Buenas Noches, Vicita

Summary
Vicita has lost her favorite book, and without it, she cannot get to sleep.

Plot
In the introduction Arthur gives examples of what people do when they can not fall asleep, e.g. counting sheep (Muffy), reciting the number pi (Brain) or doing homework (Buster). D.W. bangs on the door because Arthur is keeping her awake.

Title Card

Vicita goes to bed with her toy llama Raulito. Her father wants to read her her favorite book “The Very Magic Mango Tree”, but it is gone. The parents and Vicita search the kitchen, the car and the living room, but can not find the book. Mr. Molina reads various other books all night long. In the morning both parents have fallen asleep, but Vicita is still awake.

Vicita is too tired to play the next day, so D.W. asks Brain to lecture her on the sleep cycle. Instead of boring Vicita to sleep, the lecture worries her.

The Tibbles tell how they chase each other through the house until they fall asleep from exhaustion.

Buster tries hypnosis and falls asleep himself. When Vicita tells Arthur and D.W. about the book, they realize that she knows it by heart. They make a copy of the book with paper cutouts and Arthur writes down the story.

In the evening Mr. Molina reads the story. It tells how the boy Vaica runs into the jungle because the other boys tease him. He meets some animals eating mangos which make them fall asleep. Vaica climbs up the mango tree and eats a mango. He dreams of Jaguarman, who teaches him the ways of the jaguar. After that he is never teased again.

At the end of the story Vicita finds she is still awake, because Vaica is still up in the tree. She has a dream in which she and Raulito, now a talking animal, are in Vaica’s jungle. She asks a sloth for directions, but misunderstands him so she ends up at a Magic Mango Tree that keeps you awake. A macaw carries both to the right tree, even though Raulito hates to fly. Vicita has to save Raulito from a caiman that wants to eat him. After that they see Vaica, who can not get down from the tree because he is afraid of heights. Raulito tells him that he just few on a macaw despite being afraid both of heights and real animals. They encourage Vaica to climb down one branch at a time and to eat a mango.

Vicita wakes up in the morning and misses Raulito. Her father finds both the llama and “The Very Magic Mango Tree” under Vicita’s pillow. He offers to read it that night, but Vicita now has the story in her head.

Major

 * Vicita Molina
 * D.W. Read
 * Ramón Molina
 * Mrs. Molina
 * Raulito

Minor

 * Brain
 * Arthur Read
 * Buster Baxter
 * Timmy and Tommy Tibble
 * Muffy Crosswire
 * Vaica ("The Very Magic Mango Tree")
 * Sloth ("The Very Magic Mango Tree")
 * Macaw ("The Very Magic Mango Tree")

Cameo

 * Maryann
 * James MacDonald
 * Liam
 * Sarah
 * Emily
 * Monkey ("The Very Magic Mango Tree")
 * Caiman ("The Very Magic Mango Tree")
 * Snake ("The Very Magic Mango Tree")

Trivia

 * This episode shows Vicita at Elwood City Preschool.
 * The title for this episode is "Goodnight, Vicita" in Spanish.

Cultural References

 * Vicita recites "Pata Sucia", a Latin American children's song and counting-out rhyme.

Production notes

 * This is the only other episode prior to season 14 (season 16 in the U.S.) after "The Good Sport" to have a self-contained title card. This one features Vicita going to bed.

Home Video
DVD:
 * Arthur: Season 11
 * Germophobia (DVD)