Tall Tale Trio

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Tall Tale Trio is an episode of Strawberry Shortcake's Berry Bitty Adventures.

Summary[]

After arriving late for their annual campout, Orange, Plum, and Cherry each recall their own various explanations for what kept them in the camping tradition of tall tales.

Episode Review[]

The Berry girls are going on their annual campout at Berry Beautiful Meadow. Strawberry is the first to show up: she comes out of the café, receiving the morning mail. Apple and Tea Time Turtle arrive with a large pile of baggage. Apple has VCR camera. Apple plans to make a film about camping for her "Berry Best Bits" webpage. Strawberry reminds her the goal of the trip is to have fun with friends, not work. Sour and Sweet exit the café. Sweet is excited about the campout, but Sour grumbles. Lemon, Blueberry and Raspberry arrive. Apple enters the café to clean her camera. Plum, Cherry and Orange arrive, apologizing for being late. Plum carries a canteen of chocolate milk, for making hot chocolate around the campfire, and Cherry has marshmallows in her backpack. Sweet announces that she has a special recipe of "S'more Than S'mores" that she will prepare at the campfire: regular S'mores with her unique twist - strawberry slices and shaved almond. Orange says she forgot the almond in her store. She and Sweet go to bring the almond.

Strawberry and Raspberry tell Sour about one of their long-standing campout traditions: tall tales. They make up fun stories and tell them around the campfire. The wilder and more outrageous, the better. Sour says sourly that sounds "outrageously thrilling". Apple, Sweet and Orange return.

Soon the girls are on their way to the meadow. They meet a butterfly and several Berrykins, and wave to them. They pass through a hollow log. Apple and Tea Time walk faster than the other girls, and soon are ahead of them. Cherry, Plum and Orange become tired and stop to rest while the other girls continue. Plum intends to drink the chocolate milk, and Orange intends to eat the almond. Cherry reminds them the chocolate milk is for the hot chocolate around the campfire, and the almond is for Sweet's special s'more recipe, so they say they'll only taste a bit. Cherry decides to eat one marshmallow.

Apple reaches the camping place first, and finds a bare spot for the equipment by the time the other six girls arrive. Strawberry and Lemon tell her this is the spot where they usually build the campfire and place the cooking equipment, and set the sleeping bags slightly away. Strawberry offers to help her move her stuff to the edge of the Meadow, but Apple says it's OK. Soon the tents and sleeping bags are put in place, while Lemon and Blueberry build the campfire. Strawberry, Raspberry and the twins bring piles of firewood (Sour - only one branch). Strawberry and Sweet intend to go look for Plum, Cherry and Orange, when they suddenly arrive, gasping and panting, apologizing for the delay. All the girls, except Apple who is busy with her film, gather around the campfire. Each of the three tells in her turn what happened - three different versions.

Cherry's story: while they were sitting, a bird flew down and snatched her backpack with the marshmallows. They chased the bird, climbing and jumping from plant to plant. Orange managed to get high enough to jump on the bird's back, but the bird shook her off. Cherry and Plum used a large leaf to cushion her fall (a perfect 10 landing!). Strawberry chuckles and asks how they got the backpack back. Cherry hesitates and says evasively they made a trade with the bird - the almond for the backpack. Sweet asks, worried: "You mean, there is not going to be any shaved almonds for my s'mores?". Strawberry asks if that is the reason they arrived late. Plum claims that Cherry is trying to cover up for her, while it was her fault, and tells her version:

They were sitting, like the first story (only with cowgirl hats on), Plum showed Cherry and Orange her new dance routine and used her canteen as a hula hoop, but the canteen slipped, bounced away and fell into a ravine. Orange took the almond and they went down the ravine to retrieve the canteen, but then heard a menacing growl. A rodent appeared and grabbed the canteen with its teeth. Orange demanded it to give the canteen back, but it ran away. They chased and circle it, and Plum managed to jump on its back, riding it as if it was a wild horse in a rodeo, while Cherry and Orange were cheering for her. The rodent shook her off three times: twice Plum landed on its back, but in the third time she was thrown away. Cherry and Orange caught her. Orange offered the rodent the almond in exchange for the canteen, and it agreed. It licked her face, much to the girls' amusement.

