Speaker 1: When your favorite superhero asked you to become their sidekick,
you've got to say yes. Right What a dream that
would be your own costume with a cape, a cool
catchphrase like zip zap, zoom your butt to the moon,
and you can even pick up your superheroes dry cleaning. Wait,
dry cleaning? Did you sign up for that? I don't
know about this. Let's get into it. Hellol, story time
is really not a glory time. I have a standing
You'll be fine. Follow the whole storyline. Hellol, story time,
might you live at least one time?
Speaker 2: Now?
Speaker 1: This is the story of a superhero who preferred to
go it alone. No team, no sidekick, not even a
guy to pick up his dry cleaning. Hair Man was
a classic crime fighting hero who took on the bad
guys all by himself. So what if he had one
of the worst superhero names in superhero history. All the
good names were taken, was his usual defense, and since
he had the best hair of anyone he knew, hair
Man kind of made sense. But it didn't matter what
people called him. What mattered was that this guy really
knew how to save the day. Angry Bear chasing you
down the street, hair Man to the rescue. Bad guy
eating your soup while you're waiting for it to cool.
Hair Man to the rescue. Evil space alien throwing rocks
on the slide while you're waiting to go down. Hair
Man to the rescue. He was fast, he was powerful,
and sometimes it felt like he was everywhere at once.
He was hair Man and he was a legend. Oh
hair Man, you did it again. Thank you. When my
neighbor's kid stuck their tongue note at me, I just
didn't know who else to call. But hair Man didn't
do it for the thanks. He helped people because it
was the right thing to do. It's what I do, ma'am.
If you ever spot trouble, just blow me a bubble. Sorry.
Other really slick rhymes were already taken. The city of
Socopolis loved and adored hair Man, but there was one
person who adored him more than anyone else. Brady from
thirteen seventy five Road Street. Wow, Brady, I've never seen
anyone with so much hair stuff before. You've got posters,
action figures, t shirts, coffee mugs, trading cards and hair
Man bed sheets and pillow covers. Brady's best friend, Quinton
could have gone on and on. Don't forget about the
officially licensed hair Man underpants, added Brady, I own all
twenty three pairs. But even though he was one of
Hairman's biggest fans, Brady was one of the few people
in Socopolis who had never seen him in real life. Brady,
I can't believe you've only seen him on TV. I
saw him saving the day at my ant's house just
a couple of weeks ago. They had a really clogged
toilet and didn't know who else to call. Brady gave
his friend a look. Uh, the plumber, maybe, yeah, but
it's more fun to have a superhero come over than
a plumber. Superheroes wear capes, plumbers wear pants that barely
cover their bump cracks. Quinton wasn't wrong, but Brady always
felt bad for hair Man. Whenever he heard stories like these,
he worried people were asking too much of one person. So, Brady,
you've never been tempted to, you know, blow some bubbles.
Brady glared at Quinton, already knowing where this was going.
You mean call him for no reason, no way, that
wouldn't be fair. Here, Man has real problems to deal with.
A sinister smile was spreading across Quinton's face. Well, what
if you did have a problem. Before Brady could respond,
Quinton bolted out of the room, worried. Brady chased after
him and caught up just as Quinton was pulling something
out of the kitchen fridge. Everybody stand back, or this house,
including your new leopolster sofa, is gonna get it. Quentin
held up a can of whipped cream, finger poised on
the nozzle. Put down the whipped cream, Quintin. It doesn't
have to be like this. Quentin gave the can a shake.
There's only one person who can stop me, and, sadly
for you, he's not here right now. I'm not calling him, Quinton,
not for this, So put the whipped cream down. Brady
might not have felt the need to call hairman, but
his mother, who had just walked into the kitchen, certainly did.
Speaker 2: Brady, what is your friend doing with that whipped cream?
He looks ready to spray it all over the house,
especially on our newly upholstered sofa. We have to call hairman.
Somebody handed me a bubble wand and just like that,
Brady's mom was out in the backyard blowing bubbles up
into the sky. Moments later, hair Man came swooping down,
seemingly out of nowhere.
Speaker 1: Do not fear hair Man is here? Now, which way
did the bad guy go? Brady wanted to tell hair
Man that this was all a big mistake, that there
hadn't been a good reason for them to have called him,
But seeing hair Man up close in his own yard,
Brady practically became paralyzed. He couldn't move, he couldn't speak,
He just stood there, trying not to drool. His mother
pointed the superhero in the direction of the kitchen. Hairman
dramatically flipped his hair back before combing his fingers through
his hair. He then gave Brady's mother a slight nod
and said, folks, looks like it's time to get herey.
