Daniel Striped Tiger Wonders If He's a Mistake
From Mister Rogers' Neighborhood · 1987
Summary
Daniel tells Lady Aberlin he has never met a tiger quite like himself, and quietly asks whether that means he was a mistake. She stays with the feeling instead of arguing him out of it, and they sing “Sometimes I Wonder If I'm a Mistake” together. Five minutes, and one of the most-used clips in the whole series.
Viewer safety
A puppet says out loud that he wonders if he is a mistake. It is handled gently and resolved, but it lands — have a moment ready afterward.
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Discussion
A short, famous scene about self-doubt and about being listened to.
- What was Daniel worried about?
- What did Lady Aberlin do that helped? What did she not do?
- Is being different from everyone else a bad thing? Why or why not?
- Who can you talk to when you have a worried feeling?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: mistake, worried, different, listen, comfort.
Try it: Finish the sentence: “One thing that makes me different is … and I like it because …”
Try it: Practice with a partner: one person shares a worry, the other just listens and says it back.