Fern Walters

Fern Walters is a third grade student in Mr. Ratburn's class at Lakewood Elementary. She is generally viewed as a quiet girl with a love of poetry and mysteries.

Because of her shy personality, her mother, Doria Walters, often signs her up for various activities to get her involved in social gatherings with peers. Fern herself sometimes thinks that she is too quiet, once referring to herself as "invisible". Although Fern is shy, when something goes wrong she will speak her mind on behalf of what she believes to be the right thing.

Fern is well known as a talented and realistic raconteur, especially when it comes to horror and mystery stories. She loves solving mysteries, and once solved a real mystery in the episode "Fern's Slumber Party." Fern is also talented musically. She is a great singer and can perform music from several genres, such as rock (as seen in Arthur - It's Only Rock 'n' Roll), or pop, which we see in Phony Fern. She plays the flute and is in the school band with Arthur and his friends. Her favorite authors are Agatha Christie, Mary Shelley, and Persimmony Glitchet. Fern's favorite books are the Sherlock Holmes mysteries and Frankenstein's Monster.

Physical appearance
Fern is an anthropomorphic dog with tannish gray fur. She is usually seen wearing a long sleeved purple blouse with yellow buttons, matching it with yellow pants and brown loafers. She always wears a bow on her head, usually bright red, but it sometimes is another color to go with a different outfit.

In some media, such as at the Arthur attraction at the Boston Children's Museum and on an Arthur puzzle by Ravensburger, she is depicted with a pale green jacket with green spots.

Alternate apparel
She also wears a light purple nightgown with dark purple linings and the occasional winter wear consisting of a dark pink top with a black skirt. She is also seen wearing a karate uniform. She also wears a purple maillot with a red collar.

Personality
Fern is depicted as introverted and quiet at first, worried about mixing with her peers. As Binky says in "I'm a Poet", Fern "never says anything". However, following that episode, she starts to become involved more socially with her friends, interacting with them and helping some of them with their problems.

One of Fern's most notable talents is her flair and aptitude for writing poetry and stories, which was first highlighted in "I'm a Poet" and strengthened in "Fernlets by Fern" and "Fern and Persimmony Glitchet". In addition, Fern also has a great deal of imagination, helping her write very good stories. As evidenced, she has a quick wit for playing tricks, and on one occasion she fooled even Brain into believing a yarn concerning giant worms in "War of the Worms".

However, some of Fern's major flaws stem from her stubbornness and headstrong attitude, which can be very trying to others at times and can potentially lead to arguments, including a particularly venomous altercation with Francine.

Fern also has a small talent for acting, as seen in "No Acting, Please". She is a midfielder for Lakewood Elementary Soccer Team.

Future Life
If the intro to the episode, "The Election", really happens, she will either be President Muffy's running mate or a member of her party.

Family
Fern has a small family, consisting of her mother and father. Her mother first appears in "Fern's Slumber Party" and her father appears in the episode "Phony Fern", but is also first mentioned in the former.
 * Doria Walters - As Fern's mother, she persistently encourages Fern to join new groups in order to make friends and become more socially active. She also worries that Fern is too quiet, and generally worries about her in this regard. She refers to Fern as "Ferny" sometimes.
 * Mr. Walters - As Fern's father, he is a very kind, caring and cautious person. He loves his family very much, but sometimes he worries about Fern's safety, so he gave her a cell phone in "Phony Fern". He is also good at computers and has even taught Fern some things about them.

Friends

 * Sue Ellen Armstrong - Fern and Sue Ellen are often seen together in the backgrounds of some scenes. They become better friends when they both make a pact in the episode "Popular Girls", and they are seen running around (in the background) in the episode "Mr. Alwaysright." They also give each other advice, as seen in "Sue Ellen and the Brainasaurous".
 * Muffy Crosswire - Fern and Muffy become good friends when they both have the same cell phone, the Portilex-360. However, things might have changed when Fern downgrades to a simpler phone. They still seem to be portrayed as close friends in the later seasons, as they are seen watching a movie and auditioning for the same part in a play. Otherwise, in the earlier seasons, they seem to not interact, if at all.
 * Francine Frensky - They are not friends at first because Francine sees Fern as a boring person, based on her thoughts on Fern in the episodes I'm a Poet, Draw!, and Fern's Slumber Party. Despite this, they seem to confide in each other and appreciate the same type of stories. Fern was partnered up Francine in "Fernfern and the Secret of Moose Mountain". Despite their differences, they were able to work together to get to the top of the mountain. They seem to have become friends in later seasons.
 * George Lundgren - Fern and George are seen role-playing in the "Phony Fern" and "The Case of the Girl with the Long Face" and also seen with George at the episode "The Return of the King". In the earlier seasons, when they were used as background characters, they were often seen together with Jenna. In Fern's Flights of Fancy, Fern had acknowledged George as 'the best friend a writer could have', confirming the close friendship between the two.

Fern is considered to be friends with all of the main kids in Lakewood Elementary, as she is seen with them on many occasions.

