Lost!

Summary
Arthur falls asleep on a bus and wakes up in a strange — and scary — part of town.

Plot
Arthur is missing, Jane assumes that he didn't show up for his swimming lessons. David decides to drive to his school to see if he is there, and Jane decides to call the bus company. D.W. is told to stay in one spot outside to avoid two lost children. D.W. says she is sure that Arthur is around somewhere, and eventually wonders where Arthur really is.

Title Card

One night, Arthur comes home, who seems alright despite being late. D.W., Jane, and David had been very worried about it. David is curious to know the story of why Arthur is missing. D.W. had a story when she answered the phone. Jane allows Arthur to explain the story.

The story begins with Arthur getting out of school. Buster offers Arthur to go ride bikes, but Arthur refuses and states that he has to take the bus to the pool for his swimming lessons since he had no carpools available to take him there due to D.W. in the "Pageant of Foods" school play, posing as the "mashed potatoes". Arthur then tells Buster that he is taking the bus that terminates at the edge of town. Fares are simply paid and passengers are allowed on the bus. Buster explains to Arthur that someone got on a bus that was going nonstop. Arthur, poses as the passenger who asks the bus driver the next stop, who tells "the passenger" that he has the wrong bus and the bus doesn't make any stops. The bus eventually transforms into a spaceship and flies off.

Francine remembers the time that happened, which was actually a movie scene on a recent TV show. Francine tells Arthur that he'll be fine. She tells Arthur that she heard of a kid that had inadequate amount of bus fare, and wasn't allowed off by a not-so-nice bus driver. Arthur, who poses as the kid, pleads to leave and stating that he was on the bus for several decades. He is told to stay on the bus until he pays his fare (which is said it was left at home). The demonic bus driver brutally tells him he should have thought of bringing his bus fare before planning on boarding the bus, and bursts out a wild sinister laugh.

Cut back to the present story, the bus arrives. The bus driver allows Arthur on the bus and pays his exact change fare. Arthur finds a seat and reads a book about squids. Eventually, he faints and doesn't pay attention to his destination. As a result, he does not get off at the pool for his swimming lessons.

Cut back to the present, Arthur explains to D.W. that he was tired and fell asleep on the bus due to being up all night due to having a tremendous amount of reading the night prior to the day of getting on the bus.

Cut back to the story, Arthur is surprised when he wakes up and realizes that he has missed his destination. A neighboring passenger explains to him that the bus is approaching the edge of town. Arthur was thinking about telling the bus driver, but changes his mind and gets off anyway. He decides to walk home but unsure where to go and realizes that he has an inadequate amount of bus fare to return. Arthur then wonders what to do instead, he looks inside Manny's Diner and notices a payphone. He assumes Grandma Thora will pick him up. Arthur imagines that Grandma Thora may get the call. She then speeds up, jumping a gap on the bridge and eventually arrives where Arthur is waiting and picks him up.

Cut back to the story, the coin deposits from the payphone, he realizes it doesn't work. He asks if there is another one, the waitress says that it is the only payphone that is available in the diner. She allows Arthur to be seated, and orders some milk there. The waitress then says, "Hey, Manny! Squeeze me a cow!" (i.e. to make some food for Arthur). Meanwhile, Jane and D.W. are working on putting groceries away until the phone starts ringing. D.W. is allowed to pick it up and then gets word from someone who works at the pool saying that Arthur was not present for his swimming lessons.

Cut back to the present, Jane explains that she did call the bus company to diagnose the problems about Arthur. D.W. also states that Jane and David were thinking about calling the police, sending a search party, and then getting another phone call.

Cut back to the story, the unnamed waitress gets word from Arthur that he goes to Lakewood Elementary, and then states that she actually lives near the school. Arthur wonders if she didn't have any bus fare. The waitress decides to offer Arthur money, but refuses due to stating that he had known that he should never take any money from strangers. The waitress agrees this as good advice. She advises Arthur to talk to the bus driver, and assumes that it wouldn't be as bad as Arthur thinks. She tells Arthur that the bus is now heading back to town.

As soon Arthur leaves, he sees the bus heading back to town and dashes for it. He boards the bus and explains his problems to the bus driver; he got off on the wrong stop mistakenly, has no more bus fare, and not being able to walk home. The bus driver confirms these reasons, and states that it happens once in a while. The bus driver introduces himself as Sam, who also decides to get in touch with his family in case of anxiety. Arthur eventually is taken back to town and gets off at a local bus stop near his house. He thanks Sam for the ride.

Cut back to the present, Jane and David are impressed once Arthur goes to bed. D.W. comes into his room and tells Arthur that she could have been scared, and Arthur eventually promises that he will never get lost again.

Trivia

 * This is one of the few times Arthur is shown to cry.
 * Lost! became adapted into a book in the Arthur Adventure series and re-titled as Arthur Lost and Found.
 * It is interesting that Arthur's parents says not to accept money from strangers, but Arthur is fine with eating food from a stranger. Then again, it is a restaurant.

Goofs

 * The Photographer can be seen sitting next to Arthur on the bus, but when the Manny's Diner worker is shown, he is also seen sitting next to her.
 * During the time Arthur is on the bus, the bus goes past the same buildings multiple times. This is likely because backgrounds were reused.

Home Video
DVD: VHS:
 * Arthur Gets Lost
 * Arthur Gets Lost