Dragons, Wagons & Wax

Tom proposes another planet with a room just like theirs, inhabited with two strange creatures looking down on the Earth. These creatures plan to note human life processes.

Linda and Tom are back on the telescope, imagining the two space creatures trying to research human life on Earth. Now the Space Captain wants a human. She implores the Space Lieutenant, who has never seen a human, to get a human for her.

Bored Chris and Robbie begin to fantasize with Tom about how different people look. Theirs is a detective adventure centering around an agency called The Detective Den. Robbie and Chris search for a cuddly grandmother.

Tom and Linda, along with two friends, are rehearsing a variety show on the systems of the body. They discuss the digestive, respiratory, circulatory, and nervous systems. They rummage through a set of props to assemble their make-up, depending on what systens they play.

Kathy is upset on her birthday. Linda suggests she talk to a Spirit of Birthdays (Tom), who tells Kathy how fun each stage of human life is.

Tom shows Linda photos of his great-grandfather. He was a man who knew a great deal about good health, and he even jad a word for it: creft. That was an acronym for cleanlinesss, rest, exercise, food, and teeth.

Linda introduces another Terrible Troll story. In it, the Troll enslaves a little girl. The only way she can escape is if she can tell the Troll within three days what materials make up the Earth.

""From the mountains to the plateaus,"" Tom sings. Although the line may be wrong, it does lead Tom to another Barney and Pete story. In it, Barney and Pete have lost their pirate ship and must ride a magic carpet to find it.

Tom emerges with a trunkful of books and diaries belonging to his great-grandfather. He had gone to all parts of the earth noting how the earth undergoes natural changes via water, wind, and ice.

Tom and Linda discover more of Gramps' notes about changes on the Earth's surface. Gramps is superimposed over film of a volcanic eruption and geysers. He also documents the destructive effects of an earthquake that ravaged Alaska in 1964.

Chris has his reservations about a hot day. Tom hints to how important the sun is with a story of a boy who wished the sun would not rise again, and apparently saw his wish realized. After the story, Tom plays a cassette tape of a song dictating facts on the sun and (to a lesser extent) the planets.

Tom brings in a compost barrel to complete the community that is the Dragons, Wagons & Wax set. Until now, he and Linda had producers and consumers, but not the decomposers. The compost set-up filled the breach.

Going through the mail, Linda thinks she has an envelope from an ""Alice in Communityville."" This time, Alice's cat comes to life, telling her that plants and animals are suited to their specific environments.

The Change Shop returns, as Tom and Linda fantasize natural changes. Communities can be changed in natural ways, such as fire, water, drought, or wind.

A revisionist Rip Van Winkle story tells of how humans reshape the physical environment, not always for the better.

What is a ""walking catfish""? It's a warning to humankind about mishandling the Earth and disaffecting life biologically.