♪ 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, 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) ED CROSSWIRE: Guess what, Muffster?

Tomorrow, I go to Italy for a week-long business trip, and you're coming with me!

(gasps) Oh, Daddy!

The opera!

The fashion!

The pasta!

Wait, but what about the bake sale?

ED (laughing): Bake sale?

Muffin, there's plenty of baked goods in Italy.

No, we're having a sale to raise money for the school theater, and I'm the head of the organizing committee!

ED: Well, I'm sure your friends can survive without you for one week.

Can they?

Muffy!

(crying) I want my Muffy!

Muffy Misses Out.

(chattering) MUFFY: Okay, the bake sale is the day I return and we don't have a theme yet.

Ideas, people!

We, uh, make some muffins and sell them?

Muffins?

No, no, no!

We have to dazzle them.

Capture the customers' imagination!

We sell muffins shaped like camels.

Nice, but the muffin trays would cost a bundle and we don't have the overhead.

Barnes, what do you got?

No homework.

Oh, sorry, I was still thinking about the fact that you get a whole week without homework.

Relax.

Mr. Ratburn said I have to give a presentation on the Italian Renaissance when I get back.

Now, focus!

Okay, okay, um... What about Chinese dumplings?

Binky, It's a bake sale!

So?

We'll bake the dumplings.

No to the dumplings, but you've given me an idea.

We do a regional cuisine.

Right.

That's what I meant.

We'll sell Italian pastries.

There's romance in a cannoli.

Ladonna, you do the baking; Sue Ellen, you decorate; and Binky, you handle the music.

Can I play anything I want?

Sure, so long as it's 19th century Italian opera.

Well, what are you waiting for?

You've got your assignments.

Get to work!

What's a cannoli?

MUFFY: Daddy said pack light, so I'm only bringing three suitcases, but do you think I should pack my ball gown?

Hello!

Earth to Francine!

Oh, sorry.

Yeah, sure, bring the gown.

What's wrong?

It's just Catherine.

She promised to take me bowling this weekend, but now she's backing out.

Like always.

Well, lucky for you, you have a best friend with lots of older brother experience.

You have to play hard to get.

Really?

It never fails.

Just ignore her, and she'll be begging to hang out with you.

I guess it's worth a shot.

(sighs) What are you going to do without me?

(car door closes) ♪ ♪ (camera clicking) (jet engine rumbles) ED CROSSWIRE: That'll be one boffo presentation, Muffster.

Thanks, Daddy.

I'm just sad that jet lag made me sleep late.

I hope they remembered everything for the bake sale.

MUFFY: What's going on?

Muffy!

The sale is doing great!

We've already raised enough to buy a new curtain for the stage!

I knew it.

You can't beat the allure of an Italian pastry.

I brought more, straight from Italy.

Oh, we're not selling Italian pastries.

What?

Since we didn't know how to make cannoli, Ladonna suggested a dessert from her hometown instead.

New Orleans beignets!

Hey, mes cheres.

Have a sweet treat from the Big Easy.

I'll pass.

I'll take it!

It's like eating a cloud!

What do you think of my decorations?

Pretty eye-catching, huh?

But...

This doesn't evoke Italy!

Well, no, but Ladonna said these masks and feathers really do evoke Louisiana.

Yeah, and people love 'em!

MUFFY: But...

But... (clarinet music playing) What is that?

Dixieland jazz.

We agreed on opera!

Here!

Take all my money!

I need more chewy clouds!

Aren't you happy?

It's a huge success.

No, it isn't!

It's a disaster!

(Muffy sobs) Francine, thank goodness!

I really need to talk.

Did you see what they did?

They ignored all my suggestions!

Hey, you're back!

Sorry, I was listening to this New Orleans jazz Binky gave me.

I'm really into it!

What were you saying?

Oh, just something about the bake sale.

Wasn't it great?

(Muffy gasps) No!

Not you too!

Not me what?

(bell rings) Can I start my presentation now, Mr. Ratburn?

This is the tower of Pisa, where Galileo did some science experiments.

But the important thing is he was right!

And no one listened to him.

No one!

This is a big square in Venice where lots of famous Renaissance figures would sit and eat cannoli because they're delicious!

