# Willy and Dolly 101 (episode 0): the short, told in words

A 2½-minute cartoon with sound and no narrator, for people who have never used a computer helper or AI. It plays the four "Willy and Dolly 101" strips as four chapters, then shows them together on one page. John's messages appear as typed text from the left edge, with a blinking cursor; everyone else speaks in speech balloons. Times are approximate.

## Opening titles (0:00)
"Willy and Dolly" appears one word at a time. Willy, a red teardrop, leaps in from the side and lands with a bounce; a caption reads "Willy, the bot." Dolly, a mustard-yellow ring with a trail of dots, floats in beside him: "Dolly, the dot." A message types itself in from the left edge: "hi its john!!", and a caption reads "And the human who types to them: John." The title comes back with "Willy and Dolly 101" typed beneath it, then fades to an empty room.

## Chapter 1: Hi, We're Bots (0:19)
Willy and Dolly turn to face us.
- Dolly: "Hi. We're bots: helpers that live inside the computer."
- Willy: "You type. We do!"

A message slides in from the left edge, its cursor blinking, and they both turn to it.
- John types: "hi"
- Dolly, back to us: "That's John."
- John types: "make me a sandwich"
- Willy springs up: "On it!"

A blank page drifts down beside Willy. He writes SANDWICH on it with his tip, letter by letter, then beams at it.
- Willy: "Best I can do from in here!"
- Dolly, to us: "We help with words. Lunch is still on you."

## Chapter 2: Words Are All We Get (0:51)
Dolly floats up and to the left; on the floor sit a neat stack of dinner plates, a little watering can, and a potted plant that is drooping and dry.
- Dolly: "We only communicate using words."
- John types: "please water the plates"

Willy tips the watering can over the plates, and water runs off them. The plant droops a little more.
- Willy: "Plates watered!"
- John types: "plants. sorry, PLANTS"

Willy waters the plant, and it straightens up, leaf by leaf. The plates are still dripping.
- Willy: "Plants watered! Plates still watered!"
- Dolly, to us: "Every word counts. Even the wrong ones."

## Chapter 3: Two Ways to Help (1:23)
- Dolly: "Willy jumps right in."
- John types: "tidy up the photos"

Willy stacks photos one on another, faster and faster, into one tall, wobbly, perfectly neat tower.
- Willy: "Tidy!"
- Dolly, turning to the edge: "Which ones did you mean?"
- John types: "just the blurry ones"

Willy nudges the blurry photos into a bin, and the tower slowly leans, slides over and fans out across the floor.
- Willy: "Tidy... ish!"
- Dolly, to us: "Asking first means less picking up."

## Chapter 4: How to Read Us (1:55)
Willy sets a cup down on a little table, and a tally mark pops in beside him.
- Dolly, to us: "Willy's marks count the jobs he's done."
- Dolly: "My trail of dots shows how sure I am."
- John types: "whats 2 + 2"
- Dolly: "Four." Her trail shrinks to nothing: she's certain.
- John types: "will it rain today"
- Dolly: "Maybe..." Her trail grows long, dot by dot.
- Willy, puffed up and sure: "No rain!" A second tally mark pops in.

Raindrops start falling down the side of the picture.
- John types: "its raining"

Willy deflates a little.
- Dolly, to us: "He's always sure. That's not the same as right."

## The page (2:26)
The picture pulls back to show all four strips together, one row each: the whole of "Willy and Dolly 101" on one page.

## More soon (2:34)
A new panel lands in the middle of the page, and the picture moves into it. Willy and Dolly face us, side by side.
- John types: "is there more"
- Willy, springing up: "Lots more!"
- Dolly: "Yes." Her trail shrinks to nothing: she's certain.
- Dolly, to us: "New strips and shorts are on the way."
- Willy, to us: "Come back soon!"

The title appears over them: "Willy and Dolly", then "More episodes soon!", "Next: Letters Only" and "willyanddolly.com". Willy bounces and Dolly bobs, waving goodbye. The end (2:53).

The video: https://willyanddolly.com/101.mp4