TWINKLE TOES the OSTRICH PUPPET by Axtell

Ostrich Facts Page 1

Ostrich Facts Page 2

Ostrich....Oh! oh!
Vent......What's the matter?
Ostrich....I think I've got sand in my eye!!
Bill DeMar

Paint the word "SAND" on an empty plastic bucket. Pretending it's full of sand have your Ostrich duck his head into the bucket to hide. (You can use vinyl adheisive letters for this).

Actually this is a myth as you'll find out on the Ostrich facts page. You could even tell the Ostrich that it's a myth.  He could slowly pull his head out and ask "I didn't know that...are you sure?" It could be used in schools to talk about learning. Steve Axtell

Have the Ostrich stick his head under your arm pit, or between your legs or in all of your available pockets. It would get a BIG laugh.... Every time it sticks its head in your pocket or under your arm, it ask, in a slightly muffled tone, can you still see me?
Bill DeMar

These eyelids can close, blink, wink and open for surprise!  We are working on the production version of this...ready by June 09.
Email me with questions.

You could wear a safari hat and educate your audience about Ostrichs.  The Ostrich could be listening and reacting gettting more irritated as it goes -

"Ostriches are ratites. Ratites are a species of bird that have no keel bone, are flightless, and have poorly developed pectoral muscles.Ostriches are hind-gut fermentors like horses, while the emu another ratite, has a simple stomach more like a dog. Ostriches reach a height of about eight feet and a mature weight of 250-350 pounds. They reach sexual maturity at about 18 months when raised in captivity and can be used for breeding for up to 45 years.
An ostrich can produce three to four pounds of feathers, yield 75-90 pounds of low-cholesterol, red meat, and 12-14 square feet of leather. The hide is used to make goods such as boots, wallets, purses, and belts. The feathers are used as decorations and placed on hats" (at this point he could grab your hat and throw it on the floor etc.)

The Scientific name for the Ostrich is "Struthio Camelus" because it has mannerisms similar to a camel. You could play off of that for a routine.

RAMDAS PADHYE. INDIA

Curtis Jones

WOW, what a puppet! That Ostrich is KILLER, man. Wow, and wow again!
Larry LaFontsee Caricature and Character Design

Leland Wilson

Ostrich: (Snoring)
Vent: Hey Twinkletoes wake up!
Ostrich: Just five more minutes mom.
Vent: (Looking slightly alarmed) Come on we have a show to do.
Ostrich: (Muttering sleepily) Oh good snow…schools closed today (snores)
Vent: No, No, show! We have a show to do wake up! (Shakes Ostrich)
Ostrich: (Alarmed snorting) What!? What!? Show!? Huh!?
Vent: What’s the matter? Why so sleepy?
Ostrich: (Sleepily) Oh that. I was up all night sitting on the nest.
Vent: Sitting on the nest? Don’t female ostriches do that?
Ostrich: Yes, but the female ostriches sit on the nest during the day, we males do it at night.
Vent: Why is that?
Ostrich: (Snoring)
Vent: Twinkletoes! I asked you why male ostriches sit on the nest at night?!
Ostrich: Oh! I don’t know its just always been that way. We ostriches are real gentlemen Why? Don’t you watch the nest at night? (Eyeing suspiciously)
Vent: (Nervously) Well no.
Ostrich: (Looking around the room in shock) YOU DON’T?!
Vent: No but Ostriches don’t live in houses either. You live out in the open where predators can get to you. People live in houses to protect our young.
Ostrich: (Snoring)
Vent: Ok kids. Can you help me wake Twinkletoes up? On the count of three, yell "wake up" 1…2…3… WAKE UP!

Go on with a routine where the Ostrich keeps falling asleep and you need the audience to wake him up. One possible continuation could be…

Ostrich: (Wakes up in alarm again) Oh! Oh! Is there a show today?
Vent: Yes Twinkletoes we’re at …….
Ostrich: Why didn’t you wake me?

