[Magical music plays]

In an animation, the sun shines brightly over a field of dandelions. A guinea pig with long brown fur frolics through the grass. In live action, the guinea pig rests in their hutch, a large wooden cage on posts in the Sawdust family’s backyard. Mister and Missus Sawdust stand by a gate in the fence and Karen, a girl with her long brown hair in braided pigtails, runs up to the guinea pig’s hutch with a kite.

[Guinea pig squeaking]

[Cheerful music plays]

The guinea pig sings, I'M A GUINEA PIG SENSATION, WITH A GREAT IMAGINATION. I'M OLGA DA POLGA, THAT'S ME!

Facing Olga’s hutch, Noel, a black cat, lies on the grass with Graham, a tortoise, and Fangio, a hedgehog. Mrs. Sawdust trims a bush. Mr. Sawdust builds a pen. Karen skips across the yard. Olga scratches her ear. Noel swats at Olga from the roof of her hutch.

At the backdoor of the Sawdust’s house, Karen says, BREAKFAST, OLGA!

Olga sings, MY HEAD IS FULL OF STORIES, OF DERRING-DO AND GLORIES, SO GATHER 'ROUND, AND LISTEN TO ME!

In animations, Olga faces a fire-breathing dragon, stands on a podium with first-place medals and looks up at a princess locked in a castle.

A crowd cheers, HOORAY!

In live-action, Graham says, AMAZING.

Noel says, RIDICULOUS!

Fangio says, INTERESTING!

[Gentle, cheerful music plays]

On a bench, Karen and Mister and Missus Sawdust pet Olga. At a competition, a person awards Karen and Olga a rosette. In the backyard, Karen puts a carrot in Olga’s food bowl.

Olga sings, OLGA DA POLGA, THAT'S ME!

[Olga squeaking]

Title: Olga da Polga. Based on the books by Michael Bond.

[Gentle music plays]

[Birds chirping]

In live-action, in the present day, the sun shines brightly over Olga’s hutch in the Sawdust’s backyard. The episode title reads, “Bessy the Bike Helmet.”

Olga da Polga narrates, THERE'S NO DOUBT ABOUT IT, GUINEA PIGS KNOW ABOUT THINGS.

In the hutch, Olga rests on the hay in her bedroom.

[Olga squeaking]

Olga narrates, IT'S JUST SOMETHING WE'RE BORN WITH.

On the grass in the yard, Noel wrestles with a cat toy. He rolls over and scratches his chin.

Olga narrates, WE KNOW CATS ARE SILLY. WE KNOW PRICKLES CAN HURT.

Fangio climbs over a log.

Olga narrates, AND WE ALSO KNOW WHEN IT'S TIME TO HELP A FRIEND.

Graham lies on a pile of hay in the doorway of his hutch. In Olga’s hutch, Olga munches on a piece of hay.

[Olga squeaking]

[Birds chirping]

[Leaves rustling]

Olga narrates, IT REMINDS ME OF A DAY WHEN I WAS RUDELY INTERRUPTED FROM MY BREAKFAST.

In a live-action flashback, Olga nibbles on a piece of carrot in her food bowl.

[Clanging]

[Groaning]

[Clattering]

[Rustling]

In the garden shed, Karen pulls red ribbon out of a box. She wears her long brown hair in braided pigtails and purple overalls over a pink long-sleeved shirt with orange polka dots. Mr. Sawdust picks up a half-built birdhouse. Mr. Sawdust has short, dark grey hair and a thick grey beard and wears a red plaid, button-down shirt over a blue T-shirt.

[Mr. Sawdust humming]

Mr. Sawdust says, OOH. HMM.

He looks around the crowded space.

Mr. Sawdust says, ER...

Karen stuffs the ribbon back in the box.

She asks, ARE YOU ALL RIGHT, DAD?

Mr. Sawdust sets the birdhouse down and says, YES. THERE'S JUST SO MUCH STUFF.

