'The Egg' by Oliver Postgate

The iron chicken is on her iron nest. She is terribly agitated. She is rushing about searching for something. She looks through her telescope and sees what she has lost. She calls up Tiny Clanger on her radio. The Clangers are in bed but Tiny Clanger rouses them. They take their pretty tablecloth and run outside with it. They hold it out like firemen and manoeuvre into position so that they catch the iron chicken's egg which is what she had lost. The iron chicken flaps down. The egg must not get cold so they put the egg in a crater for a nest and the iron chicken sits on it. There is a dull crunching sound and a clang as the crater falls through. The egg rolls down a slope inside the soup-dragon's cave and tips her into her soup-well.

The egg bounces off and falls into a deep crevasse. The poor iron chicken is hysterical but Small Clanger fetches the rod and magnet and fishes in the crevasse. The egg comes up but alas it is broken and empty. The iron chicken calls into the crevasse but there is no answer. Then the froglets come hopping up from their hole in the ground. They are agitated. They stop croaking end look down at their cave. With a small crumbling sound the baby iron chick digs her way out of the solid rock. It walks along a little way and walks into the rock again. The iron chicken calls it and it walks out of the rock beside them. It looks at them and sits down exhausted.

The Clangers offer it various foods which it refuses. Then Small Clanger has an idea. He leads them to the quarry and scrapes away at the loose rock. He scrapes out a pile of nuts and bolts and offers them to the baby chick who pecks them up and is revived. The two iron chickens scratch up their fill of nuts and bolts. Mother Clanger has made them a nest of macaroni branches and they go to bed. The Clangers cover the birds with their tablecloth and retire to bed themselves.

Original Conception:
Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin

Scenery and Puppets:
Peter Firmin

Music:
Composed by Vernon Elliott

Filming and Editing:
Oliver Postgate

Film Company:
Smallfilms

TX:
23rd May 1971 @ 5.05pm

Notes:
*This synopsis is the original outline written by Oliver Postgate for the BBC prior to production, and may differ slightly from the transmitted version.

*The Clangers voices were played on swannee whistles by Oliver Postgate and Stephen Sylvester.