♪ 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 beat ♪ ♪ 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 ♪ ♪ Believe in yourself ♪ ♪ For that's the place to start ♪ ♪ Place to start ♪ ♪ And I say, hey ♪ Hey!

Hey!

♪ What a wonderful kind of day ♪ ♪ If we can 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!

ARTHUR (on TV): Hey, D.W.!

Hey!

Whoa!

(loud thud) (letters shattering) Have you ever thought about how much stuff you have?

Half of these toys I never play with anymore.

But I keep them anyway because... maybe I will want to play with them someday.

Except for this Poogle.

I'll never play with this again.

Then again, it might wind up being a collector's item.

I better hold onto it.

We know about some ancient civilizations because they held onto their stuff for a really long time.

This pyramid?

It was built by the Egyptian pharaoh Khufu, mainly to protect his stuff.

Look down there.

That's all trash that's floating around the Pacific Ocean.

It may be garbage now, but people owned a lot of it-- more stuff.

Ugh.

This amphora was also found in the ocean.

The ancient Greeks used it to hold liquid more than 2,000 years ago.

Stuff.

So, what do you think will happen to all your stuff 2,000 years from now?

Will it be a little piece of history exhibited in a museum somewhere?

Or just trash floating around the ocean?

This is the school gymnasium now.

But when I'm on the decorating committee for the upcoming fair, it will be transformed into this.

Voilà!

(kids ooh and aah) Ladies and gentlemen, behold our new school: Rainforest Elementary.

Thank you for that lovely display, Muffy.

But as I said before, the two students on the committee are to be selected randomly.

(groans) And I already got a really great deal on the giant plastic trees.

You do know this is an Earth Day fair, right?

Plastic trees might be sending the wrong message.

Just because it's "ecological" doesn't mean it can't be fun.

Prunella has already been selected to represent the fourth grade.

Representing our class will be... Arthur Read.

It had better be fabulous!

And I thought maybe we could do a collage, you know, of stuff from Earth Days we've had before, and... Beware the closet-- it will swallow you whole!

(evil laughter) Rubella!

Cut it out!

And that's the last time I'm letting you borrow my cloak.

What did she mean about your closet?

Oh, Rubella just thinks I save too much stuff.

She says I'm a packrat.

But I've got some great things we can use for the fair.

(gasps) Here's a box of pine cones I saved from last winter.

Oh, wait, these are just pencil stubs.

Here, all my quizzes from second grade.

Oh, don't want to look at those.

Oh, but here's a bag of packing peanuts.

Might be useful as part of a display.

Aah!

What are these?

Shoelaces.

Whenever one breaks, I save the broken piece.

Why?

I don't know.

I just do.

Um, I forget what's in this.

Oh, ticket stubs.

Here's one from Princess on Ice when I was four.

Um, I'm going to go back out, okay?

Sure, I'll just be a sec.

Whew.

(ticking) PRUNELLA: Oh, my first grade mittens!

Cute.

Now where is that box of snow globes?

I saw it just the other... (loud crash, screaming) Are you okay?

I'm fine.

Happens all the time.

This is exactly what I was looking for.

See?

We can use this in a display about global warming.

Um, I have to get home.

It's almost time for dinner.

Sorry, I guess I got a little distracted.

Maybe we'll get more done if we meet at the Sugar Bowl next time.

I'll call you.

Okay.

But don't buy anything.

We've got everything we need right here.

Ugh!

BUSTER: What's wrong with collecting things?

I collect food.

Look what I found in the garden today.

What is it?

A sweet potato shaped like a little man.

I call him Yamlet.

But with Prunella it's not just one thing, like food.

She saves everything.

She spent the whole time going through boxes and we didn't talk about the fair at all.

I used to have trouble getting rid of stuff, too, but then my mom got me this great book.

Neatnik Ned's Guide to Clearing Clutter.

You actually read this?

Yeah.

Well, I read the first chapter.

But even that was life-changing.

Maybe it can help Prunella.

Are you through with that sandwich wrapper?

