Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (TV Series)

1669: Then and Now (1993)

Fred Rogers: Mr. Rogers, King Friday XIII, Henrietta Pussycat, X the Owl, Daniel Striped Tiger

Photos 

Quotes 

• Mr. McFeely : I just found this bird that is dead.

  Mr. Rogers : I wonder what happened.

  Mr. McFeely : I don't know, but I thought you might have a small box so I can bury it.

  Mr. Rogers : Are you sure it's dead?

  Mr. McFeely : It doesn't move at all. Maybe it had an accident or something and died.

  Mr. Rogers : Isn't that sad?

  Mr. McFeely : It won't be able to fly again.

  Mr. Rogers : Or eat anything.

  Mr. McFeely : Or sing.

  Mr. Rogers : There are some things that are so hard to understand.

  Mr. McFeely : There surely are.

• Mr. Rogers : I remember when my cat, Sybil, died. She was very old, and she was very sick. But even so, when she died, I cried a lot because I missed her so much. She used to have her breakfast with me every morning, and she would sometimes sleep on my bed at night. After she died, then we buried her. Of course, she wasn't living anymore, so she wasn't there for breakfast or sleeping. But I can still remember her, and the feelings I had when I was with her. Such good feelings.

• King Friday XIII : I had a bird one time, and it died, and I didn't like that.

  Handyman Negri : What kind of a bird was it, sire?

  King Friday XIII : Oh, a lively, feathery bird.

  Handyman Negri : A live bird.

  King Friday XIII : Yes. It sang so beautifully.

  Handyman Negri : And... uh... It wasn't made of wood?

  King Friday XIII : Oh, no.

  Handyman Negri : And it didn't... uh... have a stick attached to it?

  King Friday XIII : Oh, no. No stick. It was lovely. And I think it loved me. But it died, so I don't want Mimus and Trog to do that.

  Handyman Negri : But Mimus and Trog won't die, King Friday.

  King Friday XIII : Why not?

  Handyman Negri : Because they haven't lived. They're toys. They're not live pets.

  King Friday XIII : But they remind me of Cherry.

  Handyman Negri : Cherry? Was that your live bird's name?

  King Friday XIII : Yes.

• Mr. Rogers : Sometimes when I hear another cat meow, I think of Sybil and how glad I was to have been able to be her friend for so many years. In fact, I sometimes think of Sybil when I make believe, especially when I make believe about Henrietta Pussycat..

• Henrietta Pussycat : Meow dressed up old today.

  Lady Aberlin : You dressed up old today? Why are you doing that?

  Henrietta Pussycat : Meow meow pretending.

  Lady Aberlin : Did you want to know what it would be like to be old?

  Henrietta Pussycat : Meow, meow meow die.

  Lady Aberlin : And what it would be like when you die?

  Henrietta Pussycat : Meow.

  Lady Aberlin : What do you think it will be like?

  Henrietta Pussycat : Meow won't be here meow, meow nobody meow see me.

  Lady Aberlin : You won't be here, and nobody will see you.

  Henrietta Pussycat : Meow, meow even X meow Owl.

  Lady Aberlin : Not even X the Owl.

• Mr. Rogers : When I was a little boy, I used to ask so many why questions. I still do.

  Mr. McFeely : I do, too. There are lots of things to wonder about in this life.

  Mr. Rogers : There certainly are.

• [King Friday shows a picture of his bird, Cherry] 

  Handyman Negri : What a beautiful bird.

  King Friday XIII : Yes. But it died, and I didn't like that at all.

  Handyman Negri : So you got wooden birds on sticks.

  King Friday XIII : Exactly.

  Handyman Negri : Well, they're toys, King Friday.

  King Friday XIII : Yes, we... They'll always be around.

  Handyman Negri : And so will your memories of Cherry.

  King Friday XIII : [looks at the picture]  Yes, they will.

• Henrietta Pussycat : Meow pretending meow meow old, meow someday meowing.

  X the Owl : Old and dying? I don't want to hear about that stuff.

  Lady Aberlin : Well, Henrietta was just thinking about it, and so she wanted to talk about it.

  X the Owl : I'll tell you what I think about it. I'm going to live every day as it comes, fly where I'm supposed to fly, and come back home. And when it comes time for me to die, I'll do that too, and that's it.

  Henrietta Pussycat : Meow's it?

  X the Owl : That's it. You know what, Hen?

  Henrietta Pussycat : Meow.

  X the Owl : I like you anyway you look. You're my neighbor. See y'all!

  [closes his knothole door] 

  Lady Aberlin : Farewell! Sometimes people want to talk about things, and sometimes they don't.

  Henrietta Pussycat : Meow.

• Daniel Striped Tiger : I don't want my truck to die.

  Lady Aberlin : Oh. Daniel, is that something you've been concerned about?

  Daniel Striped Tiger : Yes, because it's my favorite thing, and I've always had it, and I always want to be able to play with it, and I don't want it to go away.

  Lady Aberlin : Did you know that your truck is a toy?

  Daniel Striped Tiger : Yes, it's the best toy I have.

  Lady Aberlin : And did you know that toys don't get born like people, and animals, and birds, and living beings like us?

  Daniel Striped Tiger : No.

  Lady Aberlin : And did you know that toys don't grow like people, and animals, and birds, and living beings like us?

  Daniel Striped Tiger : No, my truck doesn't grow.

  Lady Aberlin : So, toys don't die either. Since they haven't lived, they don't die.

  Daniel Striped Tiger : So, my truck won't die.

  Lady Aberlin : No, it won't, because it's not the kind of thing that gets born, and grows, and changes, and lives.

  Daniel Striped Tiger : It's not like you, or Mr. McFeely, or any of my neighbors.

  Lady Aberlin : That's right. We're living creatures.

  Daniel Striped Tiger : And my truck is just a toy.

  Lady Aberlin : Yes, it's a toy that helps you to play and think about all kinds of things.

  Daniel Striped Tiger : Yes, and I'm always glad to have you to talk with about what I'm wondering.

  Lady Aberlin : You're a wonderful, wondering tiger, Daniel.

  Daniel Striped Tiger : And even when you're not hear, I can think about you.

  Lady Aberlin : And I can think about you.

  Daniel Striped Tiger : I guess it is good to be born, and grow, and change, and live, and die.

  Lady Aberlin : And think, and feel, and remember, and be real.

• Mr. Rogers : Everything that lives will someday die. But I believe that it's worth it to be a real live somebody in our real live world. And what's more, no matter what, we'll always have somebody to take care of us. Isn't it amazing how each one of us is somebody special? No matter what we can do or cannot do, no matter how old or young we are, no matter how we look or sound, we're the only one in this life exactly like us. And this life wants us to be all we can be.