[“MONSTER” BY SKILLET PLAYS]
[DIGITAL KEYSTROKES]
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
In a cozy bedroom, a little boy stands and examines his surroundings. He wears superhero pajamas with a cape. A large flashlight rests in his hand. He lifts the flashlight and shines it around the room.
[HEAVY FOOTSTEPS]
[CRUNCHING]
A large, blue, and fuzzy monster with floppy ears and wide, sad eyes, wearing a striped shirt and a drooping hat, approaches.
Narrator: Why oh why monster are you so sad? You’ve lost your scare?
The monster nods his head up and down.
Narrator: I’ll help you find it!
They look at the boy’s flashlight. The light flickers.
[CLICKING]
Boy: Let’s go!
[HEAVY FOOTSTEPS]
Boy: Let’s look over here.
The little boy waves his hand, and the monster lumbers slowly behind him. The little boy searches among toys and under the bed as the monster follows him closely.
Narrator: Maybe your scare is under this bed.
[RUSTLING]
Encircled by stuffed animals and scattered toys, the monster squats down and lifts a blanket layered with dust. The little boy lies near it and looks underneath.
Narrator: No scare there.
[SQUEAKING]
Just this rubber duck.
A rubber duck with a sailor hat squeaks, then rolls away. Now the little boy and monster search in the closet.
Boy: [SHOUTING] Anything?
The monster lifts his empty hands in the air. The little boy leads the monster through the hallway to the living room. They look up toward the chandelier.
Narrator: Could it be up in that light?
[CLICKING]
A bright light flickers on and off.
Narrator: Not in my light. Nothing to fright.
The duo continue to walk through the house, then outside to the backyard. Now they rest on top of a small hill. The little boy eats a snack from a bag, then offers some to the monster. The hill rumbles, then turns its stone eyes and brows up to the little boy and monster.
Narrator: Can it be found atop the hill?
[RUMBLING]
Or is it deep down near the mill?
The pair and the hill look down below them at the neighborhood street. Under the streetlight, a cat smiles and pivots left to right.
[THUNDERCLAP]
Narrator: Have you checked in the park?
On a swing set, the duo ride up and down. The little boy sits one foot on the swing’s edge and leans forward. Wind and leaves furiously overwhelm them.
[LEAVES RUSTLING]
Boy: I can’t find it!
Narrator: Or did it fly away with the lark?
Now on the school grounds, the boy holds a magnifying glass. Next to him, the monster sits patiently. He looks into the monster’s eyes. The monster’s oversized tears frame his face.
Narrator: Open your heart. Open wide. Why can’t I see your scare inside?
[WIND BLOWING]
[SCHOOL BELL RINGING]
On a bench beside the playground, the pair sit dejected. The boy scoots closer to the monster. He gently cradles him under his arm. In the distance, clouds hover across the horizon, and children play happily. Now in a classroom next to a nearly sleeping boy, “The Silenced Scare” storybook lies open. On the last page, a little boy and a large, blue, fuzzy monster sit on a bench.
Narrator: It seems you have so much to scare.
Beside his desk, the little boy’s mother sits in a chair, wearing a striped shirt with an iPad in her hand. She types on her iPad.
Mother: [USING PERSONAL VOICE] I’m sure we’ll find another way.
Boy: Read it again.
The mother types on her iPad.
Mother: [USING PERSONAL VOICE] OK.
[DIGITAL KEYSTROKES]
One more time.
The mother pats her son’s head.
