Hey, everyone-- it's me, Molly!

♪ Molly of Denali ♪ Let's go!

♪ She's Molly of Denali ♪ (laughing): Whooo!

♪ By plane or sled or snowshoe ♪ ♪ She is ready to explore ♪ ♪ From Kaktovik down to Juneau ♪ ♪ Always wanting to learn more ♪ Yeah!

♪ Together with her best friend Tooey ♪ ♪ Always by her side ♪ And Trini!

♪ Discovering the outdoors ♪ ♪ On adventures day and night ♪ ♪ Come along with Molly ♪ ♪ Molly ♪ ♪ Through fields of fireweed ♪ ♪ Come along with Molly ♪ ♪ Molly ♪ ♪ From tundra to the sea ♪ Mahsi'choo-- let's go!

♪ Molly of Denali ♪ Yeah!

♪ She's Molly of Denali ♪ ♪ Come on ♪ ♪ Let's go!

♪ ♪ Molly of Denali ♪ ♪ She's Molly of Denali ♪ MOLLY: "Froggy of Denali."

The Alaska bobsled team is in the starting gate!

(dramatically): At over 150 miles per hour, they'll shoot down the mountain as fast as a rocket!

(in normal voice): Ready... Set... Go!

Whoo!

Yes!

♪ ♪ (sighs): Well, that was a little disappointing.

I'll say.

There's not enough snow.

This might be the last sledding day of the season.

What if we attached wheels to the bottom of the sled?

We could ride from here all the way to Minto!

(croaks) (gasps): Ila-i!

No!

I'm not saying we should, I'm saying we could.

No!

There's a frog there!

It touched my hand!

(croaks) Hey there.

Where did you come from?

You're a cute little neeghaii.

(croaks) That's how we say frog in Gwich'in.

Neeghaii.

The poor thing must be freezing.

We should take it somewhere warm!

♪ ♪ (croaks) Catch it!

(hesitantly): Uh... okay.

♪ ♪ I got it.

How should I... (squeals) Ila-i!

You dropped it!

It licked me!

(chuckling): Tooey!

Well, he wanted to.

Got you!

Careful!

He's wily!

It's okay, little neeghaii.

♪ ♪ You'll warm up here in the house.

(grunts) Here's the tank!

Here's your tank, Jennifer.

Jennifer?

Yes.

She seems really friendly, so I think her name should be Jennifer.

(croaks) Yeah, but she has black marks around her eyes that look like a mask.

(gasps) She should be called Bandit!

Hmm... she does look like a bandit.

(croaks) Jennifer the Frog Bandit!

Jennifer Bandit!

Jenandit?

Nah.

Bandifer!

Bandifer!

(laughs) Yes!

Here you go, Bandifer.

This will be your new home until it warms up outside.

It's not very homey, is it?

Hmm... Hmm... MOLLY: This moss will make it softer for you.

TOOEY: Here's a rock for climbing on!

(light switch clicks) This will warm you up!

This book might be good.

Bandifer is smart.

(chuckling): But I'm not sure she's smart enough to read.

(chuckling): No, the book is for us.

It's a field guide all about frogs.

MOLLY: "Poison dart frog."

It's poisonous and it throws darts?

Nice!

I don't think they can throw darts.

(groans) Hey!

This one looks like Bandifer!

"Wood frog."

Bandifer is a wood frog!

(croaks) Here's a friend for you, Bandifer.

Aww, they're besties!

♪ ♪ (croaks) Huh.

What about food?

What do frogs even eat?

I don't know.

Flies?

Maybe the book will tell us.

♪ ♪ Go to the index in the back.

It'll be easier to find.

Index... Look for "wood frog."

Striped tree frog... Tusk frog... Wood frog!

Croaking...

Here we go, food!

Page 31.

What does it say?

Basically, it says Bandifer eats bugs and rotting plants.

I'll see if we have some old lettuce in the fridge.

(fridge door opens) (croaks) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (nervously): Uh, Molly?

She's looking at me.

Ila-i!

What happened?