Another routine:

Ostrich is wearing a headband
Vent: Twinkletoes, why are you wearing a headband.
Ostrich: Oh that. I like to do a lot of running.
Vent: Really? Why do you like to run?
Ostrich: You’d run too if a lion were chasing you.
Vent: Oh I see. Well you can outrun a lion eh? That’s pretty fast!
Ostrich: Yep! I’m the second fastest land animal alive. Don’t tell any cheetahs though, when they find out they usually call ostriches a name.
Vent: What? Slowpoke?
Ostrich: No. Lunch!

I’d name myself “Reggie from the Outback” and the Ostrich is “Kanga”. I’d explain that Kanga was

hatched in his mothers nest while mother was getting a cool drink one day – (she needed a Coke from the Kola’s deli!) At that same moment, a curious Kangaroo had stopped near the nest and was watching the first baby poke through it’s cracking egg.. Animals bond with the first face they see and as Kanga blew a kiss to the startled Kangaroo, the ‘Roo panicked and jumped up and down. The roo also did some of those famous jabs like a boxer! Hmmm, makes you wonder if these would become lifetime behaviors embedded in the mind of little Kanga……

Well, Kanga begins to grow older, and mother ostrich is very confused why Kanga is a hopper, and why she seems to put up her dukes and tries fighting all the time? Finally Kanga is old enough to leave the nest. She and I meet on a trail in the down-under. She is fascinated by my white beard, picks at it occasionally, saying she’s looking for bugs to nibble on. Reggie then suggest that Kanga’s a right funny bloke, and would she like to be his mate? So we then share dialogue and jokes about being ADVENTURERS. Reggie is always professing to have dead-on instincts, yet every time I point to a national landmark, Kanga says, “no Reggie – Sydney Australia is over that way, ole pal”.

We get into dialogue about some of the animals there, and when we discuss kangaroos, she begins to flap wings and say: “Reggie – my instincts have kicked in – I’m needing to punch-box with you”. She will then flap wings and shuffle around! I’ll borrow some lines from the “Rocky” movies as I try calming this confused heavyweight bird. She’ll say at one point: “I MUST be a Kangaroo, look at my little arms –they LOOK like wings, but when I flap, I can’t get my big belly off the ground”. I’m a much better boxer than a BIRD –life can be so confusing”. At this point I can even address the phases of growing from child to teen to adult, helping kids understand that we all must change as we mature.

Then Kanga will try hoping around too much! I’ll use the feet attachments and show that’s she’s unwittingly dragging Reggie through the bush. We’ll discuss the climate of Australia, and discuss a few more animals native to Australia, and how odd some people think THEY are. At this point Kanga will begin to understand that she’s been mistaken all her life, that she really IS a an Ostrich.

As we end the routine, I help her embrace being an Ostrich, and she gets one final jab at Reggie. She says: “sure, I’ll be a bird the rest of my life, but Reggie me old mate, How about we go another three rounds, huh?” irst, I need a nap” she says. And I make her exit.

The End.

I know schools enjoy education value in school entertainment, so I’m tickled that I’ll be educating through and adventurers format, the attractions of a world foreign to us Americans.. The Outback!

Aunita Padgett

Ostrich looks in bag finds mirror..Who is that good lookin bird in here? (preening primping)
Where i don't see abird i see a handsome ventriloquist.
You're kidding. I just saw it.
Well, you know looks aren't everything. Actions speak louder than words
How is that? I have a new bonnet and I look great. Doesn't that count?
Sure, ;but how are your manners? Are y;ou nice and hellpful to others?
Well, I never thought of that. it is important isn't it? If I am nice to others they will be nice to me.
Yes and that means good friends who care about you.
Now I get it. I do need to keep mysesf neat and clean, brush my teeth and smile a lot and I will look good anyway.
There is only one thing.
And what is that?
I don't have any teeth. ha ha

Al Stevens
How about if Twinkletoes sticks his head in the sand and finds Osama Bin Laden in a spider hole? That way we all win.