23x02 - The Pea and the Princess/D.W. and Dr. Whosit

[bunniefuu]

♪ Every day when you're
walking down the street ♪

♪ Everybody that you meet
has an original point of view ♪

(laughing)

♪ And I say hey ♪

Hey!

♪ What a wonderful
kind of day ♪

♪ If we could learn
to work and play ♪

♪ And get along
with each other ♪

♪ You got to listen to your
heart, listen to the b*at ♪

♪ Listen to the rhythm,
the rhythm of the street ♪

♪ Open up your eyes,
open up your ears ♪

♪ Get together
and make things better ♪

♪ By working together ♪

♪ It's a simple message,
and it comes from the heart ♪

♪ Believe in yourself,
for that's the place to start ♪

♪ And I say hey ♪

Hey!

♪ What a wonderful
kind of day ♪

♪ If we could learn
to work and play ♪

♪ And get along
with each other ♪

Hey!

♪ What a wonderful kind of day ♪

Hey!

♪ What a wonderful
kind of day ♪

Hey!

Hey, D.W.!

Hey!

Whoa...

(crash)

♪ ♪

(wind whipping)

When exploring
a strange, new land,

you need the right clothes.

A trusty compass.

♪ ♪

(wind whistling,
Ladonna shivering)

I've got to go out there?

But most of all,
you need to stay connected.

A new frontier isn't so scary

if you're tied to something
solid and familiar.

LADONNA:
Ah! Help

Huh?

(gasps)

Oh, no!

The rope!

Hold onto the rope!

No!

FRANCINE:
"When Duty Calls."

Then I ran the rest of the way.

But when I arrived,

the mall was closed!

(scream,
horror soundtrack playing)

And that was
"A Thanksgiving Tragedy"

by Muffy Crosswire.

Nice sound effects.

And closing out
our last Fiction Friday

before summer break,

yours truly and Ladonna Compson.

Ooh, my favorite.

We were inspired
by Buster and Arthur

when they wrote a story
together.

Our book was legendary.

"The Dirigible's Daughters,"

the tale of two orphan girls
who inherit a blimp.

Last week, the chapter I wrote
left Lafawna stranded

on an ice floe,

floating alone
toward certain doom.

Now, Ladonna's chapter
will reveal

how Lafawna's sister Vern
rescues her.

(clears throat)

Chapter .

The water carried
Lafawna far, far away,

and Vern never saw her again.

(gasps):
That's it?

Oh.

Not quite.

The end.

(both gasping)

Our stories were better.

What do you mean,
they never saw each other again?

I just thought it'd be better
to end the book now,

'cause I won't be working
on it anymore.

Why not?

Didn't I mention?

The army is transferring
my dad to Oregon.

We're moving next week.
For good.

No way!

You're leaving?

Sorry, folks.

That's life
in a m*llitary family.

It's the fourth time
I've moved.

Whew!

I've got more packing to do than
Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.

You want this, Fern?

That was the most depressing
story ending ever.

She doesn't even seem upset.

Isn't Ladonna going to miss us
at all?

See ya, D.W.'s chair.

Adieu, juice stain I made
on her rug.

So long, D.W.

Thanks for bein'
such a good friend.

You're not leaving
for another week.

I don't want to forget
to say goodbye.

Every time we move,
I forget something.

(whispering):
My first move,
I left Rapty behind.

Never saw him again.

But he's right there.

Shh!

That's Rapty Two.

He doesn't know Rapty One is
still in my old bedroom in Guam.

BUD:
Yep.

Whatever you leave behind
is gone for good.

Hi, Mr. Read.

Thank you
for being D.W.'s dad.

Goodbye.

(sadly):
Forever.

Bud is sure sad
about moving...

How are you doing?

Me?

(scoffs):
I'm fine.

He's just being
a big old crybaby.

He even said
that when you're gone...

(sniffles):
you're gone for good.

Isn't that...

(sniffling):
silly?

(sobbing)

I'm going to miss him
so much!

