintaining their cultures,
countries and their spiritual connection to the lands and waters.
Vision Australia Radio acknowledges and respects the genuine diversity and
(27:40):
richness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across Australia.
Happy pants has been made possible with the support of
the Community Broadcasting Foundation.
One, two, three. It's happy pants.
S2 (00:29):
Good day. And welcome to Happy Pants, a show especially
for kids and especially for you. My name is Geraldine
and my name is Joe. And together, we're your happy
pants team for today. Are you wearing your happy pants today?
We are today. Mine are creamy orange. The kind of
(00:51):
orange that makes me think of the warm, thick pumpkin
soup we're having for lunch. Oh, mine are orange, too,
just like yours. Geraldine. And this kind of orange makes
me think of the luscious pumpkin pie I've made for dessert. Yeah,
just right for a cold winter's day. Hot, rich, creamy
(01:16):
pumpkin soup and sweet pumpkin pie with lots of sultanas
and a crisp, crunchy crust and whipped cream on top.
Savoury or sweet pumpkin is a very versatile fruit. Big
word alert versatile means able to be used in many ways.
(01:39):
Isn't pumpkin a vegetable? Oh well. We think of pumpkin
as a vegetable, but it is the part of the
plant which holds the seeds, so it really is a fruit.
Fruit or vegetable? Who cares? It's delicious any way you
cook it. Pumpkins came from North America more than 300
years ago, and when they were first grown in England,
(02:01):
in Europe, people thought they were only good for cattle
and pig food. Well, they're much more popular now. Roast
dinner isn't complete without pumpkin. Geraldine. I don't think we're
supposed to be talking about pumpkins, though. We haven't checked
our pockets for happy pants clues yet. Well, you're right,
Happy Pants always puts clues in our pockets, and we
(02:24):
have to work out what they mean and talk about that. Now,
pocket 110, a model train. Pocket two. It's a model aeroplane.
Back pocket a picture of a whale shark. How about you, Joe? Oh,
(02:44):
let's have a look. Um. Pocket one. Oh, a model
of a mountain, it says. A souvenir of Mount Everest.
Pocket two. A handful of dry sand. The back pocket
probably has a bucket and spade. Nope. It's a picture
(03:05):
of an ostrich. Oh, hang on, there's something else. A
packet of pumpkin seeds. Concedes. Okay, let's think about this.
They must all belong together somehow. The train and the
aeroplane are machines. The whale shark and the ostrich are animals. Well,
that leaves the model mountain. The sand and the pumpkin seeds. Mhm.
(03:28):
Where do you find lots of sand? Um, well, at
the beach or in the desert? Oh, wait a bit.
The sand was dry, so it's probably desert sand. Well,
I guess we could put mountains and deserts together, but
that still leaves the seeds. They wouldn't grow in the desert.
Not on a mountain either. Well, they must all fit
(03:48):
together somehow. Oh, we need thinking music. Ah, that might help.
Something to stir up our bodies and get our brains
ticking over so we can work out this happy pants puzzle.
We could try moving like an emu. That should get
everything going. Find a space. Make one arm into a
(04:09):
long EMU neck with an emu head on the end. Ready.
S1 (06:39):
V is for vision. A is for Australia. I is
for radio.
S2 (06:46):
Mm. Any thoughts? Geraldine. Mhm. What if the clue is
not what the things are but how big they are.
Oh that might work. Trains and planes are pretty big
and mountains and deserts are pretty big too. Whale sharks
are big and ostriches are very big. Birds are that
(07:09):
leaves these small pumpkin seeds. How did those fit in? Well,
maybe it's the biggest thing of its kind that we're
supposed to talk about. I've thought of some words to
use instead of big. We could use words like huge, immense,
enormous and colossal. Oh, what great words. Let me think. Um.
(07:34):
How about massive? Mammoth, gigantic or vast? How about humongous
or whopping? Oh, can I add tremendous and stupendous? We
could use any of those. They all mean very big indeed. Hmm.
