Night Fright/Transcript

Introduction

A thunderstorm at night. Arthur and Pal are lying in bed. Pal snores. Arthur is awake.

Bed Monster: Will you stop that snoring? I'm trying to sleep.

Closet Monster: Stop yelling. You're giving me such a headache. Everything echoes in this closet.

Bed Monster: You think you got a headache? Listen to that snore! Like a dump truck without a muffler!    Pal rolls over and keeps snoring.   Oh, my aching head!

Closet Monster: I asked you nicely. Don't make me come out there!   Arthur hides under the blanket.

Arthur: Ever have one of those nights you couldn't sleep because of the monsters under your bed and in your closet?

Bed Monster: Come on out here! I dare ya!    He throws a shoe into the closet

Closet Monster: Ow! You hit me! I’m gonna give you such a pinch.     He throws a pair of tongs.

Bed Monster: Ow! Come and get me, chicken!  He throws the other shoe.    (clucks like a chicken)

Both monsters keep throwing things at each other.

Closet Monster: Come out from under that bed, scaredy cat!

#

Mr. Barnes: You were yelling your sleep.

Binky: That was the worst nightmare I ever had. I didn't even get a chance to eat anything.

Mr. Barnes: No wonder, it's not plugged in.

Binky: Oh yeah, I bumped it when I was playing, but I was too scared to plug it in the dark.

(It's a stormy afternoon, and almost everyone's rides have come and gone)

Buster Baxter: My mom's here. See you later.

Bitzi Baxter: Buster, close that raincoat. You'll get double pneumonia..

(car horn honks)

Francine Frensky: Mom! Yahoo!

Binky Barnes: Maybe your parents forgot about you.

Arthur Read: No, they're coming from my aunt Lucy's house. It's pretty far.

Binky: If they don't come, you'll be alone in the empty school all night.

Arthur: Uh uh.

Binky: Uh huh. (car horn honks) That's my mom! Too bad! I guess you'll be here all alone.

Mrs. Barnes: Arthur, your mom called me. Your family has to spend the night at your aunt's because they had car trouble. So you'll be spending the night at our house. You can share Binky's room.

Binky: (now tiny, stuck in his night light in the clown's eye, screaming) Let me out of here!

Arthur: Okay, who's ready to see Binky's little night light?

Binky: No, let me out! No, no, NO, NO! AAAAHHHH! (All of Arthur's friends laugh as Binky screams and possibly burns. Thunder and lightning flashes. Binky wakes up again) NO-O-O-O-O!

Arthur: What's happening?

Mrs. Barnes: Oh, honey! You forgot to turn on your night light. Now you won't have any more nightmares.

#

At recess Sue Ellen tells the plot of a video.

Sue Ellen: Then it slammed shut: Bam! and could never be opened again

Kids: Hh!       Binky comes.

Binky: What’s she talking about?

Francine: That first Scare-Your-Pants-Off video: “The Lunchbox of Notre Dame”.

Arthur: That’s the scariest thing I ever heard.

Buster: Augh!

Arthur: It wasn’t that scary.     Buster is holding a crumpled piece of paper.

Buster: Not that. I just wrecked my homework. And I have to give it to Mr. Ratburn.

Kids: Hh!

Arthur: Okay. That’s the scariest thing I ever heard. (laughs)

Binky: (laughs) What a bunch of little babies! Oh, I’m so scared.

Mr. Ratburn has listened to the conversation from a window.

Mr. Ratburn: Hm.

#

The class talk about what scares them.

Sue Ellen: Cemeteries scare me. So whenever I have to walk by one, I whistle.     Sue Ellen is shown whistling in a cemetery.     It works.

Brain: When I’m worried, I use a laser I built to shine a light on the moon.     Brain is shown with a laser that makes the moon sizzle.    That makes me feel better. I don’t know why.

Francine: When I’m nervous, I talk to my old stuffed lobster Bob.     She hold up a toy lobster.

Mr. Ratburn: How do you deal with your fears, Arthur?

Arthur: Uh...

Binky: (thinks:) If he tells, everyone will laugh at me. If he doesn't tell, I'm his slave for the rest of my life. Oh man, what do I do now?   (loud:) Oh, oh, oh, I wanna go next!

Mr. Ratburn: If that's okay with Arthur.    Arthur nods.

Binky: I have nightmares, but when I use a night-light, I can get to sleep.

Mr. Ratburn: Good, Binky. That's very common one. Very normal.

Binky: It is? Yeah!    Yeah. It's normal. What are you looking at?

After school Arthur goes home with Buster. Binky runs after them.

Binky: Hey, Arthur, wait up!   Look, about the way I've been acting, I just wanted to say...

Arthur: Binky, don’t worry. It's okay.

Binky: No, it's not okay. I paid for your lunch and you've got to pay me back. And that racing car racer I gave you, fork it over. And I gave you my dessert, and wiped that mud off your shoes and put three and a half glue on your collage…