I know, but you can call him
or write letters.

How can I write him
letters?

I don't even know
how to write.

(crying)

FERN:
There must be some explanation.

Do you think Ladonna is hiding
the fact

that she's really going
to miss us?

Maybe it just
hasn't hit her yet.

Yeah, like when you first bite
some super-cold ice cream.

You don't have a headache
at first.

But then...

(both shivering)

LADONNA:
Hi, guys.

Ladonna!

I'm so glad
you're all in one place.

Here's the stuff I borrowed
from y'all.

Here's you scarf,
Muffy.

Keep it.

It'll keep you warm
in Oregon.

Nah, I got I more scarves
than a penguin with a cold.

Arthur's glove,

Buster,
your book on UFOs.

That was a gift.

I don't think I've got room
in my suitcase.

But thanks anyway.

Okay!

Catch ya later.

BUSTER:
Okay.

She is definitely
acting weird.

This book is priceless.

Does she not like us
at all?

That's impossible.

Everybody likes us.

(sighs)

If only we could talk
to someone.

Someone who had experience

leaving all their friends
behind.

Oh, yeah, that's me.

BUSTER:
I'm telling you.

I don't remember
what I was feeling

right before I went away
with my dad.

That's why we're going to try
a sense-memory experiment.

What's "sense memory"?

Sense memory is what happens
when you smell

or taste something
from long ago.

And it can bring you back
to how you felt

when you first smelled
or tasted it.

I read about it
in a mystery.

So if Buster tastes
the ice cream he ate

right before he left...

I'll remember
what I felt then?

Well, okay.

Any experiment involving
ice cream is fine by me.

Good thing I keep
a written record

of everyone's
favorite flavors

over the last three years.

Let's see...

Ah, your favorite flavor
back then was

butter ripple
toffee swirl.

(sighs):
I was so innocent back then.

Coming right up.

ARTHUR:
Wait.

That doesn't sound right.

Butter ripple
toffee swirl

was what you were eating
the week of the solar eclipse.

I remember because
you thought aliens were coming

and might take away
all of that flavor.

Oh, yeah.

But the following week,
when you left,

your favorite flavor was
actually...

pickles and peppermint.

You're right.

How did you remember that?

I just remember
that whole week really well.

Maybe 'cause I was upset.

(ice cream dispenser whirring)

Now, eat up and
tell us what you were feeling

right before
you moved away.

Mmm...

♪ ♪

(gasps):
Oh, I remember!

I was afraid...

my friends would forget me.

But you didn't,
did you, old pal?

Never, best friend.

FERN:
So that's why

Ladonna's acting
so strange.

She thinks
we'll forget her.

How do we show her
we won't?

We could...

write down all our favorite
Ladonna memories in a book.

Ooh, I like it.

I like it,

(mouth full):
Genius.

A book?

Guys,
it's the st century.

Let's make a video.

I'll interview you all,

and then we'll show it to her
at a big going away party.

Okay.

But nothing too fancy, Muffy.

I want it to be honest,
heartfelt.

Trust me,
Ladonna will love it.

D.W.:
"Dear Bud..."

No, no, no.

How about,
"Hey, Bud, it's me."

No, he knows it's me.

Who else would be writing him
a letter?

Okay, let's go back
to what we had before.

That one was better.

Could you read it back to me?

"Dear Bud."

And?

That's it.

But I've been talking
forever.

I need a good opening.

How about,
"How are you?"

I can't say that.

I've never said, "How are you?"
to Bud.

He'll know you're writing it.

(sighs)

Thanks, Dad,

but I think this is just
something I've got to do myself.

♪ ♪

(chair scraping)

The Compsons will love
our goodbye gift.

Bud's favorite,
jambalaya.

If I can't write something,

maybe I'll just send Bud

something he likes.

Eww!

Who needs to write a letter

when you can just send yourself?

♪ ♪

(struggling)

(groans):
Too big.

I'll never forget
that surprise rainstorm we had.

