The Short, Quick Summer

Summary
As summer vacation draws to a close, Arthur wonders where the time went.

Plot
The episode begins on the last day of school. Arthur shows his list of stuff he has planned to do over the summer, and thinks about it. The bell rings, and Arthur runs out, excited about summer.

The Short, Quick Summer

Two months later, Arthur is devastated to hear that school will begin next week. He goes to find his list, while hearing what his friends did this summer. Buster saved the carousel from Mr. Crosswire, Binky polished his bike and invented a mud sled, Francine and Prunella are digging a hole to find a mineral that predicts the future, Fern went to poetry camp and won a ribbon, Sue Ellen learned a magic trick from Mr. Ratburn, who worked at Jack's Joke Shop, and The Brain taught at summer school. Arthur feels disappointed that his friends did lot of stuff, and he can't remember a single thing that he did. On the way home, Arthur saw that Francine and Prunella have filled up the hole and plan to try again next summer.

When Arthur gets home, he finds his list (which was taped to the back of his bedroom door), but realizes it's too late. Summer is already over. When D.W. asks Arthur to read the list to her, Arthur does. He soon realizes that he was all wrong, because he did everything on the list, felt much better and thanks D.W. for asking him to read the list, much to her dismay. She remarks, “''I was trying to make him feel rotten, and he feels great. I’m a failure as a little sister.''”

On the last night of summer, Arthur, Francine and Buster roast marshmallows on the grill while imagining themselves as cowboys in the Wild West, ending the episode.

Major

 * Arthur Read
 * Buster Baxter
 * D.W. Read
 * Francine Frensky
 * Binky Barnes
 * Sue Ellen Armstrong

Minor

 * Fern Walters
 * Nigel Ratburn
 * Ed Crosswire
 * Prunella Deegan
 * David Read
 * Jane Read
 * Muffy Crosswire

Cameo

 * Norman Hedgehog
 * Brian
 * The Brain
 * George Lundgren
 * 3rd Grade Female Aardvark
 * 3rd Grade Male Dog
 * Kenny
 * 3rd Grade Female Cat (Number 2)
 * Mrs. Fink
 * Beulah McInnerny
 * 3rd Grade Male Cat (Miscolored)

Mentioned

 * Rubella

Trivia

 * The deck of cards Mr. Ratburn uses has 3 black aces. The standard number is 2, so that could be a special deck made specifically for that trick.

Cultural references

 * The three books referenced by Arthur's imagination are:
 * Gulliver's Travels, with miniature versions of Binky as the Lilliputians.
 * The Three Musketeers
 * Treasure Island, with Arthur's dad as Long John Silver and Mr. Ratburn as a pirate. (Arthur mentions in "You Are Arthur" that this is his favorite book).

Episode connections

 * "The Long, Dull Winter"'s title is a reference to this episode's title.

Errors

 * D.W. said that Kate said her first word, even though it technically wasn't a word. However, D.W. also states that Kate had already said her first word in "The Perfect Brother".
 * Arthur's list is not visible hanging on the back of his door until the very end of the episode.

Home Video
DVD: VHS:
 * Arthur's Great Summer
 * Arthur's Great Summer