By the time Brady snapped out of his trans Hairman
was already long gone. The only sign he had ever
been there was Quinton tied up in the middle of
the kitchen with a big swirl of whipped cream on
top of his head. Could someone please untie me and
pass me a spoon? After Quentin was released, Brady walked
him to the door. I was a little unnecessary what
you did back there, Quentin. But I know you were
just trying to do something nice. And was it nice?
Asked quintin stepping outside. Brady smiled, it was the best
moment of my life. As Quentin walked away, he scooped
some whipcream from off of his head and popped it
into his mouth. Brady closed the door and was about
to go to his room to replay the moment in
his head fifty times over when there was a loud knock.
He assumed Quentin had forgotten something. Brady opened the door
and instantly went weak in the knees. There on his
front porch was hair Man. Hair Man accidentally left with
your can of whipped cream, and he may have not
so accidentally finished it off. Sorry about that, hair Man
didn't have much time for lunch today. Brady couldn't believe
hair Man was standing on his front porch talking to him,
and not just talking apologizing for eating his whip cream. Quickly,
he had to remind himself how to speak hair Man.
It's really you, dude. I have seventeen of your coffee
mugs and I don't even drink coffee. Hair Man did
not appear to be flattered, kid, Would you mind if
I sat down on your front porch for a few minutes,
I am sucked. Catching the whipped cream creamer was already
my eleventh bubble call today since breakfast. Brady could see
it in the superhero's eyes. He looked exhausted. Powerful and legendary,
but exhausted. Of course, you can sit down, stay as
long as you want. Brady was delighted to serve Hairman
some coffee out of a Hairman coffee mug. You know,
hair Man, have you ever thought about getting a sidekick?
You're hired? Brady took a step back. He hadn't meant
that as an offer. Who me, I can't be your sidekick.
I've never sidekicked anyone before. I frontkicked my sister once,
but I got in really big trouble for that, even
though she totally deserved it. Hair Man simply stated that
being a sidekick was easy and that anyone could do it.
If Robin could be a sidekick to Batman, then Brady
could be a sidekick to hair Man. Can you start Wednesday?
Brady considered checking with his mom first to see if
they were busy Wednesday, but decided that probably wasn't a
very sidecackish thing to do. Yeah, Wednesday's good man, I'll
see you. Then Brady went back inside and nearly fell over.
Had that seriously just happened? With Wednesday being just days away?
Brady had so much to do. First, he needed a
superhero sidekick costume. Then he needed a superhero sidekick name.
Then he was going to have to come up with
a superhero catchphrase unless Hairman was willing to share. Let's
get Harry. At dinner, Brady kept showing his parents different
types of sidekick poses. So do you guys think this
stance would look good on the front of a poster?
And how about this look for a photo of me
on a coffee mug. He even practices talking to bad
Guy's voice, Dad, you better put down that salt before
I make you put down that salt. Too much salt
can make your food too salty. He hadn't sorted out
the cape before Wednesday, but figured hair Man wasn't gonna
care about that. Where's your cape, kid, was the first
thing out of hair Man's mouth. If you want to
be a superhero sidekick, you've got to dress like a
superhero sidekick. Brady apologized and told him he'd get it
sorted out as soon as he could. Trying to turn
things around, he told Hairman his new catchphrase, you know
what time it is, drop a hair and a bad
guy's cheeseburger time. Hair Man stared vacantly at Brady. Hey, kid,
you don't get to have your own catchphrase. Only superheroes
get to say cool stuff. And anyway, I would never
wish upon my worst enemies for them to find a
hair in their cheeseburger. Do you know how ikey it
is to find hair in your food? Come on, don't
make me regret giving you this job. Brady couldn't believe
he was blowing it. He had prepared so hard to
be a good sidekick. Sir, how about you to show
me where the bad guys are. I'm ready to help
you save the day. Hair Man handed Brady a list,
a shopping list. Now make sure you get the right
kind of shampoo, kid, hair like this doesn't just happen.
He then dramatically whipped his hair back and began running
in the direction of some distant bubbles rising up toward
the sky. His hair bobbed perfectly and sank with the
the flutter of his cape. Very superhero whisk. It wasn't
exactly how Brady had wanted to spend his first day
as a superhero sidekick, but he was grateful he still
had his job, and if buying some things for Hairman
at the supermarket helped free up some time and energy
for hair Man to save more people's days, then so
be it. Helping fight Evil could wait until tomorrow. Well.
The next day, Brady didn't get to join Hairman on
any superhero quests either. He had to learn how to
patch a hole in Hairman's backup superhero suit, and patching
spandex was not easy. On Friday, Brady had to pick
up Hairman's dry cleaning, walk his three dogs, wash the
Hairman mobile, send a birthday card to Hairman's grandmother in
exchange to the shampoo he had bought the other day
for a different brand of shampoo. Come on, kid, you
bought me Glimmer and Shine when I clearly had written
down Everlasting Shine. Those two shampoos are night and day.