It'd be perfect for Yamlet's ghost.

PRUNELLA: No!

It's my stuff and you can't make me throw it away!

All I said was I thought you might like this book.

But what you're really saying is you should get rid of all that junk.

Well, it's not junk to me.

Everything inside this room has deep personal meaning for me.

Oh, is that so?

How about this sock with a hole in it?

That was the sock I wore when I read my first Henry Screever book.

It's a baby sock.

You couldn't read when you were one.

Well, I really like its blueness.

It could be part of an art project someday.

What about this old empty egg carton?

Is this part of the project, too?

Okay, I guess I could get rid of one or two things.

Neatnik Ned says you should put things into piles first.

Let's make a "keep" pile, a "get rid of" pile and a "stuff for the fair" pile.

We'll help you start.

Pruney... you need to let go.

(sighs) There.

That's the "get rid of" pile.

(grunting) The wall...

I completely forgot it was pink.

RUBELLA: You can stare at the wall later, Pruney.

We've got to get to the collection center before it closes.

I'll take it-- you guys have done enough.

How will you manage all that by yourself?

Just help me load it into my wagon downstairs.

You know, I actually feel better having less stuff.

Thanks, Arthur.

Really you should thank Buster.

He's the one who said I should give you the book.

Although he's still a bit of a packrat himself.

PRUNELLA: Hi there!

I know where all the metal, paper and glass stuff go, but how about this?

There.

And help yourself to whatever's clean.

It's free.

Ooh, I wonder if there's anything good.

No, Pruney.

You must resist.

(gasps) A Henry Screever thermos!

Hmm, I could use a hand mirror.

(gasps) VOICE: Pruney, you need to let go.

(doorbell rings) Hi, Buster.

Thanks for lending me Neatnik Ned's book.

Isn't it great?

Oh, I love it.

Changed my life.

Me, too.

Hey, you know what I found at the farmers market yesterday?

A beet shaped just like a heart.

And it's this big.

Want it?

Yes!

It's yours.

I just need a favor.

Could you keep some stuff for me?

Just for today; I'll pick it up tomorrow.

(gasps) What do you think, Yamlet?

Two beets, or not two beets?

ARTHUR: And here we'll have an area that's all about swamps and marshes.

And this section can be about the melting ice caps.

You still have all the decorations for that area, right?

Oh, yeah.

It's all in the "stuff for the fair" pile.

Great.

Oh, could I come over and pick up the Neatnik Ned book?

I'd like to read it, too.

Now?

If that's okay.

It'll only take a minute.

Sure.

Of course it's okay.

Why wouldn't it be okay?

Wait right here.

I'll be back with it in just a sec.

Here's a magazine-- make yourself at home.

(loud rumbling) (loud crash) I'm fine.

Happens all the time.

You never threw anything out, did you?

I did.

But then I got a few things at the recycling center.

And then a few more.

But don't worry, those decorations are around here somewhere.

I promise, I'll find them in time.

Oh, look, it's Knick-Knack Ned.

Here you go.

You need it more than me.

I hope you get a bigger closet.

I can't imagine what it's going to be like in here a year from now.

(loud rumbling) (gasps) (screaming) (sighs) Arthur's right.

I can't go on like this.

Okay, stuff, prepare to get organized.

Try some locally grown organic borscht.

You didn't save the heart-shaped beet?

Nah.

I'm through collecting food for a while.

Check out Yamlet.

MUFFY: Well, if I were on the decorating committee, this would have been much more dramatic.

Couldn't you have at least gotten a polar bear?

Actually, Prunella has a stuffed polar bear doll, but I guess she decided not to show.

(loud feedback) Testing... testing.

Hey, this actually works.

I haven't used this thing in years.

I just wanted to let everyone know that everything on this table is free.

Including this microphone.

Not yet.

Let me finish.

I have two requests, though.

Don't hold onto anything that you take for too long.

Give it to someone else when you're done.

We all just share it.

Thanks.

RATBURN: A very interesting take on recycling, Prunella.

But what's your second request?

