Smokey's Story (1971)

[Music] [Music] Oh, that's a by a truck you got there. I didn't hear you drive up. Sorry if I startled you. Anything I can do for you? Oh, I was just looking for a faucet. Want to get a bucket of water before we started the fire just in case. Don't want to get in trouble with Smokeoky the bear, you know. No, we couldn't have that. You see this trail right here? Yeah. Well, you go down that for about 100 yards and you'll come to a faucet. Thanks. Excuse me, mister. Anybody ever tell you you look a lot like Dennis Weaver? Well, Now it's mentioned it. My wife does say there's quite a resemblance. Thanks again. You bet. This is the stuff that does it. Phosphorus. If you don't have it, a match dip will get hot enough to catch fire. That phosphorus catches fire really easy. Just one little rug gets it hot enough. Come on, Jimmy. We better get that water for your daddy's dip bath. One little scratch and the matchick catches on. You better be careful. You might start a fire. You'll really be in trouble if your dad sees you or the ranger or Smokey. Ah, come on. That sounds like pretty good advice to me. Your folks let you have those matches. No, sir. And if his dad finds out, boy, is he going to be in trouble. Oh, knock off, Kathy. Well, maybe you better let me have him, Tiger. You know Smokey's friends don't play with matches, do they, gang? No. Oh, come on, mister. Maybe we can fool them. But you can't kid me. Kid you about what? How dangerous matches can be? No. About Smokey the Bear. Everybody knows that's just a gimmick. There is no Smokey. There's no Smokey. Well, of course there is. I'll tell you what. You let me have those matches and I'll tell you the story of Smokey the Bear. The true story. Nothing, Dewey. We don't want to hear Dewey. Well, maybe you don't, but I do. So do I. Me, too. Come on, Jimmy. Give him the matches. Yeah, we want to hear a story. Look, I'll make you a deal. You let me keep those matches while I'm telling the story, and then if you want them after I'm finished, you can have them. Fair enough. Well, I guess not. Hey, mister. Haven't I seen you on TV before? Oh, I don't know. Maybe you're on Uncle Ben's kitty cartoon carnival on Saturday mornings, right? Well, no. I You must have got me mixed up with some other guy. Now, is everybody ready? Yes, I suppose. First, I think we should know each other's names. Mine's Dennis. I'm Jimmy. I'm Kathy Tian. I'm Bobby. That's Mike. Okay. Now, when our story first began, Smokey was just a cup. just a little bitty baby. As a matter of fact, he was younger than any of you. Now, does anybody know where he was living? Was his mommy and daddy? That's true, Mike. But where were they living? In the forest, right, Bobby? In the Lincoln National Forest in New Mexico. Now, what do you think that Smokey did all day? Look for some honey. I bet she played lots. Of course, he wasn't the only one that lived in the forest. Do you know who else lived there, Jim? Sure, that's easy. People. And what did they do there? Lots of things like camping, for instance. Logging and fishing and stuff. [Applause] And even though the rangers and most of the other people tried to be very careful, a fire started. Now, at first it was just a small fire. How did it start? I bet some bad men did on purpose. Probably somebody got careless with the campfire. Or maybe somebody's playing with matches. Come on, tell us. How did it start? Well, it could have started in any one of those ways. Nobody ever really found out for certain. Anyway, the fire didn't stay small for very long. What about the rangers? Couldn't they put it out? First, they've got to get there, you know. And forest fires move pretty fast, maybe 100 miles hour, don't they, Mister? Well, let's just say that they all move faster than you think. Anyway, this fire had already burned a lot of territory before the rangers got to it. [Music] The Rangers finally put the fire out, but it cost over $35,000. 50 men were injured, and 17,000 acres of forest were burned. But that was only part of what the fire cost. There were no more trees for lumber to build houses with, no more places to camp and picnic, no hiking trails, no fishing, no place for children to play, and no animals left alive. But what about smoking? Did I say there were no animals left alive? You sure did. Well, what I should have said is there are no animals left alive except one. Because even though Smokey was just a a little cub, he was able to climb to the very tip top of a tall, tall tree where he was pretty safe from the fire. Poor little Smokey. He sure must have been scared. Did he cry? Oh, I should say. You bet he did. See, he was afraid that the fire would come back, and his paws had been very, very badly burned. They really hurt. What did he do? Well, at first he called for his mother and his father, but they had both been killed by the fire, and there was nobody else around to help him. So, for a long time, he just just hung on to the top of that. He sure was. After a while, he didn't think he could hold on any longer. And all around the tree were these great big huge rocks, and he was afraid that he would fall down and hurt himself again. And he was just about to let go when he heard voices. The ranger. That's right, Kenny. The rangers found Smokey and they helped him down from the tree. And then they took Smokey and put him in their plane and took him back to the ranger station. The chief ranger and his wife and his little daughter took good care of Smokey. They put medicine and bandages on his burned paws, and they gave him plenty of milk to drink. And pretty soon, Smokey was feeling a lot better, good enough to run and play. He had a lot of fun with the chief ranger and his family, but well, after a while, he began to get homesick for the forest where he'd lived before. But Smokey's old home in the forest was all burned up, and there wasn't anybody there to play with or to take care of him. Now, the ranger would have liked to have kept smoking, but he was growing bigger and bigger every day, and pretty soon he would just be too big to live there anymore. Now, the rangers knew that they would have to find a new home for Smokey. Where was that? Well, where would you kids have taken him if you'd been the Rangers? How about the zoo? Yeah, that's where they know all about taking care of bears and stuff. And that's just what the rangers did. They took him to the National Zoo in Washington DC and they made a special home for him. And that's where the real Smokey is today. And ever since that he's been there, he's been doing a real big job. And I'll bet you know where that is, Mike. He helps prevent forest fires. He sure does. But he he can't do all the work alone. He needs some help. And not just from grown-ups. You know, I'll bet you kids can think of a lot of ways that you can help Smokey and the Rangers prevent forest fires. Well, if you're all camping and you build a campfire, you should build it where you're supposed to, not work and burn down trees and stuff. Crush all cigarettes. Dead out. Drown campfires with lots of water. Those are all very important. Are there any others? Yes. Don't play with matches. You know, that still seems like pretty good advice to me. How about it, Jimmy? You still think Smokeoky the Bear is a gimmick? Well, still here, Jimmy. See, what's taking you kids so long to get a bucket of water? Oh, I'm afraid that's my fault. I was telling them about Smokey the Bear. Oh, I see. That was a good story. Yeah. Good. Listen, it's lunchtime and your folks all want you back. You know, it's amazing. What's that? He could be Dennis Weaver's brother. No, no, I couldn't be that. I I'll guarantee you. Well, now that you mention it, maybe not. Hey, Dad. You're supposed to hold the matches till they get cold, then break them in, too. Tell them what Smokey says, gang. Remember Smokey? ABC. Matches don't start forest fires. People do. Forest fires kill a lot more than trees. Be careful in the forest. Animals wouldn't burn down your homes. Don't burn down theirs. Okay. Okay. Looks like I needed that lesson, huh? And I won't forget it either. I promise you that. You kids better run along. See you later. Jimmy, hurry up with that water. Your mom's waiting. Jim, I think the peas are yours. Well, maybe you better keep them. After all, Smokey's friends don't play with matches, do they? They sure don't, Jim. They sure don't. [Music]