[Mr. Sawdust chuckling]

Karen puts her box on the floor and Mr. Sawdust pulls a straw hat off a shelf.

He says, OH.

Mr. Sawdust puts the hat on.

He asks, WHAT DO YOU THINK?

[Karen giggling]

[Mr. Sawdust chuckling]

Mr. Sawdust says, I THINK I CAN STILL GET SOME USE OUT OF THAT.

Karen opens a storage container.

[Karen gasping]

Karen says, OH, LOOK!

She pulls a bike helmet out of the container.

Karen says, IT'S BESSY, MY OLD BIKE HELMET!

Bessy, the bike helmet, is a dome-shaped brown helmet with light brown swirling designs and two large googly eyes.

Karen says, I USED TO LOVE IT.

Mr. Sawdust says, TAKE IT OUTSIDE. WE CAN RECYCLE THAT.

Karen says, OKAY.

She leaves with Bessy.

Mr. Sawdust says, ER...

He looks around the shed.

Mr. Sawdust says, COFFEE.

He grabs his coffee mug off a storage container and takes a sip. In the yard, Karen puts Bessy down on the grass.

Karen says, THERE YOU GO, BESSY.

She returns to the shed. In her hutch, Olga nibbles on grass.

Olga narrates, AND THAT'S WHEN I SAW IT - ANOTHER TORTOISE!

From afar, Bessy looks like a tortoise.

[Olga squeaking]

Olga calls out, GRAHAM? GRAHAM!

Graham asks, WHAT IS IT?

Olga says, COME HERE. QUICK!

Graham says, BE THERE IN A MINUTE.

He slowly crawls out of his hutch and across the grass. Elsewhere in the yard, Fangio sniffs the air.

[Sniffing]

Graham makes his way across a stone path. The venerable toad perches on a rock.

[Toad croaking]

Graham climbs down a rock.

Olga narrates, I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN QUICK WAS NOT SOMETHING GRAHAM COULD DO. IN FACT, IT WAS LUNCHTIME BEFORE HE REACHED ME.

Graham continues across the grass.

From inside the house, Mr. Sawdust yells, LUNCH IS READY!

Graham climbs to the top of the small hill facing Olga’s hutch.

Graham asks, WHAT IS IT, OLGA?

Olga says, THE SAWDUSTS HAVE ANOTHER TORTOISE!

Graham says, THEY DO?

Olga says, SHE'S RIGHT THERE, ON THE GRASS.

She turns toward Bessy.

Graham asks, YOU SURE?

Olga says, OF COURSE I AM. SHE'S CALLED BESSY. WHY DON'T YOU GO AND INTRODUCE YOURSELF?

Graham says, ME? BUT... BUT WHAT WILL I SAY?

Olga narrates, REALLY, GRAHAM DOES SAY THE SILLIEST THINGS. AS IF I KNEW WHAT ONE TORTOISE SAYS TO ANOTHER.

Olga says, to Graham, JUST BE YOURSELF.

Graham says, OKAY. HERE GOES.

He slowly makes his way back down the hill and toward Bessy. On a birdhouse on the fence, a bird flies away.

[Birds chirping]

Graham slowly crosses the yard.

Olga narrates, IT TOOK GRAHAM A WHILE TO REACH BESSY, BUT ONCE HE GOT THERE, HE STAYED ALL DAY, CHATTING TO HER...

Graham faces Bessy.

Graham says, AND THEN, THERE'S ALWAYS THE COMPOST HEAP, LOTS OF INTERESTING THINGS IN THERE.

In a corner of the yard, Fangio walks by a compost heap. Behind the park bench, Noel lies in the shade on the stone wall.

Noel says, HMM.

Olga narrates, ...SITTING BESIDE HER...

Fangio’s nose twitches.

[Fangio humming]

Olga narrates, …AND EVEN SHARING A BITE TO EAT.

A large piece of lettuce lies between Bessy and Graham.

Graham says, YUMMY.