She flew across the room at me!

(giggles): I don't think she flew.

She just likes you.

Huh.

Where'd she go?

I don't know.

We have to find her.

I don't want her jumping out at me again.

Um, I don't think you have to worry about that.

Stay very still.

Huh?

Why?

Where is she?

Oh.

Whew!

Sneaky Bandifer.

(croaks) Okay, Bandifer.

Now that your house has a roof, maybe you'll stay put.

Does Tooey want to stay for dinner?

He went home.

Oh!

(croaks) (laughs): Did you hear that?

(laughs): I wonder what she's telling us.

Probably... (in silly voice): "Thanks for all the rotten lettuce, Molly."

Maybe she's saying, "When can I go back to my real home in the wild?"

I'll let her go as soon as it gets warmer.

Good.

She's so small, she won't... (yelping): ...bother us... (lettuce rustling) ...at all.

(croaks) How do you like your food?

I haven't tried it yet.

(laughs awkwardly) (Bandifer croaks) What's this?

Bandifer just told me she wants to leave in the morning.

Good.

Maybe you could give her some extra food as a farewell dinner.

I think she's had enough.

(croaks) (Bandifer croaking continuously) Shh!

Bandifer!

For the tenth time, go to sleep!

(croaking) (groans) (croaking continues) MOLLY: And she wouldn't stop all night!

I don't know how a small frog can make such a big sound.

♪ ♪ This is where we found her.

So this is where we should let her go.

Here, hold Bandifer.

Oh, uh, sure.

Fine.

Got it.

Not a problem.

(groans) Is that the stuff from her tank?

I want it to be homey for her as she heads off into the big wide world.

I think she'll be able to find rocks and moss on her own.

(raven caws) (cawing) Why is raven watching us?

Did you bring that frog book?

Yes.

Why?

I saw something in the index.

Habitat... Life cycle...

Here, predators!

Page 31.

What does "predators" mean?

Predators are animals that eat other animals.

I want to see if ravens eat wood frogs.

Page 29... page 30... 31!

"Wood frogs are also eaten by many kinds of birds, including owls, herons, and ravens!"

Yikes!

Raven, I know you're hungry, but you may not have Bandifer for lunch.

Come on!

Let's go.

(cawing) Oh, yes, I know all about frogs.

If you kiss a frog, make sure it's not poisonous.

And use lip balm.

(laughs) Grandpa, I'm not going to kiss a frog.

GRANDPA NAT (chuckles): Ooh!

Here's the spot.

(frogs croaking) ♪ ♪ No ravens.

And a lot of other frogs.

It's perfect.

Here!

Hold Bandifer.

(yelps) (stammering): Okay, sure... ♪ ♪ (croaking) (yelps) Molly!

She's trying to get me again!

♪ ♪ (croaks) Did you hear that?

She likes it here.

You mean "he".

Only the boy frogs make that croaking sound.

Bandifer's a boy?

I thought she was a girl!

♪ ♪ At least it's warm here for her-- uh, I mean him.

Where will he go in the winter?

He finds a place somewhere.

Under the leaves.

He stays outside?

Wouldn't he freeze to death?

In the wintertime, when it's cold and the snow comes, something happens to wood frogs that is very rare in nature.

First, he burrows under the dead leaves.

Then he freezes up like an ice cube.

And he stays that way all the cold months.

TOOEY: But doesn't that hurt him?

GRANDPA NAT: No.

He's special.

When it gets warm again, he comes back to life and hops away!

(chuckles) (gasps): That's incredible!

It's like Bandifer has a superpower!

Yup, you could say that.

So when we first found him, he had just melted from being a frog-sicle?

That may be.

There you go, Bandifer.

I hope you like your new home.

Try the flies!

I hear they're delicious!

(laughs) (croaks) ♪ ♪ (croaking) (gasps) Hey there, little guy.

Do you need a home?

(laughs): Not again, Molly.

What?

I'm just asking.

(laughs) Hey, everyone!

Molly here to answer your questions about life in Alaska.

