To Beep or Not to Beep

The cartoon opens with Wile E. Coyote absorbed in a Western Cookery recipe book, completely unaware of the Road Runner nearby. The Road Runner sneaks closer and taunts him with a beeping call. When the Road Runner yells 'BEEP-BEEP!', the Coyote is jolted into a comical headache, starting the chase.

The Coyote latches the rope to a loose rock on a distant outcropping and ties the other end around his waist, mistakenly thinking the rock will anchor him. The rope is too long, and he hits the ground with a heavy thud, dazed by the miscalculation. The rock dislodges and drops onto him, leaving him coiled up and limp as he crawls away.

The Road Runner rockets across the landscape, so fast it uproots several cacti in a spray of dust. The chase continues until the bird's trajectory causes a bridge to retract, leaving the Coyote to plummet into a ravine. A slower cactus also falls, and the Coyote scrambles to the top edge, crying out in pain as he clings on.

Desperate to close the gap, the Coyote attaches a spring to a loose rock, hoping to shoot himself toward the Road Runner. Instead the rock is launched backward, pulling him along in a Newton's cradle-like arc. The rocks detach to form a see-saw that catapults him farther, until he falls through a narrow canyon with the rock on top and the spring retracts, trapping him briefly before he frees himself and falls to the ground.

Lying in wait inside a crane, the Coyote pulls up a wrecking ball to drop on the Road Runner. He pulls it up too far, and the ball rolls onto the top of the crane, smashing the cockpit instead. The Road Runner zips past unscathed as the crane buckles under the impact.

The first launch sees Wile E. positioned behind the catapult. When released, the boulder drops straight down and crushes the Coyote, leaving him dazed but still plotting his next move.

Wile E. stands in front of the catapult for the second attempt, expecting a safe launch. Instead the boulder careens downward and smashes into him, sending him sprawling.

Trying to avoid danger, he stays out of range, but the catapult suddenly flips and traps him under its own frame. The comic irony repeats as the device punishes the would-be trickster.

For the fourth try, he stands aside and releases the boulder, but it is punched upward and careens back toward him instead of the Road Runner, crushing his own position in a slapstick misfire.

Having endured repeated failures, Wile E. hides underneath the catapult during release, but the entire device collapses, crushing him beneath its frame while the boulder remains perilously close above.

In the final effort, he hides in a manhole and releases the string, but the catapult jams. He prods and shakes the mechanism repeatedly, climbs the arm, and even attempts to pry free the rock, yet nothing helps until a rare unjamming sends the boulder through a rock formation. A network of power lines then slings him back to the top of the catapult, and the boulder finally smashes him once and for all.

After the final disaster, the camera reveals the catapult was built by the Road-Runner Manufacturing Company. The Road Runner's nameplate comes to life, the bird gives a final Beep-Beep, and then zooms off to continue his chase.