I was carrying my diorama home
from school,

and you rushed out of the house
with an umbrella.

MUFFY:
Cut!

That was great.

Now let's get some sh*ts of Pal.

I'm sure he'll miss Ladonna too.

(whistles)
Here, Pal.

Let's bark
for the camera.

(barking)

Hi, Ladonna.

I'll never forget you were
telling me one of your stories,

and I laughed so hard

that milk sh*t out of my nose.

BRAIN:
I'll never forget the time

it was a tie game
with Mighty Mountain,

and you scored
the winning goal.

Cut!

That's great.

Oh, Brain, I have
a science question for you.

What is this fruit?

It smells so interesting.

Ah!

It's an onion.

Isn't that obvious?

Oh, right you are.

Silly me.

(sniffling)

LADONNA:
Aw,

thanks for throwing me
this goodbye party.

Our pleasure.

But I promised General Higgins

I'd take him on a tour of
all his old favorite places.

He's real sentimental that way.

We should go.

Ladonna?

Before you go,

we wanted you to know
how much we'll all remember you.

So here's, um...

A film we made.

MUFFY (on video):
One question haunts Elwood City.

Who will remember Ladonna?

I'll never forget that
surprise rainstorm we had.

(thunder booms,
rock music playing)

And you rushed out of the house
with an umbrella.

Um, it wasn't
that bad a storm.

I'll never forget you were
telling me one of your stories,

and I laughed so hard
that milk sh*t

out of my nose.

(rock music and
dripping sound effects playing)

(both gasping)

I'll never forget...

(sniffling):
You're not filming this,
are you?

It was the onion.

MUFFY (on video):
You will never be forgotten.

(echoing):
Never be forgotten,
forgotten, forgotten.

(howling)

That was just because Muffy was
dangling a pork chop over him.

Uh.

That was really...
something.

Thanks, but, uh,

General Higgins
really has to go.

But it's not over yet.
There are the outtakes.

(wacky sound effects playing
on TV)

Cut it!

(pressing button, tablet beeps)

Ladonna,

I know that film was
a little...

MUFFY:
Fabulous.

But can't you see
we'll never forget

the happy times
we shared with you?

But that's not
what I'm afraid of at all.

(flustered):
But...

I don't understand.

Ladonna!

Not a dry eye in the house.

It's a hit!

KIDS:
And now, a word from us kids.

I understand, like,
Ladonna moving,

because I have done this,
like a couple of times.

My name is London,
I'm nine years old.

My parents are Chevy and Ashley.

Well,
Chevy is an army officer.

LONDON:
We move when my dad gets
new jobs in the army.

That is why
m*llitary families move.

It's just a thing we do.

Bam! I got an idea.

She likes to draw.

LONDON:
It calms you down,

even when you're, like, sad.

Let's draw squiggles.

At first, I was, like,
at North Carolina,

and then I moved to New York,
then back to North Carolina.

And then the recent move was
from North Carolina

to Massachusetts.

It was tough,
but we're,

we're very proud of her.

LONDON:
Do something you love.

That way, it will make you
less nervous about moving.

Another thing I do is
play violin.

(playing "Ode to Joy"
by Beethoven)

This song is called "Ode to Joy"

by Ludwig van Beethoven.

("Ode to Joy" continues)

I was actually kind of, like,
nervous to leave my friends,

because I was worried

that I wouldn't be able to make
a new friend.

But now,
I made some new friends.

Friends, like a rainbow.

(finishing measure
from "Ode to Joy")

Good job.

Thank you.

Right now,
we're in the basement,

and we do boxing here.

She's a tough
little cookie.

One, good hit.

LONDON:
Why do I like boxing?

It's because it makes me strong.

♪ ♪

My ending conclusion is
don't be nervous about moving.

Just you be you.

KIDS:
And now, back to "Arthur"!

LADONNA:
Don't worry, General Higgins.

Dad says they've got streams
in Oregon too.

(General Higgins squeaking)

I know.

Not like this one.