And this is the statue by the great Renaissance artist, Michelangelo, who was also famous for his amazing bake sales.

Uh, I don't think that's accurate.

Yes, it is!

And tomorrow, I'm going to throw a genius bake sale, and it's going to make more money than the crummy one we had today.

The end!

Cannoli?

Take your mouth on a trip to Italy?

I'll take one.

Si signora!

Paisan!

Um, they're a little stale.

How many have you sold?

Counting yours?

One.

BUSTER: I'll take one.

Two!

See?

Now we're cooking.

Only I spent all my money on beignets.

Oh, you and everyone else.

Just eat whatever you want.

Oh, I'm not going to eat it.

I'm going to put it in my cabinet of curiosities.

Oh, this bake sale is a bust.

I guess they didn't really need my help after all.

In fact, no one needs me.

That's not true.

I do.

You do?

Oh yeah, I gave you that great advice about Catherine.

Did you ignore her like I told you?

Um, no.

We just talked about it instead, and she changed her plans and went bowling with me.

(cries) See, I am useless!

(sniffs) Ciao, Lakewood!

Remember me!

Muffy, wait!

You're overreacting!

Bailey, could you tell Daddy I'm feeling sick?

I don't think I can go to school today.

(coughs) At least you still need me, Waldo.

BUSTER Amazing.

I think this cannoli has the same density as wood.

SUE ELLEN: Where's Muffy?

We're supposed to have a bake sale committee meeting today to decide what to do with the leftover money.

I think she's out sick.

Buster, can I borrow your phone?

(phone dialing) (phone ringing) Hello?

FRANCINE (on phone): Hey, it's me.

Are you okay?

You want me to bring you your homework?

Why bother?

What's the point of school if you don't matter to anyone?

Oh, brother!

Are you still upset about yesterday?

No!

Maybe.

Anyway, why do you care?

Soon, I'll just be a memory.

Arrivederci, my friend.

(phone beeps) Is she sick?

Yeah.

She has a broken ego.

Whoa!

Is she gonna get a cast?

I think Francine means her pride is hurt 'cause we didn't take her suggestions for the bake sale.

But we did.

I mean, maybe not all of them, but doing a regional cuisine was her idea.

I wouldn't have played any music unless she had mentioned it.

And she did actually help me with Catherine.

I didn't know how upset I was until I talked to Muffy about it.

Should we just go over and talk to her?

Yes.

But you may want to add a little drama.

(hair dryer whirring) MUFFY: Why yes, I can suggest a good hair product for your fur, Waldo.

(knock on door) Muffy!

It's me, Sue Ellen.

Can I come in?

Uh, one moment!

(coughs) Enter.

Oh, it's just terrible, terrible!

What is it?

There was money left over from the bake sale, so we thought we'd decorate the stage curtain, but Ladonna and Binky have gotten into a huge fight about it!

We're painting wrestlers on it!

End of story!

Ooh, not on my watch, you pie-faced possum!

Wrestling isn't even a real sport!

(gasps) You take that back, Compson!

Try and make me, Peaches!

Stop!

Stop!

Have you two lost your minds?

Maybe we should just give the money away.

No, decorating the curtain is a great idea, but you have to listen to each other.

I don't suppose you have any ideas... Sure could use a little help... As it so happens, I just might have an idea or two.

Oh, thank you!

You can't imagine how much this committee needs you.

Okay, enough lolly-gagging.

Let's walk and talk.

Barnes, bathrobe, pronto.

Now, we want it to be colorful, but not garish.

The theatrical event starts when you enter the theater.

Ideas, people!

Ideas!

So, are wrestlers completely out of the question?

And now, a word from us kids.

Next up on Arthur... John Lewis visits Arthur's school.

Here's what we've learned about John Lewis.

STUDENT: We made posters, we made maps.

We did research to learn about John Lewis.

STUDENT: He worked in the civil rights movement with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and he helped create equal rights.

John Lewis is an activist.

An activist is somebody who's involved in changing the world.

Starting in the early 1960s, he organized protests against segregation.

Under segregation, black people weren't getting treated the same way as white people.