He leans toward the lettuce. Olga nibbles on a piece of grass.

[Olga squeaking]

Olga narrates, AND WHEN HE FINALLY CAME BACK FOR DINNER, I KNEW - GRAHAM WAS IN LOVE.

Graham lies on the hill facing Olga’s hutch.

[Graham sighing]

Graham says, I THINK I'M GOING TO TAKE BESSY ON A WALK TO THE HEDGE TOMORROW.

Olga narrates, TO A CAT OR A GUINEA PIG, THAT ISN'T TOO FAR, BUT TO A TORTOISE, IT'S A VERY LONG WAY. I DON'T KNOW IF SHE'S MUCH OF THE WALKING TYPE. IN FACT, SHE HADN'T MOVED AT ALL, ALL DAY.

Olga glances toward Bessy and the piece of lettuce that remains on the grass.

Olga asks, WHAT EXACTLY DOES SHE TALK ABOUT?

Graham says, WELL, SHE HASN'T ACTUALLY SAID ANYTHING YET, BUT SHE WANTS TO, I CAN TELL. SHE'S JUST SHY.

Olga narrates, I THOUGHT IT WAS ALL A BIT STRANGE, BUT THE HAPPY LOOK ON GRAHAM'S FACE STOPPED ME FROM SAYING ANYTHING ELSE.

[Olga squeaking]

Graham says, WELL, I'D BETTER GO AND GET SOME SLEEP FOR THE BIG DAY TOMORROW. SWEET DREAMS, BESSY.

He slowly climbs down the hill.

Olga narrates, I REALLY HOPED IT WOULD WORK OUT.

[Olga squeaking]

[Gentle music plays]

Elsewhere in the yard, Fangio weaves around flower pots.

[Fangio singing]

In her hutch, Olga nibbles on a blade of grass.

Olga narrates, NEXT MORNING, MR. SAWDUST WAS MAKING A LOT OF NOISE IN THE SHED AGAIN.

[Banging]

Olga narrates, I WAS JUST ABOUT TO GIVE HIM A PIECE OF MY MIND, WHEN I SAW IT - BESSY WASN'T IN HER USUAL PLACE.


Bessy is gone.

Olga narrates, OH! SHE WAS ON THE FENCE!

Behind the fence, Maddie wears Bessy.

Olga narrates, AND WAS GOING FASTER THAN I'D EVER SEEN ANY TORTOISE MOVE, TOWARDS ME!

Maddie says, HI, OLGA!

[Olga squeaking]

Maddie crouches in front of Olga’s hutch. Maddie has chin-length brown hair and wears a light blue jacket over a yellow T-shirt. Olga runs away.

Olga narrates, I SCUTTLED AWAY AS FAST AS MY LEGS WOULD CARRY ME.

Karen joins Maddie. Olga runs into her bedroom in the hutch.

Maddie asks, WHAT'S WRONG WITH OLGA?

Karen says, I DON'T THINK SHE LIKES BESSY.

Olga narrates, KAREN WAS RIGHT. UNDER THAT SHELL WAS SOMETHING VERY SCARY.

Olga burrows into the hay in her bedroom.

[Olga squeaking]

Maddie holds Bessy.

She says, BUT IT'S ONLY A BIKE HELMET.

Karen says, IT MIGHT JUST BE A BIKE HELMET TO US, MADDIE, BUT TO A GUINEA PIG, IT PROBABLY LOOKS VERY DIFFERENT.

Olga narrates, AND THAT'S WHEN IT CLICKED - BESSY WASN'T A TORTOISE!

Mr. Sawdust leans out of the shed.

He asks, READY TO GIVE ME A HAND, GIRLS?

Karen says, YEAH. BE BACK SOON, OLGA!

She runs over to the shed with Maddie.

[Olga squeaking]

Olga narrates, BESSY WAS A BIKE HELMET!

A butterfly climbs up a purple flower.