Trivia

 * There is some confusion over when Fern's birthday is. In Arthur - It's Only Rock 'n' Roll, it is revealed that Fern is a Libra, meaning that her birthday is between September 23 - October 22, but in "Dad's Dessert Dilemma," it is implied that her birthday is shortly after February 15, Galileo's birthday.
 * Fern spoke for the first time in the episode 'Arthur and the True Francine', when she asks Muffy, at one of her sleepovers, if she has ever lied before.
 * In the episode 'I'm a Poet', she can be seen getting angry at Francine for mocking her. Later she yells 'QUIET!!' when everyone said they can write poetry. After she yells you can hear a car alarm go off.
 * She doesn't have a visible hairstyle like the rest of the girls.
 * Fern doesn't have an uncle.
 * According to Muffy in Surprise! Fern is a handwriting expert.

Episode Appearances

 * Season 1
 * Arthur's Eyes 101a
 * Francine's Bad Hair Day 101b
 * Arthur and the Real Mr. Ratburn 102a
 * Arthur's Spelling Trubble 102b
 * Buster's Dino Dilemma 103b
 * Arthur's Lost Library Book 104b
 * Arthur and the True Francine 114b
 * Arthur's Tooth 124a
 * I'm a Poet 128a
 * Season 2
 * Draw! 201b
 * Arthur the Unfunny 213b
 * Fern's Slumber Party 215b
 * Love Notes for Muffy 216a
 * Francine Redecorates 217a
 * Arthur the Loser 217b
 * Season 3
 * Sue Ellen and the Brainasaurous 303b
 * Binky Rules 306a
 * Meet Binky 306b
 * Popular Girls 308a
 * Season 4
 * Arthur's Big Hit 401b
 * Muffy's New Best Friend 402b
 * Season 5
 * The Lousy Week 505a
 * You Are Arthur 505b
 * The Election 506a
 * Sleep No More 507a
 * Season 6
 * The Boy Who Cried Comet 605a
 * Rhyme for Your Life 608a
 * Season 7
 * Francine's Split Decision 702a
 * Muffy Goes Metropolitan 702b
 * Ants in Arthur's Pants 703a
 * Waiting to Go 704b
 * Elwood City Turns 100! 705
 * Jenna's Bedtime Blues 706b
 * Prunella Sees the Light 709a
 * April 9th 710
 * Season 8
 * Fernfern and the Secret of Moose Mountain 802a
 * Arthur's Snow Biz 803a
 * Bugged 803b
 * Fernkenstein's Monster 804a
 * D.W., Dancing Queen (cameo) 804b
 * Vomitrocious 805a
 * Desk Wars 807a
 * Season 9
 * Castles in the Sky 901a
 * Tipping the Scales (singing only) 901b
 * Francine's Big Top Trouble (cameo) 902a
 * George Blows His Top (cameo) 902b
 * Arthur Weighs In (cameo) 903a
 * The Law of the Jungle Gym 903b
 * A is for Angry 907b
 * The "A" Team 908a
 * D.W. Beats All 909a
 * Buster the Myth Maker 909b
 * Binky Goes Nuts 910a
 * Breezy Listening Blues 910b
 * Season 10
 * Happy Anniversary 1001
 * The Squirrels 1002a
 * Fern and Persimmony Glitchet 1002b
 * Flaw and Order 1005b
 * D.W., Bossy Boots (Cameo and prologue) 1007b
 * Binky vs. Binky (cameo) 1008a
 * Do You Speak George? 1009a
 * What's Cooking? (cameo) 1010a
 * Buster's Special Delivery (cameo) 1010b
 * Season 11
 * Arthur Sells Out (cameo) 1102a
 * Prunella Packs It In 1103b
 * Phony Fern 1104a
 * Brain's Shocking Secret 1104b
 * The Making of Arthur (cameo) 1106a
 * Dancing Fools (cameo) 1106b
 * Mr. Alwaysright (cameo) 1107b
 * Francine's Pilfered Paper (cameo) 1108a
 * Spoiled Rotten! (cameo) 1109b
 * Season 12
 * War of the Worms 120701
 * Do You Believe in Magic? (cameo) 120902
 * The Perfect Game (cameo) 121001
 * Season 13
 * The Great MacGrady (cameo) 1301
 * The Silent Treatment 130201
 * Kung Fool 130202
 * Brain Gets Hooked 130302
 * MacFrensky (cameo) 130401
 * No Acting, Please 130501
 * Fernlets by Fern 130801
 * Prunella and the Haunted Locker 130802
 * Season 14
 * Tales of Grotesquely Grim Bunny 1405a
 * Arthur Unravels 1408a
 * Season 15
 * Buster's Secret Admirer 1503a
 * To Eat or Not to Eat 1505a
 * Through the Looking Glasses 1509b
 * The Trouble with Trophies 1510b
 * Season 16
 * The Last Tough Customer 1606a
 * Brain's Chess Mess 1606b
 * Fern and the Case of the Stolen Story 1609a
 * Season 17
 * Ladonna Compson: Party Animal 1702b
 * Crime and Consequences 1708b
 * Season 18
 * The Case of the Girl with the Long Face 1803a
 * Season 19
 * Brain Sees Stars 1901b
 * Wish You Were Here 1902b
 * Dueling Detectives! 1904b
 * Season 20
 * Fern's Flights of Fancy 2002a
 * Specials
 * It's Only Rock 'n' Roll

Gallery

 * Fern Walters/Gallery