He was going to visit Granny Bird.
She lived at the seashore!
It was his first trip away from home.
Big Bird’s friends took him to the bus stop.
“Good-bye, Big Bird! Have fun! We will miss you,” they said.
“I will miss you, too,” he said.
Big Bird thought the bus would never get there.
“Gee, I hope Granny is waiting for me,” he said to himself.
At last the bus stopped.
Granny Bird waved to Big Bird.
“My little Big Bird! I am so happy to see you!” Granny said.
“Me, too, Granny!” Big Bird said.
After lunch they went to the beach.
Granny’s friends all said, “My, what a nice grandson!”
But Big Bird did not want to talk.
He wanted to go into the water.
“Go on, dear,” said Granny. “I can watch you from here.”
Big Bird ran to the water.
It was the first time that he had ever seen the sea.
“Wow! It sure is big!” he said.
He had fun all afternoon racing the waves and playing in the sand.
Granny and Big Bird had supper on the porch.
They watched the sun go down.
Big Bird yawned.
“Time for bed,” Granny said.
Granny tucked him in, kissed him good night, and turned on the night light.
“Sleep tight,” she said.
But Big Bird did not sleep tight.
He thought about Sesame Street.
And the more he thought, the sadder he felt.
“I miss my nest,” he whispered.
A tear rolled down his cheek.
“I miss my friends,” he cried softly.
“I want to go HOME!”
He cried himself to sleep.
At breakfast Big Bird just looked at his birdseed pancakes.
“What is wrong, Big Bird?” Granny asked.
“When will I be going home?” Big Bird asked sadly.
“I know what is wrong. You are homesick!” Granny said.
“Will I have to go to a doctor?” Big Bird asked.
“No, Big Bird,” Granny said. “You will get better all by yourself—and very soon.”
Then Granny gave Big Bird some picture postcards.
“Do you want to send these to your friends back home?” she asked.
“Yes!” Big Bird said happily. “You write what I say and I will write my name myself.”
They mailed the postcard on their way to the beach.
Then Big Bird said, “I am going to build a Sesame Street sandcastle!”
He got his pail and shovel and started to dig.
He worked and worked.
At last it was built.
“Look, Granny, I live here and Ernie and Bert live there and—”
Just then a big wave crashed onto the beach.
It rolled over Big Bird’s wonderful sandcastle.
“Oh, what a shame!” Granny said. “But don’t cry, Big Bird. Why don’t you try to find some pretty sea shells to give your friends?”
Big Bird walked down the beach.
He found a big shell for Ernie, a little spotted shell for Bert, and a round shell that looked like a cookie.
“This one is for Cookie Monster,” he said.
Thinking of his friends back home made Big Bird feel homesick again.
Then Big Bird saw something funny—a soggy old boot.
He picked it up.
And someone laughed.
Big Bird looked around and saw a boy.
“What are you going to do with that rotten old boot?” the boy asked Big Bird.
“Give it to Oscar!” said Big Bird.
And he told the boy about his friend Oscar the Grouch, who liked everything yucchy.
The boy’s name was Wally.
He lived in town.
“Come on,” he said. “I’ll show you my secret cave!”
“Wow!” Big Bird said. “Snuffy would love your cave!”
Then Big Bird told Wally about his friend Snuffy.
“I wish I had a friend like that!” Wally said.
That night Big Bird ate two bowls of birdseed stew for supper.
He told Granny all about his new friend Wally.
Granny said, “I am so happy that you feel better.”
Later, in bed, Big Bird missed his nest a little bit.
But he thought about playing with Wally the next day.
And soon he was sound asleep.
Every day Big Bird and Wally played together.
They played ball in the water.
They played follow the leader on the beach.
They made sand forts and tunnels.
And every day they shared a cherry Popsicle.
Finally it was Big Bird’s last day at Granny’s house.
It was a cold, rainy day.
Wally came to say good-bye.
Big Bird felt sad.
It felt almost like being homesick.
“I will write to you,” Wally said.
“I will write to you, too,” Big Bird said.
Then the rain stopped, the sun came out, and…
a rainbow lit up the sky.
Wally and Big Bird ran out.
They played until Granny said, “Time to go, Big Bird.”
Then she said, “Come back next dummer.”
Big Bird said, “You bet I will!”