FERN:
Ladonna?

Are you down there?

(gasps):
It's Fern.

Act happy.

Hi.

You left the party fast.

You okay?

Sure.

Never been better.

(General Higgins squeaking)

General Higgins is
a little upset.

I keep telling him
they've got streams in Oregon.

But he's just a rat.

He doesn't understand
about moving.

But you do.

Oh, yeah.

I'm an expert.

This is my...

Fourth move.

You told me.

Ladonna,

why are you acting
like you don't care

that you're leaving?

I don't know
what you're talking about.

I can tell something's wrong.

Did we do something?

Did I?

No.

I mean... not you.

It was...

Who?

You can tell me.

I'm one of
your best friends.

It was Tony Arnoni.

Who's Tony Arnoni?

Also one of
my best friends.

In Guam.

We were living
on a m*llitary base.

Tony's family was too.

(sighs)

For a year,
we did everything together.

And then, when we had to move,

he threw me a party,

just like y'all did today.

(Tony laughing)

We promised
we'd be pen pals for life.

After I left,

I wrote Tony three letters.

But he never
wrote back once.

(Tony laughing)

My mom says people get busy,

and I shouldn't take it
personally.

But ever since,
I just feel like

I'm leaving my friends for good.

Well, I don't know Tony,

but we're not like that.

I'm not.

Really?

Think about it, Fern.

That video you made

was all about
what we did together.

Not what we're going
to do.

Yeah, but...

It's okay.

I don't expect you
to stay in touch.

That's why
I've got General Higgins.

No matter where I am,
he's the one person

I know will always be there.

Even if
you're not actually

a person.

(chuckles)

Come on, Higgins.

You need some cheese
for the road.

So long, Fern.

(General Higgins squeaking)

I am not Tony Arnoni!

ARTHUR:
After that movie we showed her,

Ladonna must know
we're not going to forget her.

So what's bothering her?

I don't know.

But maybe it's different when
you're moving away for good.

I came back.

I'm sure glad you did.

Did I?

Or was I replaced by an alien
in a Buster skin suit?

(laughing)

(laughing)

Good night, alien.

Good night, pal.

(walkie-talkies beeping)

(screams)

What are you doing?

You can't go to sleep yet.

I need your help.

(light clicks off)

Ladonna!

No!

It's okay,
I'm used to saying goodbye.

Not this time.

♪ ♪

(General Higgins squeaking)

Don't fret, General Higgins.

I'm sure we'll make new friends
wherever we wind up.

(gasps)

♪ ♪

(gulps):
Or not.

FRANCINE:
You've still got
one old friend!

Up here!

Fern?

Grab this rope,

and I'll lift you to safety.

♪ ♪

No!

You'll let go.

Just like Tony Arnoni!

Oh, yeah?

Well, I am not Tony Arnoni.

I am not letting go!

(Ladonna gasps,
General Higgins squeaks)

♪ ♪

Whoa!

(General Higgins squeaking)

(struggling)

FERN:
Yes!

♪ ♪

Yahoo!

Yahoo!

(phone beeps)

Hello, Arthur?

Get everyone to the tree house.

I know how to help Ladonna.

(yawning):
Okay.

But I'll be late.

I'm helping D.W.
write a letter to Bud.

How long could that take?

He's got to teach me
how to read and write first.

(phone beeps)

Back to work, professor.

D.W.,
for the last time,

I can't teach you to read
and write

in a day.

Just copy these shapes.

So I've figured out
what's bothering Ladonna

and how to solve it.

It's not that she's afraid

we'll forget her.

She's afraid we won't be
in her life in the future.

But she'll be
so far away.

We can write letters.

Or...

We use technology.

(gasps)

Are we making another movie?

Sorry, Muffy.

I haven't a different plan.

But we're going
to have to hurry.

The Compsons move
tomorrow.

Here's what we'll do.

(whispering)

LADONNA:
Wait a minute.

Where are the rest
of the dot stickers?

We must have run out.

Bud!

