Episode 3820

Sesame Street
The adults are too busy to tell Elmo a story
Air date	January 1, 1999 (New Year's Day)
Season	Season 30 (1998-1999)
Sponsors S, 18 Syndication 123 Sesame Street, PBS Sprout

Elmo wants to hear a story, but all of the adults are too busy to spend time with him. Bob is teaching clarinet lessons, Alan is swamped with lunch orders, and Maria has too many toasters to repair. Maria encourages Elmo to make up his own story, so he imagines that he's the Royal Elmo, who's never too busy to help his friends on Sesame Street. But as the story continues, the Royal Elmo gets tired of all the requests, and he's too busy to play.

Finally, all of the adults are finished with their jobs, and they want to tell Elmo their stories. Elmo has to rush off and feed Dorothy, so he leaves Big Bird in his place.

Segments

• Ernie can't sleep, because he's afraid of dark shadows and spooky things. Bert comforts him, and the two sing "Imagination" before falling asleep.
• Ben Stiller sings " The People in Your Neighborhood" with Telly, and decides that he'd like to be a person in the neighborhood. But does a cheese count as a person? (EKA: Episode 3812)
• Sesame Street Goes to Day Care: Telly and Baxter name S words.
• Prairie Dawn gives Grover 15 seconds to say an "S" word, but Grover has trouble concentrating due to the ticking of the clock. (EKA: Episode 3723)
• Elmo's World: Books

Notes

• One of the customers at the Fix-It Shop in this episode is Guy Smiley, making one of his first new appearances since Jim Henson's death.

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