Invasion of the Toe Ticklers

[Mary Louise]

Today I was thinking about the episode “Invasion of the Toe Ticklers,” where Mokey was in the Gorgs’ garden and met a caterpillar-like creature that enjoyed tickling her toes. She named the creature Agnes and called her species Toe Ticklers. Meanwhile, Ma wanted Pa to use a sprayer full of poison on the Toe Ticklers so they wouldn’t eat a particular kind of white flowers. Mokey, overhearing this, took Agnes down to the Rock, and a few minutes later, the other Toe Ticklers followed. The Gorgs didn’t get to spray a single one. As for the white flowers, they grew into stinky ones that began crowding out the radishes and couldn’t be pulled up. Luckily, the Toe Ticklers turned into creatures called Purple Sproingers, which flew to the garden and ate the stinkweed flowers.

This has always been one of my favorite episodes, and one of the best that taught interconnectedness. I’m so glad Mokey saved Agnes and that the other Toe Ticklers followed. Looking back on it, I realize just how much was prevented from happening. Having the flowers start crowding out the radishes was bad enough, but what if the other Toe Ticklers had stuck around and the Gorgs, in spraying them, had gotten poison on the radishes, and into the ground they were growing in? I shudder to think what would have happened to the Fraggles. And the Doozers mine the radishes and turn them into dust to make Doozer sticks. Imagine eating a good-looking radish or a beautiful Doozer construction only to drop dead!

 

[Beige Fraggle]

I never thought that deeply about it, but those are excellent points!