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 then shows his list of stuff he has planned to do over the summer and thinks about them. Then the bell rings, and Arthur walks out knowing summer's here.

The Short, Quick Summer

Two months later, Arthur is devastated to hear that school begins next week. So he goes to find his list while hearing from his friends what they did this summer. Buster saved the carousel from Mr. Crosswire, Binky invented a mud sled, Francine and Prumella are digging a hole to find a mineral that predicts the future, Fern won a contest, and Sue Ellen learned to use magic cards, but it didn't help Arthur. On the way home, Arthur saw that Francine and Prunella filled up the hole and planned to try again next summer.

When Arthur got home, he found his list (as it was stuck to the back of his bedroom door), but realized it's too late. When D.W. asked Arthur to read the list to her, Arthur does. He realized he did do everything on the list, much to D.W.'s 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 roasted marshmallows on the grill while imagining themselves as cowboys in the Wild West, ending the episode.

Major Characters

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

Minor Characters

 * Nigel Ratburn
 * Ed Crosswire
 * Prunella Deegan
 * David Read
 * Jane Read

Background Characters

 * Norman Hedgehog
 * Brian
 * Alan Powers
 * George Lundgren
 * 3rd Grade Female Aardvark

Trivia

 * The deck of cards Mr. Ratburn used had 3 black aces. The standard number is 2, so that could be a special deck made specifically for that trick.
 * This is probably the first episode of season 2 chronologically as it deals with the events leading up to the beginning of the school year.

Cultural references

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

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".

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