You used 'em all.

Now how are Mom and Dad
gonna know

which toys to take along

and which to give
to charity?

Hey, I'm making sure

we don't leave Rapty behind
again.

Dad!

If you need more stickers,

go to the store.

(groans)

I wanna take you along
too.

♪ ♪

Hey, guys!

You know,
we're moving today.

Oh, right.

See you later.

♪ ♪

Hey, Buster.

You know I'm leaving today,

right?

♪ ♪

(door closes)

♪ ♪

(brakes squealing)

MUFFY:
Hurry!

BUSTER:
We would have finished faster

if Brain had helped
with the yard work.

What?

I was doing the hard work
on the computer.

I've created
a thing of beauty.

BUSTER:
Okay, okay, you helped.

Hi, guys!

You know, this is my last...

♪ ♪

Welp, I guess they're getting
an early start forgetting me.

(General Higgins squeaking)

What do you know?

You're just a rat.

RUFUS:
Okay, Compsons.

Duty calls,
and Oregon awaits.

Time to bid Elwood City
goodbye.

That's okay.

I've said my goodbyes.

Wait.
Don't go yet!

Fern?

What're y'all doing here?

FERN:
We came to send you off.

With this.

♪ ♪

Open it!
Open it!

Wow, thanks.

But first,
I gotta say something.

I've been acting like moving
wasn't a big deal to me.

But the truth is,
it's a huge deal.

It's huger'n my great-aunt
Olivia's pet alligator,

which grew to be so long,

that when the school bus got
a flat tire,

all the kids rode him to school.

Whoa.

What are we going to do
without your stories?

(crying softly)

What am I gonna do
without you all?

Open the box already.

Okay.

(rustling continues)

It just says W-W-W-dot...

It's a website?

A website we all made.

Well, Brain made it.

I just did
the computer stuff.

Which was a lot of work.

(embarrassed chuckle)

ARTHUR:
It's so we can send messages
back and forth.

and post pictures.

And we keep writing
"The Dirigible's Daughters."

No matter how far apart we are.

Plus, the site has video chat,

so you can see us live
anytime you want.

Wow, that's...

I don't have words.

And you know
I always have words.

And this is so
we'll always be connected.

We all worked some extra jobs
and pitched in.

(gasps)

MUFFY:
It's a brand-new tablet.

Top-of-the-line.

I... you...

really are all going to stay
in touch, aren't you?

Just try to get rid of us.

♪ ♪

Aw.

Huh?

I've got something
for you too, Bud.

But it's not a computer
or anything.

Is it a letter?

I wrote it myself.

I never got a letter
before.

I mean, other than
birthday cards from my grandma.

You know,
I'm not so good at reading.

I'm not so good
at writing.

(slowly):
"Dear Bud.

"I will miss you.

Love, D.W."

That is... spectacular.

Really?

Goodbye.

BUSTER: So long!

FERN: Safe travels!

Bye!

Bye!

BUD:
See ya later!

D.W.:
Take care!

BINKY:
So long!

See you soon!

See you later!

(D.W. gasps)

Uh-oh.

♪ ♪

You left Rapty behind.

So D.W. will have
to write to me.

Smart move.

♪ ♪

LADONNA (on tablet):
Fern! Come in, Fern!

It's Ladonna, calling you
from the planet Oregon.

Ladonna!

How was your Tuesday?

Great.

Hey, remember
my next-door neighbor

I told you about last month?

Hi, Fern, I'm Laurie.

This is Chester.

Say hello.

LADONNA:
Mind if Laurie listens in
on the next chapter

of "The Dirigible's Daughters"?

Sure!

So, in my latest chapter,

Lafawna and Vern
find themselves

trapped in a cave
with a polar bear.

Get comfortable,
it's a long one.

Can't wait.

(Fern and Ladonna giggling)

BUSTER:
To watch more "Arthur"

and play games with all
the Elwood City friends,

You can find "Arthur" books

and lots of other books, too,

at your local library.

♪ ♪