Brady was doing his best to keep up with all
of his superhero sidekick duties, but as the weeks went by,
the heavy workload really started to take a toll. When
he eventually found himself with a short break in his
busy schedule. One day, he decided to pay a visit
to his best friend, Quinton. Climbing Quentin's front steps to
ring the doorbell felt like climbing Mount Everest. He sat
down on the top step and waited for his friend.
The moment the door opened up, words started pouring out
of his mouth. Hair Man is the worst superhero sidekick.
For no wonder, he normally works alone. Every other superhero
lets their sidekick help fight the bad guys. But do
you know what I've been stuck doing? Shopping, cleaning, and sewing.
I'm not even allowed to have a catchphrase either, not
that I need one to do superhero laundry. What would
I even say? Evil dirt on capes? Beware stain Remover
boy is here, like seriously, and do you know what else?
He asks for this and for that? But do I
ever hear please or thank you?
Speaker 2: No?
Speaker 1: Because there's never enough for this guy. He's never satisfied.
They should have named him Captain Grumpy. So you know
what I'm gonna do? I think I'm gonna quit. Brady
realized he had not even said hello to his friend.
As he turned around, he saw that the person he
thought he was talking to wasn't even Quinton. WHOA, How
did I not know Quentin got a new sister? Now
we could see that Quintin's door wasn't even the same color.
And why had someone changed the numbers on his house? Oh? No,
I am so sorry. I thought this was my friend
Quinton's house. Brady was preparing to make a run for
it before his cheeks could get any more red, but
the girl stopped him. No way, is it really you?
Is Brady's sidekick actually sitting on my friend's steps right now?
Brady wondered if this was what it was like to hallucinate.
Had a girl he'd never seen before just recognized him
as Brady's sidekick? You you know me?
Speaker 2: Know you?
Speaker 1: Are you kidding me?
Speaker 2: Of course?
Speaker 1: I know you. I'm your biggest fan. I think you're
like the best sidekick of all the sidekicks. Girl pause
to catch her breath.
Speaker 2: I'm Nyla.
Speaker 1: By the way. Brady thought his brain would have had
so many questions, but it only had one. Nyla, do
you have a poster of me on your wall? Nyla
regretfully answered that she did not, but that's only because
they don't let sidekicks have their own posters. Otherwise I
totally would I do have a Brady sidekick coffee mug.
Though Brady realized he did not know what you were
supposed to do when you met a fan, was running
away a good option because that's what he felt like doing. Fortunately,
he stuck around. Can I be your sidekick?
Speaker 2: Please?
Speaker 1: I know sidekicks don't normally have sidekicks, but I think
I can be a really great sidekick to a sidekick.
And from everything you said earlier, it sounds like you
could really use some help. Help was exactly what Brady needed.
He felt like he was drowning and all of the
responsibilities of being a sidekick who didn't yet have their
own sidekick. Well, Nyla, looks like your new name is
about to become Nyla's sidekick to a sidekick. Get ready
to someday have your own coffee mug? Or not not
sure if they do those things for sidekicks of sidekicks.
Brady handed Nyla a shopping list and then said time
to shop, like you're never gonna stop. Nyla smiled, thinking
in this cashphrase sounded very slick. In just a few
short days, Brady was beginning to feel more rested. Turns out,
being a sidekick wasn't the problem. Being a sidekick without
a sidekick was the problem. Now that he had Nyla,
there was so much extra time in the day for
things that really mattered, like video games at Quinton's house.
Finding his best friend's house was also much easier now
that he was no longer an exhausted sidekick without a sidekick, Brady,
I can't believe how good you've got it now, Quentin
told him one day. You're basically living the sidekick dream.
Hair Man's off fighting bad guys and you're just here
taking a nap and eating the last of the nacho chips,
which my mom is not going to be happy with.
By the way, Brady took a long sip of his
Jumbo slushy drink and then sighed, you know, Quintin, I
wouldn't exactly say it's a walk in the park. I
still have to tell Nila what to do. Speaking of whom,
where is that sidekick of mine? She should have been
here by now. Quinton looked out his window to see
a very tired looking sidekick of a sidekick shuffling up
his walkway. Brady didn't say hello, and she walked in.
He greeted her with a you bought that kind of shampoo.
That's not what I had put on the list. This
is for people with curly hair. Hair man has thick,
wavy hair. We've been over this. Nyla tossed him the
bottle of shampoo and then turned back around. I quit,
she said, on her way at the door. Wait, Nila,
you can't quit. You're a sidekick to a sidekick. Do
you know how many people would love to be in
your shoes right now? Nyla didn't turn back, but Brady
saw her shoulders rise and her fists clench. Dude, you
just dumped all of your work on me. Was what
I signed up for. I wanted to help you, not
do everything for you. Trying to be helpful, Quinton suggested
they should split the work in half. Then it would
feel more manageable for both of them. You know what, Quintin,
Brady began, This wasn't what Nila signed up for, and
it wasn't what I signed up for either. We're sidekicks, well,
one sidekick and one sidekick to a sidekick. But a sidekicks.