The Berry girls laugh. Again, Sweet asks if there are no almond shavings for her s'mores, and Strawberry asks what really made them late. Orange then says it was all her fault, and tells her version:

They were sitting, and a squirrel appeared and tried to snatch the almond from Orange. They ran away. The squirrel chased Orange, and she hid inside a hollow log. The squirrel tried to reach her. Plum had an idea: she and Cherry made a grass net and threw it on the squirrel's head. While it was trying to remove the net, Plum and Cherry tried to pull Orange out of the log. Since Plum pulled Orange's hand from one end of the log while Cherry pulled her foot from the opposite end, it didn't help Orange. The squirrel approached, its head still covered, and unintentionally kicked the log while Cherry and Plum stood on it. The log rolled, bumped into a rock and split to two. The three girls and the almond flew in the air. Cherry grabbed a branch, Plum grabbed Cherry's feet and Orange grabbed Plum's left foot, a few feet above the ground. Orange swung and managed to catch the almond with her feet. The squirrel, who managed to free itself, approached and took the almond from Orange, who could not stop it while hanging in the air.

Night falls by the time Orange finishes telling her version. The campfire is burning. Apple has not joined the others yet. The girls laugh, except Sweet. She is worried, asking for the third time if they really lost the almond. The other girls burst out laughing once more. Sweet is puzzled, what is so funny? She does not understand these are imaginary stories, because she was not around when Strawberry and Raspberry told her sister about their tradition to make up outrageous stories and tell them around the campfire for fun. Now Strawberry explains it to Sweet. Sweet laughs, admitting she thought all three stories were real. Lemon assures her it is only silly stuff.

At Orange's suggestion, she, Plum and Cherry go to fetch more firewood, since they were late and could not help setting the camp. Strawberry joins them, still curious of what took them so long. Cherry explains that what really happened was kind of embarrassing. Then they go on to tell her the real story:

While the three were resting and had one sip and a bite of their perspective treats, Plum decided to show Cherry and Orange her new dance routine. While using her canteen as a hula hoop, the canteen flew in the air, bumped into a rock, bounced back. Since Plum did not close the lid tight enough, the contents spilled on the ground and on Cherry, making her drop all the marshmallows on the ground. Orange declared how busted the two will be for losing the chocolate milk and the marshmallows. They hurried back to Orange's store. Orange put the almond and the keys on the counter and went to look for marshmallows. Cherry refilled the canteen. Orange did not find any marshmallows, so Plum entered the storeroom and found some, but tripped and knocked the door closed, and could not get it open. She called them to help

Stars — You can jump, we're ready to catch you... OUCH!

her get out. Orange and Cherry exited the store, and went to the back. Plum crawled out of the window, carrying the marshmallows. Orange and Cherry were ready to catch her, but she jumped on them, and they all saw stars. Only then Orange remembered they left the almond inside, but the front door was slammed and they couldn't enter back in - because Orange forgot the keys inside as well. Realizing that they have already delayed too long, and the others might get worried, they had no choice but to show up to the camp site with only the chocolate milk and marshmallows. Sweet will have to do without the almond. Then they hurried to the campout as fast as they could.

Strawberry laughs, saying "That's the best tall-tale ever!", and Plum says "But unfortunately it's true". They laugh and return to the campfire.

To be continued...

Quotes[]

Strawberry: I'm so excited to show you and Sweet and Sour how beautiful our countryside is! Your guys' first Berry Bitty City annual campout.
Apple: Ah, Strawb', I think I've been on a few campouts in my day.
Strawberry: (chuckles) I know you have, Apple, but this is your first one with me, and that's berry special to me.
Apple: Oh, yeah, me too!