Well, I'll need a little help from everyone.

Everything on this wagon is for a special work of art.

Now, that's what I call recycling.

Arthur, look what I got from Grandma.

(sighs) Please tell me you've already named it.

Of course I haven't named it.

Come on, we have to get started.

Whenever D.W. gets a new stuffed animal or doll, I have to help her name it.

And it's a very elaborate process.

First, D.W. has to be blindfolded and spun around.

Stop!

All right, remove the blindfold.

Then, the first letter of the first thing she sees will be the first letter of the doll's name.

Xylophone.

X-- great.

Only the toughest letter of the alphabet.

A challenge!

Okay, let's make the naming potion.

Then I mix the naming potion.

Easy with the cinnamon!

And she says... Nama-lama-lama.

Hock, hick, moo.

Then she kicks her legs while drinking the potion from her special curly straw.

And takes a nap with the doll under her pillow.

Next, the doll is supposed to "tell" D.W. its name while she sleeps.

Shades, please.

What is your name?

Tell me your name!

Tell me!

I demand to know!

Sometimes this part goes on for a while.

But eventually D.W. catches the doll.

(whispering) Arthur, meet Xeno.

Xeno, meet Arthur.

Why are names so important to some people?

RATBURN: Normally, I just give out one Thinky a year, but this semester a student has improved so much that I've decided to award a second one.

Thank you!

Thank you so mu... George, you won the last Thinky.

You can't win two.

Oh.

Sorry.

Binky... Huh?

I was doing work!

What's the question?

The answer is 12!

Binky, I didn't ask a question.

This award is for you.

Your grades are up and you've really been paying attention in class.

Usually.

I've won an academic award?

This has never happened to me.

MUFFY: No way!

She did not say that, Chip.

Would you like to say a few words to the class?

Um, okay.

I'd like to thank some other kids.

MUFFY: That is so unfair!

Arthur, you really helped me with that history project last week.

MUFFY: Does she think she can do better than that?

And Brain, you've really helped with... MUFFY: So, who will you take to the Boathouse Dance?

Dance.

I mean... math.

Muffy, would you cut it out?

Gotta go.

Congratulations!

Ms. Crosswire, not only have I told you not to bring your cell phone to school four times this year, but you have also been disrespectful to your classmate.

You will not be allowed to go to recess for a full week.

Instead, you will stay right here in class and do work.

(gasps) (school bell rings) Binky, you can continue your speech first thing Monday morning.

RATBURN: Starting today.

Ohh.

HANEY: Ah, glad someone's here.

Although I don't know why you'd want to be inside on a day like this.

It's the most beautiful Friday I've seen in years.

Oh, yes, sir, one for the books.

Not a cloud in the sky.

And with so much rain in the forecast, too.

Anyway, could you give this class list to Mr. Ratburn?

I want to make sure all the names are spelled correctly.

(chuckles) Look at that-- even the birds are smiling today.

There I am.

Mary Alice Crosswire.

Shelley Barnes?

Who's Shelley Bar... (gasps) Hmm.

Thanks for getting me in trouble.

You should know better than to cross a Crosswire... Shelley.

Who's Shelley?

Hello?

You.

It's your real name.

Don't you even know your real name?

My name isn't Shelley.

It is according to this official class list.

I made a copy of it.

Won't everyone be surprised to learn on Monday that big, bad Binky is actually just... Shelley.

My name is not Shelley!

That's just a silly typo.

We'll see about that.

Can't wait to hear the rest of your Thinky speech, Shelley.

What?!

How come you never told me?

MRS. BARNES: I thought you knew.

I mean, we called you Shelley up until you were about two.

But then you just loved your little pacifier so much that we started calling you Binky.

And the name stuck.

But...

I can't be Shelley!

Why not?

Because I'm Binky!

Everybody thinks of me as Binky.

I think of me as Binky.

It's just a name, sweetie.

It's not just a name.

Shelley's a terrible name.

Think of all the things it rhymes with: belly, smelly, Machiavelli.

Well, you'll always be my little Binkums to me.

