Fri, Nov 19, 1971
As Bob welcomes the viewers, Sesame Street is suddenly beset with an outburst of jackhammers and roaring compressors. Maria and Tom come by and see that workmen are fixing the street, and they complain about the noise. Oscar pops up wearing a hard hat and says he's heading to where they're digging, not wanting to miss all the noise, dirt and mess.
Wed, Nov 24, 1971
Molly has finished her shift for the day and relaxes on the stoop. She muses about when she gets the chance to take a vacation, she'd like to go out west to a ranch, with wide open spaces and horses to ride on instead of walking. She imagines herself on the Lazy F Ranch, where she's greeted by a cowpoke (Big Bird) who points her toward the stable. The head wrangler (Oscar) turns her away (he's one of the bad guys) and suggests she do some walking instead. Back in reality, Molly remarks that she should go to the beach instead. Celebrity Flip Wilson shows how his teacher, Miss Johnson, taught the ABCs.
Thu, Nov 25, 1971
A boy is on his way to school. Rafael asks the younger kids what they know about school and they spell the word. Cartoon includes Jack-in-the-Box School. Muppets Ernie and Bert - Ernie lies in bed and starts talking about what a square looks like and how many lines it has, then goes on to compare a square with a triangle. He then starts to ponder how many sides a circle has, and goes to sleep. Bert is about to attempt to answer the question, but ends up not being able to sleep.
Fri, Nov 26, 1971
Molly comes to pick up the mail from the Sesame Street mailbox. She explains how this works to Marty, who never knew how the mail process went. After she goes through the work of opening the mailbox, collecting the letters, filling her bag, and closing the mailbox, Marty puts a letter of his own inside. He apologizes, not realizing he could have just handed it to her. Molly goes through the process again, then once more when Tom mails a letter. Finally, Big Bird comes out with a letter, but Molly quickly grabs it and stuffs it deep in her bag. Big Bird points out that letter was the one from his Granny Bird that Molly delivered earlier; he was just going out to read it. He claims Molly now has to go through all the mail in her bag to find it again and Molly sighs, "Some days I wish I were a fireman..."
Mon, Nov 29, 1971
Tom is bored because there hasn't been a single customer at Hooper's Store all morning. He acts out having one by rushing back and forth from behind the counter, making a drink for himself. He then realizes he's left the front door sign on "CLOSED." He flips it to "OPEN" and Gordon stops in. Film "I Am a Letter" - Vocalists sing a song describing the process of how mail is sent.
Wed, Dec 1, 1971
Things move in fast motion on Sesame Street, then in slow motion. When things return to regular speed, Susan introduces - Film George the Farmer demonstrates fast and slow by going back and forth on a fence, and in a rocking chair. Muppets A Muppet inchworm and a bug sing "The Inch Worm" in a field of flowers. Film Jerry Nelson counts 20 backflips performed by a monkey. Film Number Three Ball Film: A red ball follows a rollercoaster-like track through checkpoints (each, a set of three) that are counted in voiceover. In the end, the ball is ground up into a powder.
Thu, Dec 2, 1971
Big Bird finds a wallet on the ground with Gordon's name in it. He assumes he lost it, so he'll return it to him right away. But he immediately wonders if Gordon thinks that someone might have stolen his wallet, and how angry he would be about it. Big Bird imagines Gordon with a top hat and sinister facial hair sitting in a darkened room with Rafael, plotting to hire his henchman Nasty Norman to track down his wallet and take care of whoever stole it.
Mon, Dec 6, 1971
Oscar's trash can is surrounded with various bags of trash. Tom tells the viewer that today is trash collection day and alerts Oscar of this as well. Oscar starts digging through the refuse and sings "I Love Trash" in celebration. SCENE 2 As Oscar examines his trash, Gordon complains about the mess he's made and claims not everyone likes trash the way he does. Oscar imagines a world where everyone loves trash, which means nobody throws anything away for him to keep. When Oscar snaps back, he thanks Gordon and Tom for being the way they are, rendering them confused. Cartoon- A housewife screams because there is a mouse in her house. Her husband's solution is to continually bring in animals to chase it out, with each animal making an even bigger mess than the previous one.
Wed, Dec 8, 1971
Molly delivers noisy packages to Mr. Hooper and the kids guess what's inside--clocks, baby rattles, and a talking mama doll. Molly says she can't guess what's in the last package, because it is the quietest. Mr. Hooper opens it and says no, it's the noisiest of them all: his transistor radio. Muppets- Two Anything Muppet boys are in the park, playing hide and seek. One hides while the other says the alphabet. Unfortunately, he doesn't know the whole alphabet, so he asks for help when he gets stuck. The other boy has to come out of his hiding place to help him finish the alphabet. He helps with Z, and then gets caught.