He thought it wasn't fair that black people could not do things that white people could do.

John Lewis was part of the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.

They were marching as a protest against segregation and to protect their right to vote.

John Lewis was arrested, but he never gave up.

Finally, the Selma march helped change the laws.

John Lewis and the other activists, they protested for their rights, and even though people tried to stop them, and even hurt them, they kept on trying and kept on going.

He did non-violent protests.

John Lewis did not want to hurt people.

He just wanted to get his message across.

And now, he is a congressman and he lives in Georgia.

If John Lewis came to my classroom, I would tell him, "Thank you for making the world better."

And now back to Arthur.

♪ ♪ Thank you, George.

(clears throat) (over loudspeaker): I have two important announcements.

One: starting tomorrow, breakfast will be served in the cafeteria.

(students cheer) Whoo-hoo!

My wish was granted!

The second important announcement is: Next week, we will have a guest speaker coming to the school.

Drumroll, please.

(drumroll) Congressman John Lewis from Georgia!

You mean the John Lewis?

Who's John Lewis?

He was a really important civil rights leader in the 1960s, and challenged the lack of equal rights for black Americans.

Yeah!

He helped guarantee that everyone could vote.

He was one of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s most important allies.

Wow!

MS. TINGLEY (over loudspeaker): That is all.

Be safe, and have a studious day.

(harmonica music plays over the loudspeaker) No harmonica!

I thought we agreed.

(music stops) Arthur Takes a Stand.

(birds singing) (yawns) (timer dings) (yawns) This oatmeal smells amazing!

It's even better with a few sliced almonds.

And this omelet is so gourmet!

Does it come with just egg whites?

If you don't mind waiting, I can whip one up in no time.

LADONNA: Mrs. MacGrady!

Can I have the recipe for these oat scones?

Sure thing!

The key is to use rolled oats.

Mrs. MacGrady!

Great fruit salad!

Could I get more pineapple?

Glad you like it!

Just give me two shakes of a lamb's tail.

There's only one of me after all... ARTHUR: Mrs. MacGrady!

Huh?

Yes!

Present!

Oh.

Hi, Arthur.

We're plum out of scones, but there's some banana bread left.

I'm not hungry.

I just left my notebook here.

Breakfast was great.

I had no idea so many kids would come.

Me neither.

Now if I can only turn myself into an octopus, we'll be all set.

Huh?

I need more arms.

Don't you have any help?

Nope.

I put in a request with Ms. Tingley, but I haven't heard back yet.

Oh well, I better get started on lunch.

That chili isn't going to make itself.

ARTHUR: She doesn't have any help.

Think about preparing two meals a day for all these kids.

Well, whatever Mrs. MacGrady is doing, it's working.

This chili is divine.

She should just make one thing and serve it for both meals.

Like meatloaf.

Meatloaf?

For breakfast?

What?

It's like a meat pancake.

Especially if you put syrup on it.

Ugh.

Arthur's right.

It isn't right that Mrs. MacGrady should have to do all this alone.

Let's go see Ms. Tingley after school.

I bet we can convince her to hire someone.

Buster!

There you are!

Where is everyone?

Oh right, we were going to see Ms. Tingley!

I completely forgot-- I have a dentist appointment now.

What about Francine and Muffy?

I saw them leaving.

They must've forgotten too.

Sorry!

(exhales) There's just so much to do for Congressman Lewis' visit.

I want the school to look extra nice for him.

Actually, I'm here to talk about Mrs. MacGrady.

Is she going to get any help?

I'd love to hire her an assistant, but the school board gives us a limited amount of money and we just don't have the budget for it.

Couldn't we write them a letter asking for a little more?

Well, that's certainly something to consider.

Who knew breakfast would be such a hit?

Did you try the oat scones?

No, but... Oh, they're just delicious.

I don't know how she does it.

Sorry I'm so distracted.

I've really enjoyed our chat, Arthur.

What if Mr. Ratburn had to teach twice as many classes?

I bet he'd get an assistant.

I know, it's so unfair!

Maybe we should boycott the school.

What's a boycott?

It's when you refuse to use something until your demands are met.

It's one of the tactics Martin Luther King and John Lewis used in the civil rights movement.