The first thing was trains. What's the biggest train in
(07:55):
the world? Oh, that's an Australian one. The biggest train
in the world works in the north west corner of
Western Australia, carrying iron ore. It uses eight engines to
pull 682 loaded wagons, and it's more than seven kilometres long.
(08:16):
That's one humongous train. The biggest road train in the
world was put together in Queensland. It had 113 trailers
and measured 1.5km long. Oh, just imagine trying to pass
that mammoth Road train. Mm. Well, I'm still thinking about
(08:38):
that seven kilometer long iron ore train. You could be
like that huge train. Find a space, turn your arms
into big wheels and chuff along with the music. Aeroplanes
(10:23):
came next on the list. The biggest passenger plane on
the planet is the Airbus A380. It is 73m long
and 80m wingtip to wingtip. If you measured that in
very tall dad's lying head to toe, it would be
37 dads long and 40 dads long across the wings.
(10:49):
It can carry 853 passengers, but it usually has 525
people on board. The biggest fish in the sea is
the whale shark. It's up to 18m long and that's
about as long as nine very tall dads. Head to
toe isn't any kind of whale, though it was only
(11:12):
called that because of its size. It's a giant shark.
It has several hundred teeth, but only uses them to
strain food out of the seawater. It eats really little stuff,
such as krill, small schooling fish and jellyfish, and humans
are not on the menu, so it's quite safe to
(11:33):
swim along next to one. The biggest mammal in the
world is the blue whale. It is as long as
two whale sharks, and can weigh about the same as
140 family cars. Although it's so huge it eats very
small prey called krill, which look a bit like tiny
(11:56):
red prawns. It takes in huge gulps of seawater and
squishes it out through some bony plates in its mouth.
Anything small in the water gets strained out and swallowed.
Like the whale shark, it isn't interested in swallowing big
things like humans. Both whale sharks and blue whales visit
(12:17):
Australia's coastline every year. Wow. We certainly have some massive
things that either live here or visit regularly. Hey, how
about ostriches? They are massive birds. But they don't live
in Australia, do they? No. Ostriches are the biggest bird
in the world, but they live in Africa. We can't
(12:40):
claim the prize for the biggest bird. But we do
have the second and third place getters. The cassowary comes
in second because it weighs more and the emu is third.
New Zealand did have the biggest bird called the moa,
but it died out hundreds of years ago, so that
doesn't count. Hmm. So what big things are left? Well,
(13:02):
let me see that list. Mhm. We talked about the
biggest trains and the biggest planes, biggest fish, mammals and birds. Oh.
Next was mountains and deserts. Ah. Well, Mount Everest is
certainly the tallest mountain on dry land. It's so high
(13:23):
that the air up the top is actually thinner than
what we are used to. So many climbers use air
tanks if they want to go right to the top.
There's a mountain called Manuka near Hawaii that is actually
1000m taller than Mount Everest, but its feet are on
the ocean floor and only the top sticks out above
(13:44):
the sea. Australia doesn't have any really tall mountains, but
we do have the world's biggest rock. I bet you're
going to say Uluru. Uluru does have the record for
the world's biggest monolith though. So. Big word alert. A
(14:05):
monolith is a rock that is all by itself, not
part of a range. The biggest single rock in the
whole world is Burringurrah or Mount Augustus. It's part of
an ancient range in the north west of Western Australia,
and it's twice the size of Uluru. So Australia has
(14:26):
the biggest single rock and the biggest monolith. Mm. Well,
the only pocket clues we haven't talked about are the
desert sand and those pumpkin seeds. So deserts Australia does
have plenty of deserts. And the biggest is the great
Victoria Desert. It's not in Victoria, though. It was just
(14:49):
named after the same queen. None of our deserts come
close to being the biggest in the world. The biggest
sand desert in the world is is the Sahara in
North Africa, and you could fit at least three great
Victorias into the Sahara. Not all deserts are sand deserts, though.
