Q: Why did Farmer Bruckheimer change his mind about selling the pig to his neighbor, Digby?

Transcription

1 Study Guide: Spun

2 Spun Synopsis: Farmer Bruckheimer s pig is having a litter of piglets when he notices a runt. His daughter Gilley wants to keep the runt as a pet and raise it herself. Reluctantly the farmer agrees. Gilley names the pig Filbert, after a boy at school she likes. The girl and the pig run and play around the farm, and Filbert enjoys his life in the barn until one day when Gilley starts going out with her friends instead of paying attention to him. Filbert is sad, and the goose and the goat try to cheer him up but they can t. Farmer Bruckheimer realizes that Gilley has grown tired of taking care of the pig, and he pities Filbert. Months pass, and Filbert is now a full grown pig. He has adapted to life in the barn, and hardly ever sees Gilley. He has his friends, the goat, the goose, and even a rat named Ben, but he is still lonely most of the time. Then one day Gilley surprises him with a visit to say goodbye. Sadly he is being sold to a neighboring farmer named Digby. Filbert is very upset by this news, and feels more alone than ever. But then he hears a mysterious voice coming from the ceiling. The voice of a spider named Scarlett. She makes friends with the pig, and tells him not to worry She will figure out a plan to save him from his fate. Meanwhile Farmer Bruckheimer and Digby are meeting about the pig. Bruckheimer agrees to sell Filbert for 75 dollars. Digby plans to stop by and look at the pig in the morning. In the barn, Scarlett and Ben discuss coming up with a way to save Filbert. The next morning Gilley and her friend faint after see the words good pig written in a spiderweb. She quickly rushes off to tell her father. When he sees the words written in the web he also faints. When Digby comes to collect the pig, farmer Bruckheimer tells him the deal is off. The pig is too special to sell to his neighbor. He has other plans for the pig. When word of writing in the web gets out, the news media comes to the farm to cover the story. Strangers have traveled for miles to see the good pig and the special spider who spun the web. Farmer Bruckheimer tells them the spider has also spelled out the words fantastic and wonderful in different webs. He also says he plans on taking his pig to the county fair so that even more people will get to see his famous pig in person. Filbert won t be the only one going to the fair. Tagging along will be Ben (the rat) and Scarlett. Farmer Bruckheimer lets it slip that he plans on selling Filbert for a lot of money, if he can get a good price. Scarlett tells Ben she won t let that happen if she can help it. Filbert makes her promise they will be Best Friends Forever. At the county fair, Gilley meets a man named Cyrus Bacon, who owns the worlds largest bacon company. Cyrus has come to the fair to try and purchase Filbert for one million dollars. Now Gilley really doesn t want to lose the pig. When she tracks down her father, she pleads with him not to sell Filbert for any price. But the farmer is not convinced. Until After a short nap, Filbert awakens to find the letters BFF written in a new web above the pig pen. Suddenly the significance of the words Best Friends Forever convinces Bruckheimer not to sell the pig to Cyrus Macon. The spider s actions succeeded. But unfortunately, Scarlett s destiny lies in her egg sac, which she makes the rat promise to take back to the farm. Filbert vows to protect Scarlett s children and watch over them. When the eggs hatch, most of the tiny spiders fly away, but those who stay behind become new friends with Filbert, who tells them about their mother, and how she saved his life.

3 Questions: Q: What famous book does Spun remind you of? A Charlotte s Web. Q. What do you call the smallest pig in a litter? A: The runt. Q: Why did Farmer Bruckheimer change his mind about selling the pig to his neighbor, Digby? A: The words Good pig were written in a spider web. This made him think maybe his pig was too special to sell. Q: Why did Gilley name the pig Filbert? A: She named him after a boy at school that she liked. Q: Where did Bruckheimer take his famous pig? A: To the county fair. Q: Why did Cyrus Bacon want to buy Filbert? A: So he could put his picture on all his bacon packages and sell more bacon. Q: Why did Farmer Bruckheimer decide not to sell Filbert at the end? A: When he saw BFF written in the web, he realized he should keep the pig so they could be friends forever. Q: What did Scarlett make Ben promise to do at the end? A: Take her egg sac back to the farm and protect it. Q: What happens to Scarlett s children? A: Most of them fly away, but a few stay on the farm to live with Filbert. Suggestions: Spun is a parody (amusing imitation) of Charlotte s Web. Discuss some of the differences between the 2 stories. Read Charlotte s Web. It s a great book! If you like, have the children draw their favorite scene from the show. You may mail them to us at: Sadecky's Puppets, 313 5th Ave., Tarentum, PA

4 Name: SPUN Student Worksheet Write one word that describse each of the following characters: 1. Gilley 2. Farmer Bruckheimer 3. Filbert the pig 4. Scarlett the spider 5. Cyrus Bacon 6. Goose Which character above might say this? (write the number) I love taking care of animals at first. I talk in rhyme. All the time. I love to eat bacon. I m proud of the words I spun. I m keeping my famous pig at my farm forever.. My best friend is a spider.

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6 ABOUT SADECKY'S PUPPETS Sadecky's Puppets was founded by brothers Jay and Michael Sadecky, who had an early interest in the art of puppetry. As children they developed and performed skits for family and relatives. Some homemade puppets were made in the mid 1960 s as part of a scouting project. By the year 1970 the Sadecky s were doing shows for private parties and holiday events. In pursuit of other interests, the puppets were put away until 1981 when Jay decided to revive the idea. He asked Michael to design and build a stage and construct some puppets for 5 seasonal productions. In 1982 Jay & Michael became full-time partners and for the next 5 years produced and rehearsed shows at home, until acquiring an office and workshop in Tarentum, Pennsylvania in Their sister Kathy and additional puppeteers were hired to perform shows (using 2 stages) simultaneously at different locations. Professional puppet makers and scenic artists began to aid in production design. The sales staff started marketing to nearby states and soon after that Sadecky's Puppets became the touring company that it is today. Our puppeteer troupes now travel to 14 different states, performing over 400 shows per year! The productions deal with many different topics, including character education, storybook classics and holiday themes. We ve created our storylines based on annual client surveys and also written reviews received from educators and audience members after each school performance. In this way, the viewer evaluates our performances, and the teachers have the opportunity to tell us what they would like to see in the future. Having raised children of their own, both Jay and Mike recognize the importance of the nurturing and character building of today s children. Written into each script are issues such as respect, peer pressure and honesty. We hope that in this way the students will not only be entertained, but they will also learn valuable life lessons.