Shelley will be our secret.

(gasps) Muffy!

(computer beeping) "What do you want?

Just name it.

You know who."

(computer beeping) "Revenge.

Or a pony.

Your choice."

(groans) Binky, dinner.

BINKY: I'm not hungry!

(kids laughing) Statistically speaking, the chances of anything being funnier than this are zero.

I thought I was the funniest thing in this class until he came along.

That is enough.

Now, let's let Shelley give the speech that... (snickering) Shelley has prepared.

You may proceed, Sh-Sh-Sh... (laughing) I can't take it anymore!

It's the funniest thing I've ever heard!

And I thought "Nigel" was bad!

(laughing hysterically) Still awake, sweetie?

Of course I'm still awake.

When I was Binky I slept well.

Now?

Forget it.

Here's a sandwich.

I thought you might be hungry.

And I also thought you should see this.

Who's that?

Shelley Barnes.

Your great-grandfather, the person you were named after.

Was he in the circus?

Let me guess.

He was a sideshow attraction because he had such a dorky name.

No, he owned the circus.

At least he did eventually.

At first, he was just part of a circus, and not a very good one at that.

They were known as "The Traveling Malenky Brothers" and even their barker was bad.

(yawns) Step right up.

Come see a pretty good show.

MRS. BARNES: When Shelley was only nine years old, he joined the trapeze act, helping Ferdinand the Flying Fox, who couldn't really fly at all.

Whoa!

MRS. BARNES: Next he helped Heinrich the Clown, whose heart had been broken wh en the bearded lady left him.

(sobbing) Why, why, why?

MRS. BARNES: Then he apprenticed with Lionel the Lion Tamer, who didn't tame actual lions, but did have a very large cat.

(meowing) The circus was a complete bust.

The people stopped coming to see The Traveling Malenky Brothers.

Sometimes, when Shelley got thinking about how sad his life was, he would go on long moonlit rambles.

And it was during one of these walks that he discovered his special talent.

Move, rock.

I said, "Move!"

All right, if you're not going to move, then I'm going to make you move!

MRS. BARNES: When the others discovered how strong nine-year-old Shelley actually was, they decided to make him the star attraction.

Soon, people were coming from all over to see "Brawny Barnes: the World's Strongest Boy"!

But Shelley was smart, too.

With the money they were making, he suggested they get Ferdinand a partner who had more experience.

And he suggested they get a real lion for Lionel to tame.

(roars) Although the lion, Cleo, actually didn't need much taming.

(giggling) And then Shelley said they should give the cat from Lionel's old act to Heinrich, which cheered the clown up immensely.

In short, nine-year-old Shelley saved that circus.

And when he got older, he took it over and it toured for years and years.

Wow.

What an amazing guy.

Yep.

And that's why we gave you his name.

Because your dad and I think you're pretty amazing, too.

RATBURN: Since you were cut short last week, would you like to continue your acceptance speech before we begin class?

You bet I would.

MUFFY: Oh, Mr. Ratburn?

I feel so terrible about interrupting Binky before.

Could I introduce him?

That's very nice of you, Muffy.

Go right ahead.

Sometimes you think you know someone, but then you discover something about them, something that surprises you.

That's how I feel about our very own... Binky Barnes.

Congratulations.

Uh, thanks.

I was never really going to tell... (whispering): Shelley.

I'd like to dedicate this Thinky to someone who was strong, smart and really strong.

The person I'm named after: my great-grandfather, Shelley Barnes.

(kids murmuring) But your name isn't Shelley.

BINKY: Actually, it is.

That's the name my parents gave me.

I just found out this weekend.

So, would you prefer to be called Binky or Shelley?

Binky.

For now.

But someday I might be a Shelley.

If I'm lucky.

To watch more Arthur and play games with all of the Elwood City friends, visit pbskidsgo.org.

You can find Arthur books and lots of other books, too, at your local library.

♪ What a wonderful kind of day ♪ ♪ Hey!

What a wonderful kind of day ♪ ♪ Hey!

♪