Keion in Louisiana asks, "How can I learn more about animals in Alaska?"

My friends can show you!

ALL: Waqaa, Molly!

GIRL: Today we're at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.

GIRL: The A.W.C.C.

takes care of orphaned and injured animals.

GIRL: My friend Taylor works here and she's showing us all the different animals.

GIRL: We brought this book so we can learn even more about each animal.

TAYLOR: That is our grey wolf.

GIRL: We're looking for a wolf.

We're looking through the index and seeing what page the animals are on.

If you look through the index, it is in alphabetical order, so it will help you find the animal and what page they're on quicker.

W. Wolves, page 210.

"Lone wolves are rare.

Most hunt in packs of half dozen or more."

How many wolves are there?

Atauciq, malruk, pingayun, cetaman...

There are four wolves.

Look over there!

♪ ♪ Porcupine, 163.

GIRL: Over here.

GIRL: "They do indeed have quills.

About 30,000 cover head, back, and tail."

We met a porcupine named Snickers and we got to feed it peanuts.

GIRL: My favorite thing that we saw today was the porcupine.

GIRL: How old is Snickers?

TAYLOR: Snickers is 15 years old.

(making chewing sounds) (Taylor and girls laughing) TAYLOR: This one is Kat and Mai.

GIRL: My favorite animal was the Sitka black-tailed deer, because they were really soft.

Oh, so cute!

♪ ♪ ALL: Piura, Molly!

Mahsi'choo!

Thanks for asking and see you next time!

MOLLY: "Molly Mabray and the Mystery Stones."

(phone chirps): Hey everybody!

Tooey here in Layla's airplane with Grandpa Nat!

Hi!

I've taken over vlogging today because... Molly's flying the plane!

Whoa!

Whoa!

Captain Molly!

Do you really think you can land this plane on your own?

Puh-lease.

I've seen my mom do it a hundred times.

How hard can it be?

(gasps): Oh, no!

Turbulence!

Everyone, hold on!

(yelping) (squeals) (yelping) ♪ ♪ (knocking) Everybody ready to take off?

Ready.

(laughs awkwardly, phone chirps) (engine starts) ♪ ♪ Grandpa!

Auntie Layla!

Hey, Randall!

Hey, Ruth!

I hope you don't mind me taking your mom away for the weekend.

Just in case, I brought you some extra company.

Molly!

(grunts) And the Too-ster!

I didn't expect you guys.

Hey, are you gonna collect sea cucumbers with Grandpa and me?

I brought my lucky yein bucket!

(laughs) Yeah!

But we also came for these!

Huh.

What am I looking at?

A petroglyph!

That means stone carving.

We're learning about them in school.

Did you know some were carved 8,000 years ago?

And there are petroglyphs right here in Sitka!

Actually, there are some carved on rocks in a little cove nearby.

Our ancestors made them.

Hmm.

Sounds like you four have a busy weekend planned.

Come on, Ruth, let's get going.

See you in a few days!

Bye, Mom!

See ya!

Later, Mom!

Nideevee gozu'!

MOLLY: That was delicious!

Yeah!

Randall fries a mean bread.

Perfect!

Clean enough to eat off of.

(laughs) Here's the tide book you wanted, Grandpa.

Oh, baasee'.

What's a tide book?

It tells you when the tide will be in and will be out.

GRANDPA NAT: When the tide is out, the water has moved away from the shore.

And that's when you want to look for the sea cucumbers.

You can see them laying on the beach!

Now, let's see...

Tomorrow is Monday the 15th.

And the first low tide is... 2:03 in the afternoon!

That's when we'll gather the yein.

If we get enough, I'm gonna cook up a batch of my famous yein fried rice!

(quietly): It's a secret recipe.

(kids laughing) I can't wait!

♪ ♪ That'll give us plenty of time to do both.

Petroglyph hunting in the morning... And yein gathering in the afternoon.

♪ ♪ Randall said there's a trail that leads straight to the petroglyphs.

(gasps): I see it!

