Episode 3710

	Sesame Street
	Baby Bear's missing string
Air date	January 30, 1998
Season	Season 29 (1997-1998)
Written by	Tony Geiss
Directed by	Ted May
Production	October 7, 1997
Sponsors	F, 18

Picture	Segment	Description
	SCENE 1	Baby Bear is working in his collage, “Still Life with Porridge.” He notes, however, that the real porridge he used is no longer hot. He thinks adding something above to make steam lines will work effectively. He takes his favorite piece of red string and decides to add it to his picture. While he applies the paste, his string disappears. Baby Bear begins to freak out (“This cannot be happening in a civilized society!”).
	Cartoon	"I Have a Purple Bucket" (First: Episode 3467)
	Film	A Japanese boy plays taiko drums in the park. (First: Episode 3153)
	Cartoon	Jazz Alphabet: male vocalists shout each letter. (First: Episode 0619)
	Muppets	Grover and Elmo sing "Red and Blue". (First: Episode 3656)
	Cartoon	A flame burns through a capital letter F, ultimately revealing a lowercase letter f. (First: Episode 2288)
	Animation	F / f candles (First: Episode 3081)
	Cartoon	Typewriter: F for Fly (First: Episode 0781)
	Muppets	Baby Tooth and the Fuzzy Funk: "Boogie With Your Buddy" Part 1 (First: Episode 2986)
	SCENE 2	Gabi and the other kids look for Baby Bear’s string around the yard. Gordon comes along and learns why his string is so special. Baby Bear proceeds to sing a tribute song about “Mr. Stringo” and sings all the things he could use him for. As Baby Bear re-enacts the crime scene for Gordon, he sees another piece of string someone gave him has vanished too. They wonder who on the street would take old string when the answer dawns upon them... Oscar!
	Film	"Box City Recycling Rap" Kids sing a rap song about recycling. They build a city out of boxes and cartons. (First: Episode 2851)
	Cartoon	A dinosaur tries to move around a rock. (First: Episode 2744)
	Muppets	The Count sings "Counting Robins" with a group of robins. (First: Episode 3375)
	Cartoon	Light and heavy (bird falls on man) (new music added) (First: Episode 0785)
	Film	Coverage of a spring kite-flying festival, where both kids and grownups can participate. (First: Episode 3276)
	Muppets	Baby Tooth and the Fuzzy Funk: "Boogie With Your Buddy" Part 2 (First: Episode 2986)
	SCENE 3	The group arrives at his trash can and question him. Oscar browses through his string collection and finds nothing. He gives the collection to Gordon to look through, which consists of a long series of string. After going through the beginning, middle and end, they find no red string, but an anvil Oscar has attached on the end. They then discover a piece of yellow string Oscar set out (“Old Yeller”) has been stolen too! Baby Bear deduces there’s a string thief loose on the street and recruits Gabi to help with his plan.
	Cartoon	Beginning / middle / end: a beatnik follows a trombonist's note through a long horn. Artist: Frank Gresham (First: Episode 3266)
	Muppets	Bert sings about his love for making music from hitting an “Oatmeal Box”. (First: Episode 3610)
	Cartoon	Leanna Williams explains why she loves her brother’s shoes - she has fun with the box they came in. Artist: ArtistMike (First: Episode 2985)
	Song	"Exploring in Your Closet" (First: Episode 3132)
	Muppets	Baby Tooth and the Fuzzy Funk: "Boogie With Your Buddy" Part 3 (First: Episode 2986)
	SCENE 4	Disguised as bushes, Baby Bear and Gabi plant some decoy string by the Fix-It Shop for the thief and plan to jump him when he arrives to steal the string. Carlo walks by and mistakes the string for trash. The kids mistake him for the thief and begin questioning him, but find he’s innocent and promise to throw the string away once they’re done with it. They resume their posts and watch some kids pass by, none of them even acknowledging the string. The two get thirsty and head inside Hooper’s Store briefly for a drink. While they aren’t looking, a small bird flies by and swipes the string.
	Cartoon	At the Pride Day Ceremony, Donald is waiting to describe his proudest accomplishment, and is initially unsure of himself next to other impressive students. He finally proudly acclaims his achievement, tying his shoes all by himself. Artist: John Korty (First: Episode 2085)
	Muppets / Celebrity	Jim Carrey shows Elmo and Telly how he expresses his emotions - with his feet (in speed-induced footage, no less). (First: Episode 3023)
	Cartoon	A spoof of Alice Cooper's "Eighteen" - the number of sandwiches the singer has to choose from. (First: Episode 2859)
	Film	18 glasses, 18 chairs, 18 socks
	Animation	Abstract #18 (First: Episode 2859)
	Muppets	Baby Tooth and the Fuzzy Funk: "Boogie With Your Body" Part 4 (First: Episode 2986)
	SCENE 5	Big Bird wanders by and finds Baby Bear complaining. Big Bird reveals he knows the string’s whereabouts and who took it.
	SCENE 5 cont’d	He brings them to the yard and shows his bird friend, Mrs. Tanager, has taken the string to build a nest for her two baby birds, Curly and Moe. He tries explaining to the angry Baby Bear that some kids missed the basketball hoop and hit her nest and she need a quick repair, so she took the string he had. Mrs. Tanager gives him a red feather of hers to compensate. He thinks it will work perfectly for his picture!
	Cartoon	A seal and a bear fight over a circus ball, but learn to cooperate. Artist: Frank Gresham (First: Episode 3282)
	Celebrity	6-year-old Joseph Marley records a song with his dad, Stephen. Footage is shown of the Marley family on tour, singing "Could You Be Loved." (First: Episode 3670)
	Cartoon	A Flea circus performs feats beginning with the letter F. (First: Episode 0309)
	Muppets	The Anything Muppets cheer about the letter F. (First: Episode 0093) Version 3
	Animation	Sand F/f (First: Episode 0629)
	Song	"Elbows and Knees" (First: Episode 2641)
	Cartoon	The parts of a man's face move around as they are drawn. (First: Episode 3410)
	SCENE 6	Baby Bear applies the feather to his art. Big Bird then says that when the babies are old enough to fly, Mrs. Tanager won’t need the nest and he can have his string back. She then announces the sponsors (with Big Bird translating), and Baby Bear reports the status of Slimey's spaceship.
	COMING SOON	Coming soon on Sesame Street: Baby Bear panics when Barkley steals his mobile.