Prunella the Pack Rat Arthur

# Every day when you're walkin' down the street

# Everybody that you meet

# Has an original point of view

-# And I say, hey!

-Hey!

# What a wonderful kind of day We can 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

# We can learn to work and play And get along with each other

# What a wonderful kind of day, hey! What a wonderful kind of day, HEY! #

'Hey, DW.'

-HEY!

-Whoa! Oof!

CRASH!

Have you thought how much stuff you have?

I never play with half these toys!

I keep them anyway, maybe I'll want to play with them someday.

Except for this Poogle. I'll never play with this again.

But it might wind up being a collector's item.

I'd better hold on to it.

We know about some ancient civilisations

because they held onto their stuff for a long time.

This pyramid was built by the Pharaoh, Khufu,

mainly to protect his stuff.

HELICOPTER WHIRS

Look down there!

That's trash that's floating round the Pacific.

It may be garbage now but people owned a lot of it.

More stuff!

Eurgh!

This amphora was found in the ocean.

The Ancient Greeks used it to hold liquid, over 2,000 years ago.

Stuff!

CAMERA CLICKS

What will happen to your stuff 2,000 years from now?

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

Or just trash, floating around the ocean?

This is the school gym now.

When I'm on the decorating committee for the fair,

it will be transformed into this! Voila!

-Oooh!

-Aaah!

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.

Oh... And I already got a great deal on the giant, plastic trees.

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

Plastic trees might send the wrong message.

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

Prunella was selected to represent the fourth grade.

Representing our class...

Arthur Read.

It had better be fabulous!

I thought we could do a collage

of stuff from Earth Days we've had and...

Beware the closet! It will swallow you whole!

Mwahahahaha!

Rubella, cut it out!

That's the last time you borrow my cloak.

What did she mean about your closet?

She thinks I save too much stuff.

She says I'm a packrat.

I've got some things we can use.

Here's a box of pine cones from last winter.

Oh, wait. These are just pencil stubs.

All my quizzes from second grade. Don't want to look at those.

Here's a bag of packing peanuts.

Might be useful as part of a display.

Ah! What are these?

-Shoelaces. If one breaks, I save the broken piece.

-Why?

I don't know. I just do.

I forget what's in this.

Oh, ticket stubs!

One from Princess On Ice when I was four!

-Um, I'm going to go back out. OK?

-Sure, I'll just be a sec.

-Phew!

Ooh! My first-grade mittens!

Cute!

Where are those snow globes? I saw them... Agh!

CRASH!

-Are you OK?

-I'm fine. Happens all the time!

Oh! This is what I was looking for!

We can use this in a global warming display.

Um, I have to get home. It's almost time for dinner.

Sorry. I guess I got a little distracted.

We may get more done if we're at the Sugar Bowl. I'll call you.

OK! But don't buy anything. We've got everything we need, right here.

Ah!

What's wrong with collecting stuff? I collect food.

-Look what I found in the garden.

-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 was just going through boxes and we didn't talk about the fair.

I used to have trouble getting rid of stuff, then my mum got me this book.

"Neatnik Ned's Guide To Clearing Clutter." You read this?

Yeah! Well, I read the first chapter. But that was life-changing.

Maybe it can help Prunella.

Are you done with that wrapper? It'd be great for Yamlet's ghost.

No, it's my stuff and you can't make me throw it away!

I said, "I thought you'd like this book".

What you're saying is, "You should get rid of that junk".

Well, it's not junk to me.

Everything inside this room has deep meaning for me.

Oh, is that so?

This sock with a hole in it?

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

It's a baby's 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 egg carton? Is it part of the project?

OK. I guess I could get rid of one or two things.

Neatnik Ned says you should put things into piles.

Let's make "Keep", "Get Rid Of" and "Stuff For The Fair" piles.

We'll help you start.

Prunie, you need to let go.

PRUNELLA SIGHS

There. That's the "Get Rid Of" pile.

THEY GRUNT

The wall! I completely forgot it was pink!

You can stare at the wall later.

We need to get to the collection centre.

I'll do it. You've done enough.

How will you manage that by yourself?

Just help me load it into my wagon.

I feel better having less stuff.

Thanks, Arthur.

You should thank Buster. He said I should give you the book.

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

Hi, there.

I know where metal, paper and glass go, how about this?

There. Help yourself to whatever's clean. It's free!

Ooh! I wonder if there's anything good!

No, Prunie. You must resist.

Ah! A Henry Skreever thermos!

Hmm. I could use a hand mirror. Ah!

'Prunie, you need to let go.'

-Hi, Buster.

-Thanks for lending me the book.

-Isn't it great?

Oh, I love it. Changed my life.

-Me, too!

-You know what I found at the market yesterday?

A beet, shaped just like a heart.

And it's this big.

-Want it?

-Yes!

-It's yours. I need a favour.

Could you keep some stuff for me today? I'll get it tomorrow.

BUSTER GASPS

What do you think, Yamlet? "Two beets, or not two beets?"

We'll have an area about swamps and marshes.

This section can be on melting icecaps.

You have the decorations for that, right?

-Oh, yeah. It's all in the "Stuff For The Fair" pile.

-Great.

Could I come and get the Neatnik Ned book?

I'd like to read it, too.

Now?

Is that OK? It'll only take a minute.

Sure! Of course it's OK.

Why wouldn't it be OK?

Wait right here, I'll be back with it in just a sec.

Here's a magazine. Make yourself at home!

DOOR SLAMS

RUMBLING

CRASH!

ARTHUR GASPS

-I'm fine.

-Happens all the time.

You never threw anything out!

I did! Then I got some things at the recycling centre. And then more.

Don't worry. Those decorations are in here.

I promise I'll find them in time.

Oh, look. It's Neatnik 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.

RUMBLING

CREAKING

RUMBLING GETS LOUDER

SHE GASPS

LOUD CREAKING

Aaaaaarrrrrggggghhhh!

Hmm!

Aaaaaaaarrrrrggggghhhh!

Oh. Arthur is right.

I can't go on like this.

OK, stuff! Prepare to get organised.

Try some locally grown, organic borscht.

You didn't save the heart-shaped beet?

Nah, I'm through collecting food.

Check out Yamlet.

Wow. If I were decorating, this would've been more dramatic.

Couldn't you have gotten a polar bear?

Prunella has a stuffed polar bear doll.

But I guess she decided not to show.

MICROPHONE SCREECHES

Testing, testing. Hey, this actually works.

I haven't used this in years.

I 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 on to anything you take for too long.

Give it to someone else when you're done.

We all just share it!

Thanks.

An interesting take on recycling.

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!

# Every day when you're walking down the street

# Everybody that you meet Has an original point of view

-# And I say hey!

-Hey!

# What a wonderful kind of day!

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