Thu, Dec 9, 1971
Gordon and others are bothered by the sight of litter all over the sidewalk. Bob offhandedly comments that anyone who can prevent people from littering would be a hero, inspiring Big Bird to take up such a task. C is for clipper - and captain, crew, cargo, cookies, cantaloupe, cabbage, candy, cake, and corks that the crew eats (some by mistake).
Fri, Dec 10, 1971
Grover carries a satchel and wears a postal carrier's hat as he approaches Molly to inform her that he plans to pursue her chosen career path. Molly explains that it's tough work, lots of walking and carrying heavy things, but Grover is convinced that despite his cuteness, he is also strong. She decides to let him give it a try by tasking him with delivering a few items.
Mon, Dec 13, 1971
Gordon goes to Hooper's Store and buys eleven carrots. Muppets Muppet Hands count to 11. Cartoon P is for Puppy Muppets Ernie and Bert - Ernie's doctor comes over. Ernie keeps trying to tell the doctor why he called him, but the doctor is too occupied with checking on Ernie, hardly allowing him to get a word in edgewise.
Mon, Dec 20, 1971
Luis, Susan and the Kids sing "We've All Got to Work Together" while cleaning the street. Oscar doesn't believe they can do it, but they succeed. Oscar even helps by taking a big pile of trash into his can. Muppets Ernie and Bert - Part 1: Ernie, having set up shop as a barber, gives Bert a haircut, but he ends up removing all of his hair.
Tue, Dec 21, 1971
Maria greets the viewer, while quietly reading a book. Oscar, meanwhile, practices for a yelling contest, which bothers Maria. She repeatedly tells him to stop, and Oscar is impressed with her loud yelling. Cartoon-Jasper thinks that he has lost his elbow, but Julius shows him his elbow by bending his arm. Artist: Cliff Roberts.
Thu, Dec 23, 1971
Maria shows the viewer what the Sesame Street sign looks like without its E's. Cartoon-A man saws a letter E through the wall. Muppets-Cookie Monster and Ernie: During Ernie's naptime, Cookie Monster tries to steal and eat Ernie's pillow by distracting him with a bell. Luis and some kids notice a broken vase with a baseball next to it. They find Big Bird wearing a baseball glove and holding a bat, and question him on the broken vase. Big Bird imagines that a clown (Gordon) was juggling baseballs, then that a carnival barker (Bob) used the vase as a decoy for a customer (Maria), but eventually confesses that he broke the vase.
Mon, Dec 27, 1971
Susan explains to Luis, in his first day on the job, how to stack and count sacks that come off an assembly line. Film "Ten Song (Song of Ten)" Muppets-Waiter Grover: Mr. Johnson wants a bowl of hot alphabet soup, and he really wants it to be hot. He looks to make sure that each letter of the alphabet is in his soup, but he is missing some. By the time Grover brings in all the missing letters, the soup is cold.
Thu, Dec 30, 1971
At Hooper's Store, Big Bird tells David that he's been practicing adding and subtracting. A new kid in the neighborhood, Alex (nickname "Smart Alex") approaches and asks for an orange. Big Bird tries to solve the subtraction problem, but Alex beats him to it. Big Bird worries that David might like "Smart Alex" better than him.
Mon, Jan 3, 1972
Susan engages Big Bird, John-John, and Shola in a guessing game on the steps of 123 Sesame Street. Matching items to the words they rhyme with, Susan says the last item in the box rhymes with "big". Big Bird asks if it could be a pig - Baby pigs run in a field, and drink their mother's milk.
Wed, Jan 5, 1972
Outside the Fix-it Shop, Luis welcomes the viewer while putting tacks into a coffee can. He leaves for the bank, and Big Bird and Mr. Snuffleupagus find the coffee can. Snuffy thinks it's a perfect thing to keep his crayons in, but he accidentally knocks it over. Big Bird gets the idea to find Luis and tell him the truth about the accident.
Fri, Jan 7, 1972
Big Bird encounters his friends collecting empty bottles to be recycled, and offers to help out. Cartoon-A man creates an avalanche on the letter A. Artist: Cliff Roberts. Big Bird brings some bottles over, but learns that they can't be recycled because they are full. His friends help themselves to some soda, making the bottles empty.
Wed, Jan 19, 1972
Big Bird is feeling a little gloomy when he greets Luis and Rafael on the street. He feels that he's not very special, but Rafael says that he's the most beautiful yellow bird he's ever seen. As he begins to talk about how many friends Big Bird has, Rafael whispers to Luis and the two depart, promising to return shortly.