Picture	Segment	Description
	Intro	My Favorite Sesame Street Moments: Venus Williams Venus' favorite moment is the song "Ladybugs' Picnic."
	SCENE	Big Bird welcomes the viewer and gives clues to where he's going: Hooper's Store. He goes in and asks Alan for his usual birdseed milkshake and learns that Alan will be taking a trip to Hawaii. The thought of Alan going away upsets Big Bird, but Alan explains that he plans to hire somebody as his temporary replacement and shows the ad he submitted to the newspaper. It reads: "Help Wanted. Looking for someone to run Hooper's Store for one week. Must be able to cook. Knowledge of the alphabet a plus. If interested, please come see Alan today."
	SCENE cont'd	No one has shown up so far according to Alan when three Anything Muppets in a large wooden washtub enter. Alan is confused when the group explains they're answering the ad he put in the paper today, taking out their personal copy to show what they mean. Alan notes that the ad they read is for three men in a tub with varying jobs, and they've mistakenly come to Hooper's Store. The men exit and head out to find the actual location (Beefsticks, Breadsticks and Candlesticks).
	SCENE cont'd	A girl named Natalie (Natalie Portman) arrives and Alan assumes she's answering the ad too, but she just wants a glass of pineapple juice. Just then, a large elephant arrives dressed as a "master chef" (who studied in Tuscany) to answer the want ad. He attempts to demonstrate the way he cooks his famous omelet, "Rhapsody in Blue Cheese," but once he gets behind the counter he forgets where to start ("What comes first, the frying pan or the egg?!") and starts to panic, his constant jumping causing the ground to shake and sends items on the shelves to rain down.
	SCENE cont'd	Natalie gets up and tells the excited elephant to calm down, demonstrating in song the way to make an omelet while encouraging him to believe in himself. Now that the elephant is confident, he decides to ditch Hooper's and go work for Peanuts, a fancy elephant-catered restaurant.
	SCENE cont'd	Alan is impressed with the way Natalie handled the nervous elephant, not to mention her cooking skills. Natalie says she used to be a waitress and Alan asks her if she'd like to work at Hooper's for a week while he's away. He gives her a chance to try out the job and goes off to pack, giving Natalie his phone number for any questions she may have. Big Bird feels bummed because he knows being at Hooper's is going to be different, while Natalie thinks the experience will be exciting.
	SCENE cont'd	Baby Bear comes in asking Alan for "the usual," but then notices Alan isn't there. At first, the adjustment to the new change is as hard for him as it is for Big Bird, which Natalie understands - after all, she too loves porridge cooked in a special way. She demonstrates the way she makes porridge: by adding some nuts, then peaches, then honey. Baby Bear's curiosity is piqued further and further, especially when she adds the honey (which bears love). He tries the porridge, and thinks it's not good... it's great! He says Natalie can make his porridge any time and leaves to finish his meal.
	SCENE cont'd	So far, Natalie likes working at Hooper's but Big Bird is still very sad. He finds it hard getting used to the change, so Natalie sings a song about how things change over time, which makes Big Bird feel better.
	SCENE cont'd	Alan comes back and asks Natalie if she'll take the job. Natalie first asks Big Bird what he thinks, and though he says he'll miss Alan, he'll also enjoy getting to know Natalie. She decides to take the job and Alan leaves to finish packing. In the meantime, Natalie offers Big Bird a birdseed milkshake. "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship," Big Bird says.
	Song	"You're Important" (First: Episode 3396)
	Muppets	The Letter of the Day: D Part 1: Cookie Monster makes a "DON'T" sign to help stop him from eating the Letter D Cookie. (First: Episode 3990)
	Animation	"There's a big yellow D in that wagon!"
	Muppets	The Letter of the Day: D Part 2: Cookie Monster eats the sign so it says DO, and eats the cookie. (First: Episode 3990)
	Song	An ode to D-A-D. (First: Episode 3583)
	Muppets	The Spanish Word of the Day: "Gracias" ("daytime" take) Rosita presents the Spanish word for "Thank you," in response to thrown flowers and applause. (First: Episode 4031) cut from the online version cut from the Max version
	Muppets	Jimmy is upset about moving to a new house, but Hoots the Owl shows up and sings "Things Are Always Changin'." (First: Episode 2937)
	Muppets	Journey to Ernie: Beach — Big Bird searches for Ernie at the beach. (First: Episode 4034)
	Muppets	Ernie and Bert: Ernie Plays House — Bert tries to guess which part of the family Ernie is pretending to be. (First: Episode 3529)
	Muppets	Global Grover Grover comes back from Malaysia, where they make kites with bamboo sticks, strings, glue and paper. (First: Episode 4044)
	Cartoon	Global Thingy The globe wanders into the littered, polluted city, and his pals help clean it up.
	Muppets	The Number of the Day: 17 A singing 17 appears after 17 is announced to be the number of the day. (First: Episode 3984)
	Animation	It takes four hands to count to 17.
	Animation	Ornate 17s swing by. (First: Episode 3319)
	Muppets	Elmo's World: Bugs (First: Episode 3917)
	Insert	The Adventures of Trash Gordon Chapter 538 Planet Gorgonzola: Trash's nasal passages are threatened by the Stinky Cheese Guys, whom he clears with a sneeze.

Notes[]

• Natalie Portman was originally going to appear in three episodes as Natalie, but after this episode was taped she began losing her voice, so Gabi took over Hooper's Store for the remaining episodes that Natalie was supposed to be in.^[1] Portman's appearance clearly displays her ailing speech, although her two songs were noticeably recorded during a separate session.

• Additional performers include David Rudman (as the butcher), Joey Mazzarino (the baker), and Tyler Bunch (the candlestick maker).

• Big Bird is worried about somebody else watching the store besides Alan, but Hooper's Store had already had three previous owners: Mr. Hooper, David, and Mr. Handford. In fact, this theme of "change," particularly in regards to the Hooper's Store environment, is very reminiscent of the episode which dealt with saying goodbye to Mr. Hooper.

Sources[]