(15:11):
The biggest desert in the world is Antarctica. Huh? But
that's covered in ice. That's water. And deserts don't have water.
A desert is any place which never has much rain.
And where very little grows. It's too cold for rain
in Antarctica. And there are very few plants that grow there.
(15:33):
All that water trapped in the ice is of no
use at all because it's permanently frozen. Antarctica is a
desert and ice desert. Well, I never. Oh, I have
worked out why happy pants put those pumpkin seeds in
our pockets, though I suppose we could plant them. And
(15:53):
then we would have pumpkins for lots of soups and
pies and roast dinners and Pumpkin scones. Well, not these ones, Geraldine.
The fruit's not much good for eating. These are the
seeds of giant pumpkins. And they're grown for competitions. For
the biggest pumpkin. Now, the biggest pumpkin in the world
(16:14):
was grown in America, and it weighed in at a
bit more than one ton. About the same as a car.
The biggest in Australia weighed 867kg. Now think of all
the kids in your class at school, all packed into
the back half of your car, and you'll have some
idea about how big and heavy these pumpkins can grow.
(16:38):
Do you know the seeds cost $8 each? How many
seats were there? Geraldine? Did you count them? I think
there were ten, Joe. Now, where did I put them?
Not on the desk or on the table. Hmm. Well,
we'd better find them, then how much were they worth altogether? Well,
(17:01):
there are ten of them, and they were $8 each.
So that comes to, um, ten. Lots of eight. Well,
that's going to be a lot of money when you've
worked it out, Geraldine. Oh, you would give that job
to me, wouldn't you? I'm thinking ten. Lots of eight.
(17:22):
That's the same as eight. Lots of ten and ten. 20, 80, $80. Yeah.
Better check that. Do the leaving off the zero from
the tantric. Okay. Ten without the zero is one and
one lot of eight is eight. Put the zero back
(17:44):
on the end and you get 80. Yep. $80. Now
we do have to find those seeds. Tell you what, Joe.
We could have some imagination music while we look. Oh.
Good idea. How about some mountain music? We were talking
about mountains a few minutes ago. Find a comfortable place
(18:07):
and let the music tell you what's happening. Maybe you're
climbing and it's very steep and rocky. Maybe you come
to a smooth, clear place where you can just stroll along.
Perhaps you hear a rock falling, bouncing away down the mountain.
Then when you get to the top, there might be
(18:28):
a warm, gentle wind blowing the clouds around, and you
can stretch out as if you're at the top of
the world and you can touch the sky. Walking down
would be easy. No hard bits to climb over. Thunder. Oh!
(19:27):
Where were they? In my pocket. Ah, just in time.
So we can relax and listen to today's story. It's
about a boy called Frankie who loved one special kind
of big thing more than anything else. We'll let Frankie
tell you all about it. All of the factors of
why I Love Tractors by Davina Bell and Jenny. Lovely.
(19:54):
I'm off for an outing with mama today. And not
just down to the park for a play. Where are
we going? Can you guess? Take a look. I'll give
you a hint. And the hint is a book. Down
past the school and the pool and the shop. I
run through the door with a skip and a hop.
(20:14):
The library. Hello there, Francie McGee. Miss squid, the librarian
whispers to me. It's a place where you're not meant
to shout, yell or cry. So I whisper back hi
as I walk quickly by. Oh, no, says my mum
(20:36):
with a very big groan when I show her the
book I want to take home. There are more than
a squillion good books here to try. Why is it
always those tractors, Frank? Why? Why? Thank you for asking,
I say with great glee. I'd love to explain why
(20:56):
they're special to me, and all of the various glorious
factors that make up the love I have for all tractors. First,
four big black tires on wheels that can travel through
huge muddy fields and across pits of gravel. A rumbling engine,
(21:16):
a pipe that spits smoke, a rake if you're raking
a hoe that can poke a seat for the farmer,
a wheel that she steers, and a grumbling noise when
she changes the gears, levers and buttons and pedals to press.