We deserve better, We deserve catchphrases and posters and a
little bit of the fighting action. We have capes after all.
So here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna march right
up to hair Man and tell him how we feel.
Either he lets us do some real sidekick stuff, or
we're both gonna quit. Quentin had kept a straight face
up until now, but this had him bursting at laughing,
You're actually gonna march up to a superhero who can
spin bad guys over his head and give him an ultimatum.
Oh please, I have got to see this. So Quinton
followed behind with a bag of popcorn. As the other
two marched onward, hair Man wasn't hard to find. Bubbles
were going off like crazy in the city center. As
the kids approached, they were surprised to see that Hairman
wasn't spinning any bad guys over his head while dazzling
spectators with his amazing hair. The bad guy was twirling
Hairman around in the air. Oh man, look at that thing,
some sort of octopus guy, and Hairman looks like he's
having a bad hair day. Just then, a glob of
hot ink landed right in front of the three kids,
who took a whole bunch of steps back. Hair Man
called out to them from within the grasp of one
of the octopus guy's tentacles. Sidekick, you're here, so good news.
Starting today, I'm going to allow you to help fight
the bad guys. This was the kind of action Brady
had been waiting for. This was finally his moment. Okay, Nila,
this is finally your moment. I'll be right here behind
Quinton cheering you on. Nyla pivoted behind Quinton as well.
Who know, no, sidekick, Brady hair Man was talking to you.
I didn't hear anything about needing help from the sidekick
of the sidekick. Back and forth this went before Quintin
finally stopped them for crying out loud. Have neither of
you figured out how to beat this thing? Brady pulled
up his sleeve. Dude, look at these arms. These are
shopping arms, not octopus beast wrestling arms. Quinton shook his
head and walked into a nearby office depot. Where's he going, asked,
Nyla beats me shrugged. Brady guess he thought it was
a good time to buy a new stapler. Quentin returned
moments later carrying a big box full of Whiteout. Brady groaned, Uh,
what a waste of your money, dude. You know teachers
don't like us using pens at school. Whiteout was a
paper matching liquid you could use to cover mistakes written
in pen, but pens were strongly discouraged at their school.
Quentin began hurling bottles of Whiteout at the Octopus Monster.
Don't you guys watch superhero movies? These bad guys always
have an obvious weakness. If this guy is squirting hot
ink everywhere, why bet whiteout is the only way to
beat him. And it worked. The white Out covered the
Octopus Guy's inksprayer, which sent the villain into a frenzy.
It released its grip on Hairman, who was able to
finish off the job. Time to get harry Octopus Guy.
Once everything had settled, Brady got his very first thank
you and a much deserved apology. Sorry, little sidekick, buddy,
I probably haven't been the best superhero to be a
sidekick for, have I I kind of thought your little
arms were more cut out for picking up dry cleaning
than fighting, But turns out I was wrong about you. Actually,
my friend, Quinton here was a real hero. He was
the hair Man pushed Brady aside, quintin, will you be
my new sidekick? I'll let you say one catchphrase per month,
and I'll even let you appear in the corner of
one of my bolsters. He then turned back to Brady.
That's gonna make you sidekick to the sidekick, little fella.
Hope you don't mind. Nila was scratching her head, and
that makes me sidekick to the sidekick of the sidekick.
Hair Man was trying to sort this out in his head,
but he really didn't have to. Quentin's mind was already
made up. Hair Man, you were a lot better when
you didn't have a sidekick, or at least that's how
it seemed to when we didn't realize you were such
a super butt cheek. So how about my friends and
I go watch some superhero movies at my house. Well,
you go do whatever it is you do, and for
crying out loud, do something about that hair Would you
looks like a rat's nest the end. That's the story,
and I hope you enjoyed it. Question of the Week,
Who is your favorite superhero? Go hair Man, Go hair Man?
Thanks to Nyla and Quinton and Brady from Austin, Texas.
Shoutouts this week go out to Cad Graham and Parker
from Springfield, Illinois, Max Scott and Ruby James from Gladstone, Oregon,
Sophie and her pug Peanut from christ Church, New Zealand,
Landon Quintin and Hudson from Greenville, South Carolina, and Safie
Squires from Southbourne, Dorset in the UK. If you haven't
yet had a shout out, you can book one right
now by visiting ll storytime dot com slash showdows. Remember,
the website's the only way to book one, so make
sure you don't miss out. Thanks for listening and I'll
catch you on the next one.