-----

Sour: I don't know if this great outdoors thing is gonna be so great.
Sweet: Sour, we haven't even left yet!
Sour: That's the best time to rethink going somewhere.

-----

Sour (sourly): Are we ever going? Somewhere up there is a poison ivy plant with my name on it.

-----

Sweet: Girls, I'm so excited to make you my special "S'more Than S'mores" recipe. It's regular S'mores, you know, graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate bar, with my unique twist - strawberry slices and shaved almond!
Plum: "Yum!" says Plum!
Sweet: "Neat!" says Sweet! (giggles)
Orange: "Oh no!" says Orange!
Lemon: Ah... that doesn't rhyme.
Orange: No, no. The almond! I think I left it on the counter in my store.
Sweet: I'll go with you.
(Orange and Sweet go to fetch the almond)

-----

Strawberry: We'll heat it [the chocolate milk] up on our campfire, and then... you all know what's next.
(Lemon, Raspberry, Cherry and Blueberry chuckle)
Sour: What? What's next? We put the fire out?
Strawberry: It's one of our long-standing campout traditions: tall tales.
Sour: Tall tales?
Raspberry: Yeah, we make up fun stories, like tales, like make-believe, and tell them around the campfire. Everyone gets a turn. The wilder and more outrageous, the better.
Sour: (sarcastically) Sounds "outrageously thrilling". How about SHORT tales, so we can get home sooner?
Lemon: (chuckles) You're too funny, Sour.

-----

(the girls reach the camping site)
Raspberry (sighs in relief): We're here!
Sour: About time.
Lemon: Berry Beautiful Meadow - our old camp ground.
Sweet: What a gorgeous spot!

----

Plum (In a cowgirl voice after the canteen fell down a hole): Aww. It went down a critter hole.
Orange (In a cowgirl voice): Boy howdy, we're in for it now! That's Strawberry's hot chocolate!
Plum (In a cowgirl voice): GOTTA GET IT BACK!!!
Orange: (In a cowgirl voice): We're with you, partner!

----

(the rodent gives Orange the canteen in exchange for the almond, then licks her face)
Orange (laughs): That's OK, big fella. We love ya too.
(Everyone but Sweet claps and laughs)

----

(Plum and Cherry gasp at the loss of marshmallows and chocolate milk)
Orange: You are so... busted! No chocolate for Strawberry? No marshmallow for Sweet's s'mores? I wouldn't want to be in your shoes. We better run back to my store!

----

Trivia[]

Blueberry has no speaking lines in this episode.
As a part of the humorous manner of the tales, in Plum's story the girls speak in a southern accent; in Orange's story they speak in a classic British accent and use old fashioned expressions (like "Let's tarry no longer" "I say, old gal, capital idea!").
For the first time in the show, characters see stars.
The bit of Plum's story where the canteen came off was true.
The girls wear the same campout outfits throughout this episode and the following two episodes.
Apple calls Strawberry "Strawb". It is the only episode in which someone shortens Strawberry's name.
Tea Time walks very fast for a turtle, even with a heavy load on his back.
Orange's word "Fiddlesticks!" was also used in the Thomas & Friends series 3 episode Mavis.

Goofs[]

Sweet thought all three stories were true. Logically, only one of them could have been true, since they contradicted each other.
When Orange starts telling her version, there is still daylight and the campfire is not lit; when she finishes the story - what should have not taken more than a few minutes - it is dark and the campfire is burning.
Since Plum could not open the door of the storeroom, Orange and Cherry's next natural step was to try opening the door - but they did not try that, but immediately exited the store.
Plum, Orange, and Cherry go to fetch more kindling, but Plum picks only two branches, while Orange and Cherry return empty-handed.

External links[]

Tall Tale Trio at the Internet Movie Database