- A group of storybook characters emerge from the book of Mother Goose leading to Old King Cole walking out of the book and into our world, followed by Raggedy Ann, while other characters, including Merlin the Magician pop out of the book with the help of Mother Goose to bring her flock back into her book world.—Anonymous
- This filmed stage play begins with Old King Cole walking out of a large book on the right side of the stage that has the text 'Stories of Mother Goose' printed on the large red cover. He starts talking to the audience about how his life is boring and nothing ever happens around his castle. He complains that the only amusement in his life is a life-sized rag doll which he introduces out of the book (a very freakish-looking Raggedy Ann). King Cole claims that all that 'Rag Doll' does is sleep all day. He continues talking about how it will take a magician to make him feel happy. Then a big booming voice appears and, out a plum of gimmicky smoke, appears Merlin the Magician. Merlin (who when he occasionally talks, speaks in a booming echo voice) proceeds to wake up Rag Doll into a dance routine and proceeds to do magic tricks.
After performing more illusion tricks, several more freakish-looking costumed characters run onto the stage whom include Chicken Little, the Honey Bear, etc. where King Cole introduces Merlin to them. After King Cole tells the characters to leave, Merlin captures the Rag Doll and performs another illusion by placing her in a box and using the 'swords through the box' trick. Rag Doll reappears and King Cole sends her on her way. Next, King Cole has a court page produce a large box and asks Merlin what do to with it. Merlin produces a 'Jack' out of the box who does a dance routine.
Next, King Cole brings out his three violin fiddlers (one man and two women) to play a violin melody, and then the Jack in the Box has a dance off with Rag Doll. Next, King Cole and his Court Page set up another illusion trick with a large empty barrel drum on top of a plank where Merlin performs another trick involving Rag Doll appearing out of the barrel.
Next, Princess Beauty appears and asks King Cole and Merlin to help her find her Prince. After sending King Cole away, Merlin makes the background curtains dark and puts Princess Beauty to sleep where he performs another illusion of levitating her off the floor. After Merlin settles her on a sofa, Prince Charming appears where he sings a song and wakes up the Princess with a kiss and together they perform a song melody ('Never Before And Never Again'). Just then, the tint of the scene turns red and a Wicked Witch turns up to cause trouble for Princess Beauty, Prince Charming and other storybook characters. The Witch freezes the storybook characters when Merlin appears and he and the Witch have a magic duel between them (involving cheesy light and sound effects). Merlin puts the Witch in a box and kills her with another illusion involving fire and the Witch becomes a skeleton.
After banishing the Witch's bones away, the red tint fades away and Mother Goose appears out of the large book on stage where she un-freezes everyone and turns the background curtains to normal. Mother Goose tells the Prince and Princess and the other storybook characters to return to the book, which most of them do.
Merlin then performs another illusion involving Jack in the Box (now played by a woman) involving the cube box magic trick. Afterwords, Mary-Mary appears looking for her little lamb and faces off against the mute and troublesome Rag Doll over it. After Mother Goose argues with Merlin about how to make Mary happy, he performs another magic trick involving making Mary's bouquet of flowers blossom, which she takes them back into the book with her.
Merlin then performs another illusion trick involving the disappearing milk trick. Afterwords, Little Bo Peep walks in looking for her sheep, which Rag Doll starts a fight with her for no clear reason by stepping on Bo Peep's foot and kicking her in the rear. The fight has to be broken up by King Cole and Mother Goose who then calls Merlin out once again who produces a sheep for Bo Peep (a plastic model) who takes the sheep and disappears (due to trick photography).
King Cole finally decides that Rag Doll should be punished for her antics and has her placed in the book which she fades out. Mother Goose tells King Cole that he must return to the book, but first he wants to say goodbye to Merlin, only to see that he is no longer around. Then Merlin's booming voice speaks to them from above telling them that he has served his purpose to entertain them and they must continue his work by entertaining for others in the stories of Mother Goose. King Cole then returns to the book and waves goodbye as he fades away. Mother Goose then returns to the book after waving goodbye to the audience. Fade out.
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