"Honest Ostrich " is the second half of the ninth episode in the first season of Stanley.
Summary[]
Marci needs her soccer ball for her big game, but Stanley is afraid to tell her that he lost it, fearing that she'll stop being his friend. While trying to hide from her, Stanley learns about ostriches in the Great Big Book of Everything.
Plot[]
Marci comes by Stanley's house saying that she needs her soccer ball that she let Stanley borrow for her big game. Stanley tells her that he would bring it over to her house as soon as possible. Marci tells him that her game starts in an hour and leaves, while Stanley is left feeling nervous.
After searching his closet and toy chest several times, Stanley thinks that he left it outside, but is still not able to find it. Stanley gets worried about what Marci will say. When trying to go back in the house, Stanley sees the twins at the front door talking to Lionel. Lionel says that he hasn't seen Stanley since breakfast, so the girls decide to look for him themselves. Seeing Marci upset, Stanley tries to hide from the twins. After his parents go out to search for him, Stanley runs back into the house and into his room, wishing he was an ostrich, so he can just bury his head in the sand and forget the whole thing. But Dennis replies, saying that's not what ostriches actually do. To find this out, Harry and Elsie come out from under the bed and suggest they look in the Great Big Book of Everything.
After looking it up, Stanley discovers that ostriches don't hide their heads in the sand, but rather just bend down to hide from predators. Stanley, thinking it's not such a smart idea, wonders why the ostrich doesn't just fly away. Dennis states that ostriches can't fly, as they are the largest birds on the planet weighing more than 300 pounds. While they're not able to fly, they are able to run as fast as 40 mph and faster if they are scared. Stanly thinks that would be the perfect way to escape Marci and Mimi.
Meanwhile, Stanley's parents hear him talking in his room and go in to talk to him. Stanley admits that he lost Marci's soccer ball and is afraid to tell her, thinking she'll be mad and stop being his friend. His mom tells him that hiding from her won't solve anything. Stanley then realizes he has no choice but to tell Marci the truth.
Stanley approaches the twins and admits to Marci he lost her ball and that he was afraid she wouldn't want to be his friend anymore. Marci states that even though she's mad at him for losing the ball, that would never stop them from being friends. Stanley realizes that hiding from her really didn't help. He then gets an idea in which he crouches down like an ostrich and manages to find Marci's ball under a bush.
Cast[]
- Khylan Jones as Marci and Mimi
- David Landsberg as Dad
- Rene Mujica as Harry
- Ari Myers as Mom
- Shawn Pyfrom as Lionel
- Charles Shaughnessy as Dennis
- Jessica D. Stone as Stanley
- Hynden Walch as Elsie
Featured Animals[]
Ostriches
Quotes[]
Dennis: Aren’t you gonna tell the twins the truth?
Stanley: No way! I can’t tell Marci I lost her ball! She’ll just keep getting madder and madder and stop being my friend.
Dennis: Well you can’t hide from her forever.
Stanley: Wanna bet?
Trivia[]
- Morals:
- Running away from your problems doesn’t solve them. It’s best to just face the music instead of trying to hide forever.
- Even if a friend gets mad at you for something, you’ll still be friends no matter what.
- Try to look at your problems in a different way.
- The theory that ostriches bury their heads in the ground is a common myth that originated from Ancient Rome. Despite still being used as a cartoon gag, this episode debunks the myth, stating that it’s not what ostriches actually do.
- When Dennis asks the viewer if they see the soccer ball, much of the animation is reused from the episode Show and Tell Shark.