I don't think we should do that.

I like school.

But that gives me an idea.

MRS. MACGRADY: "Boycott Breakfast!

"It's not fair to Mrs.

MacGrady!"?

Where did you get this?

I made it.

Well, for the love of Lao-Tzu, why?

So you wouldn't have so much work.

Arthur, serving breakfast was my idea.

It was?

Yep.

There are kids here whose families can't afford to give them a proper breakfast.

They need this.

But you can't do it all alone.

You said so yourself: you need more arms.

It's true.

Tussled with the toaster this morning.

This time, he won.

So, what are you going to do?

I don't know.

I guess I'll just have to manage somehow.

MS. TINGLEY (over loudspeaker): I'm pleased to announce that the cafeteria will be open 24 hours a day.

You can all have dinner right now.

(students cheering) Dinner!

FRANCINE: I'm starving!

But you just had breakfast!

MUFFY: Mrs. MacGrady, my steaks are overdone!

BUSTER: Mmm.

(slurps) Ah!

More syrup!

I need more syrup!

(children clamoring) Guys!

Calm down!

Mrs. MacGrady can't handle all this!

Well, I did get an assistant.

(shatters) But now I don't have the time to train him.

(plates breaking) It's not fair!

It's not fair!

Stop!

It's not fair!

No, it really isn't fair, making this library so warm and cozy.

Makes me want to nap, too.

Oh, sorry.

I didn't sleep much last night.

You were having quite a nightmare, son.

It was about our lunch lady.

Sounds frightening.

Knew a cook once who could ruin a jelly sandwich.

Didn't think it was possible.

No, she's the best.

She needs help but my school won't hire anyone.

It makes me really mad.

Anyway, I guess it's not my problem.

Maybe.

Then again, if it's gnawing at your conscience, maybe it is your problem.

But what can I do?

I already tried talking to the principal.

Sometimes, people don't hear the first time.

You have to be persistent.

But if this means a lot to you, do not give up.

Hold your ground.

A person with conviction can change the world.

Oh, could you direct me to a florist?

I have to buy some flowers for an old friend.

Well, time for class.

I bet we have a quiz today.

My elbow feels funny.

(yawns) Aren't you coming?

No.

What?

Why not?

I'm not moving from this chair until Ms. Tingley agrees to hire an assistant for Mrs. MacGrady.

That's silly.

How is you getting in trouble going to help her?

Come on.

I'm sure he'll give up in a few minutes.

Arthur, you better hurry.

Class has started.

I'm not moving.

Not until you get some help.

Well, that's very sweet of you, but I can fight my own battles.

It's not just about you.

What the school is doing is wrong.

Don't you think it's wrong?

Well, yes, but... oh, fiddle-faddle!

When you're right, you're right.

SUE ELLEN: Someone said you were protesting for Mrs. MacGrady.

Can I join in?

This is so exiting!

We're having a sit-in!

We are?

Wow, he's still at it.

MUFFY: I know!

And they don't even have magazines and footrests.

(whispering): Francine!

What are you doing?

(sighs) Go, Mrs. MacGrady!

(phone camera clicks) What on earth is going on?

(gasping) Mrs. MacGrady needs help.

I know you said we can't afford it, but we need to find the money somehow.

I really am shorthanded.

I'll certainly consider it.

Now, please return to class at once.

I'm sorry, Cecilia.

But we're going to need a guarantee.

Excuse me, ma'am.

Do you know where I might find a Miss Leah MacGrady?

(gasps) Congressman Lewis?

John, you old troublemaker!

Get over here!

(laughs) Molasses MacGrady!

You haven't changed a bit since the March on Washington!

You're Congressman Lewis?

So they keep telling me.

Nice to see you again.

Are we having a sit-in?

How come no one called me?

You have your guarantee.

I'll write to the school board first thing tomorrow morning.

Maybe you'd like to help me write the letter.

Sure!

I'd love to!

Think you're going to have nightmares again tonight?

Nope.

Me neither.

There's nothing more important than following your conscience.

If you can do that, you're always going to sleep well.

♪♪ Listen to your heart, listene 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 ♪ ♪ For that's the place to start.

♪ Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org