♪ ♪ MOLLY: Randall said we should look for a cove that's shaped like a crescent moon.

Crescent moon.

Okay.

(waves crashing) Wait!

Listen!

Do you hear that?

Waves!

♪ ♪ (cawing) Does that cove look like a crescent moon to you?

Yeah!

But where are the petroglyphs?

♪ ♪ Hi, dotsoo!

See any rocks with 8,000- year-old carvings on them?

(caws) (laughs): Guess not.

Maybe we're in the wrong place.

But we followed the trail... Those petroglyphs have to be here somewhere.

(yelp) Wet feet!

Run!

It's coming back for more!

♪ ♪ (shoes squelching) Hey!

How was the petroglyph hunting?

(sighs): We didn't find any.

TOOEY: All we got was soggy sneakers.

Are you sure you were in the right place?

It was a cove shaped like a crescent moon.

How many could there be?

Huh.

Strange.

How long did you look?

Until Tooey got hungry.

What's for lunch?

I'm starving.

Sandwiches.

Ooh, I love a good sandwich.

Is it your super-secret recipe for special sandwiches?

Yup!

Peanut butter and jelly.

(both laugh) But tonight, we'll be having...

BOTH: Yein fried rice!

(laughs heartily) If we're lucky!

Let's grab our lunch and get going.

(shoes squelching) Uh, better take off those flippers before going in.

(both laugh) (waves lapping) ♪ ♪ We're here!

That's a small beach.

♪ ♪ Yeah, we probably won't get a lot of sea cucumbers.

We're just early.

The tide is still a little high, but it's going out.

Ooh, I see some!

♪ ♪ That's yein?

Cool!

Look!

The water's going out!

(gasps) Now there's yein all over the beach!

How lucky are we to harvest such a delicious food?

They're pretty easy to catch.

(yelps) That's one of the sea cucumber's natural defense mechanisms-- to frighten predators.

Well... it totally works.

(laughs) (groans) (Randall laughs) And that's another one of its defense mechanisms.

Wow!

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Do you think we have enough?

This is going to be the biggest batch of yein fried rice ever!

(raven caws) (gasps): Wait!

Was this rock here before?

Is this beach getting bigger?

Yup!

It's almost low tide.

So the water has slowly been going out.

But when the tide comes back in, the beach will shrink again, until this whole area is underwater at high tide!

TOOEY: At 11:33, which is six hours from now.

You mean we can see more beach when the tide is low?

Yup!

Now you're getting it.

Tooey!

That's it!

What's it?

Maybe the petroglyphs actually were there at the cove, but we just couldn't see them because of the high tide!

(gasps) You might be right!

What time was the high tide this morning?

MOLLY: At 7:00.

That's just when we were there!

That's why we couldn't find the petroglyphs.

Because they were underwater!

But we can see them if we go now!

Relax.

There's no rush.

There will be a low tide tomorrow, too.

See?

At 8:30 in the morning.

♪ ♪ And there it is!

Crescent cove beach!

♪ ♪ (gasps) MOLLY AND TOOEY: Whoa!

Look at this rock!

It must have been underwater when we were here before!

(gasps): A petroglyph!

It looks like a salmon.

(gasps): Here's another one!

(phone camera clicks) So cool!

GRANDPA NAT: Petroglyphs were a traditional way of marking territory, sharing stories about the land and the people who lived there.

This might have been a place where the ancestors would gather to swap stories.

Maybe they even told stories about gathering yein!

Just like we did today!

(Molly sighs) Amazing.

I can't wait to tell everyone about this back in Qyah.

Nothing goes better with my yein fried rice than a good story.

Did I ever tell you that story about Doyonh?

No, Shchada'a.

What happened?

(chortles) Well, it was a blustery winter's eve.

My buddy Cliff and I were camped near Wonder Lake, when suddenly, there was rustling in the bushes.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Hey, everyone!

Molly of Denali is made possible in part by: a Ready to Learn grant from the U.S. Department of Education; the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people; and by viewers like you.

Thank you!

Mahsi'choo!