Trucks have those too. Mama loudly protests a little more. Hush!
(21:41):
Thank you, Mrs. Magee. The librarian calls. Use your library voice. Please,
I say softly. But mama trucks just cannot do all
the things that attract a can. Let me tell you.
A tractor has all different bits that attach a shovel
(22:03):
for digging, a vegetable patch, a plow to turn earth
so it's ready for seeds, a sharp blade to chop
all your troublesome weeds. Oh, please stop, says my mum.
I've heard quite enough, but I'm only beginning. They do
heaps of stuff. You used to like trains, my mother complains.
(22:28):
But then I got bigger and so did my brains.
And I realised trains only chug round on a track.
How boring. I'm snoring. Just thinking of that. Police cars
have sirens, gliders have wings, and forklifts have forks if
(22:49):
you're into those things. But not one of those things
is a good enough factor to challenge my love for
a shiny red tractor like an old Massey Ferguson. Oh,
what a machine. Or if Red's not around, well, I
guess I'd take green. It's the color of tractors made
by John Deere. I know, says my mum. I've been
(23:14):
hearing all year. What about fire trucks with ladders and
hoses or planes with their wide wings and cute little noses?
Cranes are so tall they can help build a wall.
They can lift things up high. They can lower and
haul a cement mixer. All it can do is go
(23:39):
round a steamroller. Just sort of squashes the ground. A
Martha launches a big bunch of yawns and a trawler
can only go trawling for prawns. What's wrong with tractors?
I don't understand. Oh, Frank, I'm sorry, but I just
(24:04):
can't stand any more books about them. Will these do instead?
Cable cars, submarines, taxis, a sled. This one has rockets
high flying in space. Or one that has cars driving
fast in a race. No, thanks. I say in my
(24:27):
most polite voice. But I think you'll be pleased with
my choice. I'll lend it to you if you're interested too.
There's so much you could learn about what tractors do
for yells mama. She says, Miss Squid, did you find something, Frank? Rank.
(24:51):
Why yes, yes I did. For many various glorious factors.
I want this book and it's all about tractors. I
would never have guessed, says Miss Squid with a wink. Well,
you know yourself best when you want something different. Just
(25:12):
come and find me. A boy who likes books is
a nice thing to see. See, mama? I say as
we check our books out. I like books. That's what matters.
Not what they're about. And don't worry, I add. I
know this one by heart. I can read it to
(25:35):
you all the way from the start. That was a
reading of all of the factors of why I love tractors.
The writers were Davina Bell and Jenny Lovely, and the
reader was Geraldine. Mm. So what have we done today, Geraldine? Well,
(25:55):
we heard about a whole lot of humongous big things,
many of which are in Australia. Actually, Australia is a
pretty big thing all on its own. The biggest island, actually.
It is such a big island that it's counted as
a continent. We had lots of lovely big words to
(26:18):
use instead of big. And two big words to add
to our list. There was versatile, which means something that
can be used for many purposes, and monolith, which means
a big rock that stands by itself. Our story was
about Frankie, who loved tractors, not bulldozers or cranes or
(26:41):
even fire engines, just tractors. If there was anything in
today's programme about which you would like to know more.
Or you would like to know how we made our
pumpkin soup or pumpkin pie. You can contact us on
radio at Vision Australia. Keep wearing those happy pants and
(27:02):
we'll catch you next time.
S3 (27:16):
Happy pants is produced on the lands of the Whadjuk
Noongar people. Vision Australia Radio acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples as the first Australians, and the traditional owners
of the land across our working area. We pay our
respects to elders past, present and future in maintaining their cultures,
countries and their spiritual connection to the lands and waters.
Vision Australia Radio acknowledges and respects the genuine diversity and
(27:40):
richness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across Australia.
Happy pants has been made possible with the support of
the Community Broadcasting Foundation.
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