Olga narrates, I WAS BUSY WONDERING WHAT TO TELL GRAHAM WHEN HE APPEARED LATER THAT DAY.

On the hill, Graham says, SHE'S GONE. I'VE LOOKED EVERYWHERE.

Olga narrates, I WAS TRYING TO LISTEN, BUT A STRANGE SMELL WAS COMING FROM SOMEWHERE CLOSE BY, AND I SOON DISCOVERED WHY.

Graham says, I EVEN WENT INTO THE COMPOST HEAP. TOOK ME AGES.

Elsewhere in the yard, Fangio sniffs the air.

[Fangio sniffing]

In front of Olga’s hutch, Noel stands on a tree stump.

Noel says, YUCK.

He steps off the stump and walks away.

Graham continues, AND I GOT LOST. COULD HARDLY FIND MY WAY OUT AGAIN.

[Graham sighing] sadly

Graham says, MAYBE SHE DIDN'T LIKE ME AFTER ALL.

Olga narrates, GRAHAM LOOKED SO SAD. I WAS TEMPTED TO TELL HIM. BUT THE ROMANTIC IN ME TOOK OVER. BETTER TO HAVE LOVED A BIKE HELMET AND LOST, THAN TO HAVE NEVER LOVED AT ALL.

[Olga squeaking]

Olga says, OH, SHE LIKED YOU VERY MUCH.

Graham says, HMM?

Olga says, SHE TOLD ME, BEFORE SHE HAD TO GO.

Graham says, GO? GO WHERE?

Olga says, TO, ER... SPACE.

Graham asks, SPACE?

Olga says, YES. YOU SEE, EVERYONE THINKS HUMANS GO TO OUTER SPACE, BUT THEY DON'T; IT'S REALLY TORTOISES.

Graham says, YOU ONCE TOLD ME IT WAS GUINEA PIGS.

Olga says, WELL, AND GUINEA PIGS. BUT THEY GO TO A DIFFERENT PART. ANYWAY...

[Intense music plays]

Olga narrates an animated story. In the animation, a tortoise gazes up at the star-filled night sky.

Olga narrates, EVER SINCE SHE WAS A LITTLE TORTOISE, BESSY DREAMED OF GOING TO SPACE.

Bessy, the tortoise, watches a shooting star.

Olga narrates, that one DAY, AFTER A LOT OF HARD WORK, HER DREAM CAME TRUE.

Bessy wears a space helmet. She stands beside a board with rocket ship blueprints and works on a rocket ship with a screwdriver. Bessy walks up a ramp and through a door into the rocket.

Olga narrates, BUT WHEN THE ROCKET TOOK OFF, BESSY ACCIDENTALLY FELL OUT AND LANDED IN THE GARDEN.

The door closes behind Bessy and the rocket blasts off. In the air, the door opens and Bessy falls out. Bessy hides in her shell and bounces off the ground. She hops onto her feet and looks up at the sky with a frown.

In the live-action flashback, Olga says, THAT'S WHY SHE DIDN'T TALK OR MOVE MUCH. IT WAS QUITE A FAR FALL. SHE NEEDED TO GET HER STRENGTH BACK.

Graham says, I CAN IMAGINE.

Olga continues narrating the animated story. In the animation, Bessy sits beside her space helmet. She looks sad.

Olga narrates, BESSY THOUGHT SHE WOULD NEVER GET TO SPACE, UNTIL LAST NIGHT, SHE HEARD A NOISE.

[Rocket engine whooshing]

The rocket ship lowers to the ground beside Bessy.

Olga narrates, THE ROCKET HAD COME ALL THE WAY BACK TO PICK HER UP.

The rocket door opens and the ramp slides out. In the doorway, a tortoise in a space helmet smiles and waves. Bessy puts on her space helmet.

[Snoring]

Graham lies asleep beside Bessy.

Olga narrates, SHE WOULD HAVE LIKED TO HAVE STAYED TO GO FOR A WALK TO THE HEDGE, BUT SHE HAD TO GO.

