'The Blow-Fruit' by Oliver Postgate

Tiny Clanger collects some notes and goes down to the glow-buzzers' cave to teach the flowers to sing. Suddenly the Baby Dragon rushes in burbling excitedly. He has found something interesting. Tiny Clanger calls Small and they go to the cave which the Baby Dragon has found. It has trees of pipes like plumbing with bulbous fruit. Tiny Clanger picks up some of the tubes and blows through them. They play notes like pipes. She tries to collect a scale. This bores Small Clanger and the Baby Dragon. They pick one of the fruits and play ball with it outside. They throw it high and it lands on a rock and hisses, like a balloon released. Tiny Clanger asks them if they will be quiet just as they let off another. She takes her pipes and flounces away. She meets three of the little flowers. She shows them the pipes and plays to them. They sing. They are interrupted by a loud burbling roar. Small Clanger and the Baby Dragon have dropped a fruit into the soup-well. They drop another. There is a tremendous roar. The little flowers leap into Tiny Clanger's arms and she runs to the home cave. Small Clanger and the Baby Dragon are about to drop another when the soup-dragon comes up and chases them away with her wooden spoon. Tiny Clanger complains to Mother Clanger that there is nowhere she and the flowers can practice their song without being interrupted by Small Clanger's tricks. Small Clanger and the Baby Dragon appear and pop a fruit into the soup-jug on the table. It blows a sudden fountain of bubbles and the little flowers are frightened again. Tiny goes angrily away and takes the music boat up into the sky where she and the flowers can practice in peace. Mother Clanger is cross with Small but Major Clanger is interested in the new source of power. They fit up the old ornithopter that didn't work and adapt it to the new bubble-power. They try it and it works. Small Clanger goes up in it and teases Tiny Clanger and the flowers. She moves to another piece of sky but Small Clanger follows her. The ornithopter begins to leak bubbles and slowly falls apart. The pieces fall to the ground. Small Clanger falls on Major Clanger. Tiny Clanger and the flowers continue their song in peace.

Original Conception:
Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin

Scenery and Puppets:
Peter Firmin

Music:
Composed by Vernon Elliott

Filming and Editing:
Oliver Postgate

Film Company:
Smallfilms

TX:
27th October 1972 @ 4.00pm

Notes:
*This synopsis is the original outline written by Oliver Postgate for the BBC prior to production, and may differ slightly from the transmitted version.

*The Clangers voices were played on swannee whistles by Oliver Postgate and Stephen Sylvester.