Olga waves to Bessy and the other tortoise. She watches the ramp slide into the rocket and the door close. The rocket blasts into space and the story ends.

[Rocket whooshing]

In the live-action flashback, Olga says, SHE HAD TO FOLLOW HER DREAM.

Graham asks, WHY DIDN'T I SEE THE ROCKET?

Olga says, WELL... YOU WERE ASLEEP.

Graham says, SO, BESSY IS UP THERE?

He tilts his chin toward the sky.

Olga says, IT'S ONE SMALL, SLOW STEP FOR A TORTOISE, BUT A GIANT LEAP FOR ALL ANIMAL KIND.

Graham says, WOW.

Across the yard, Mr. Sawdust opens the shed door.

He says, WELL, I THINK THAT'S LOVELY. IT'S AMAZING WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH AN OLD BIKE HELMET.

Maddie follows Karen and Mr. Sawdust out of the shed with a leafy plant planted in Bessy, the bike helmet. In her hutch, Olga looks up from her food bowl with her mouth full of grass.

Olga quietly says, BIKE HELMET?

Graham asks, ARE YOU OKAY, OLGA?

Maddie and Karen walk over to Olga’s hutch. Maddie places Bessy close to Graham on the hill facing Olga’s hutch.

Karen says, A LITTLE GARDEN FOR YOU, OLGA.

[Suspenseful music plays]

Olga narrates, IT WAS BESSY, UPSIDE DOWN, WITH PLANTS IN IT! HELD MY BREATH. IF GRAHAM NOTICED IT, HE WOULD BE VERY UPSET.

Mr. Sawdust dusts off his hands.

He says, COME ON, GIRLS. I THINK IT'S TIME FOR A SNACK AFTER ALL YOUR HARD WORK.

Karen and Maddie cheer, YES!

Karen asks, SHOULD WE TAKE GRAHAM BACK INSIDE?

Mr. Sawdust says, MMM.

He tilts his head.

He says, I'll LEAVE HIM NOW. LOOKS LIKE HIM AND OLGA ARE HAVING FUN IN THE SUN.

Karen says, OKAY!

She heads back toward the house with Maddie and her dad.

[Gentle music plays]

On the small hill, Graham faces Bessy the bike helmet.

Graham asks, WHAT'S THAT?

He takes a step closer to the leaves hanging out of the helmet.

Graham says, OH. YUM. YUM! IT'S ROCKET.

He eats a leaf.

[Graham munching]

Olga narrates, BUT LUCKILY, ROCKET WAS GRAHAM'S FAVOURITE, AND HE WAS SOON SO BUSY TUCKING IN, HE DIDN'T NOTICE BESSY AT ALL.

Graham says, YUMMY.

[Gentle music continues]

Elsewhere in the yard, Fangio walks through a patch of white and orange flowers.

[Fangio humming]

The sun shines brightly over Olga’s hutch.

[Birds chirping]

Olga narrates, YES. GUINEA PIGS KNOW THINGS, AND I KNOW, WHEN GRAHAM LOOKS UP AT THE SKY, HE'S THINKING ABOUT BESSY...

Graham glances up toward the sky.

Olga narrates, …THE BIKE HELMET.

[Olga squeaking]

[Playful music plays]

End credits. Written by Sara Daddy. Cast: Olga, Lesley Harcourt. Noel, Susheel Kumar. Graham, Mark McDonnell. Fangio, Tim Licata. Mr. Sawdust, Greg Hemphill. Mrs. Sawdust, Julie Wilson Nimmo. Karen Sawdust, Isla Mercer. Karen Double, Mila D’Annunzlo. Maddie, Cassie McKee.

Director, Michael Hines. Production manager, Jackie Dorman. Producer, Fiona Donaldson. Series producer, Uzma Mir. Series editor, Jackie Savery. Logo: Mara Kids. Copyright MaraMedia MMXXII.

[Whooshing]

Logo: Boat Rocker.