D.W., the Picky Eater (episode)

I am not scared! Fish smells funny and I hate food that smells funny! -D.W. on Dead fish

D.W., the Picky Eater
Season	2
Episode no.	33a
Date aired	October 6, 1997
Episode Guide
Previous Arthur's Lucky Pencil	Next Buster and the Daredevils

"D.W., the Picky Eater" is the first half of the 3rd episode of season 2 of the animated children's series Arthur. It originally aired on October 6th, 1997.

Plot

D.W. is such a picky eater. She only likes to eat foods like peanut butter and jelly, strawberries, chocolate, birthday cake, and chocolate ice cream. She hates food like fish, Hawaiian shrimp, cucumbers, tomatoes, and most of all, spinach. One night Mom, Dad, Arthur, and D.W. go out to eat at a restaurant and D.W. orders a salad. But when she finds out that there's spinach in it, she angrily punches the salad right on the waiter and everyone stares at them. The waiter angrily quits his job and Mom and Dad look angrily at D.W. and Mom says "Dora Winifred Read!". At home Grandma Thora is babysitting Kate when the family returns and she asks if they had a good time. Arthur tells Grandma Thora about D.W. punching her salad and having it exploding all over the waiter and everyone was staring at them. Mom sends D.W. to her room and when Arthur asks about Grandma Thora's birthday party at the Once Upon a Restaurant next week Mom says that D.W. will not be joining them. When Grandma Thora hears this she asks to instead have her birthday at their house because her birthday wouldn't be happy if D.W. wasn't there. Arthur decides to get D.W. to try something new to eat and maybe they can still go to the restaurant. The next day Arthur and D.W. ride bikes together. Arthur then tells D.W. she can see the unicorns there if she eats new foods. Then, Arthur hatches a plan thanks to Buster and Francine and calls up D.W. in the treehouse. Arthur and Buster offer D.W. a peanut butter sandwich. Suddenly, D.W. notices there is spinach in it and vomits it out.

Then at school Muffy sugget that D.W. need to see someone she admires that eat spinach. At Muffy's house she told D.W. that spinach is her favorite food and when she was about to eat a fly landed on her food which cause Muffy to freak out. Then with only two days left until Grandma Thora's birthday and Franince got an idea, at Arthur house she fed Kate some spinach which Kate had no problem eating it. Then D.W. say Kte eating the spinach and telling her is a trick and not to eat it, but Arthur tells her that Kate is big girl and don't throw her food and had trantrums like a baby.

Trivia

• The waiter who D.W.'s spinach lands on and the one at the Once Upon a Restaurant (who tells her the Little Bow Peep Pot Pie is full of Spinach) are the same character.

Differences from the book

• When D.W. receives a bowl of spinach, she quickly shouts that she hates it, and pounds on the bowl, and the bowl lands on the waiter's head. In the book, D.W. pounds on the bowl with her fist which causes the spinach to fly around, and shouts "NO!", and spills her carton of milk.
• When everyone gets annoyed by D.W.'s behavior, Jane says D.W.'s full name; although in the book, she simply says she's embarrassed about what D.W. did.
• Jane told D.W. that there would be no more restaurants for her, because of the way she behaved; although in the book, David told D.W.
• Arthur's friends: Buster, Francine, and Muffy are seen; although in the book, Arthur's friends were not seen, but D.W. went to her friend Emily's house, since the book focused mainly on D.W.
• Arthur was getting advice from his friends on how D.W. should learn how to try the spinach and like it; although in the book, Arthur's family was going out without D.W., and a babysitter named Mrs. Cross was babysitting her.
• For Grandma Thora's birthday, the family went out to Once Upon a Restaurant; although in the book, they went to The Derby.

Notes

• While Grandma Thora was babysitting Kate, Kate had a pacifier in her mouth. Kate mainly had the pacifier in her mouth when she was just a baby in Arthur & D.W.'s Baby, but has rarely had it in her mouth since she turned one year old.

Quotes

• Dad: Mmm....looks good!
• (Waiter serves the food)
• D.W.: Cucumbers, yucky, mushrooms, yucky, onions, yucky and smelly. (Sees that the salad has spinach) Hey, this isn't lettuce. What kind of a salad is this?
• Arthur: Uh-oh, she's going to pop!
• D.W.: This is spinach!
• Waiter: Is something the matter?
• D.W.: This is spinach, AND I HATE....SPINACH!!!!!!!!!!!!! (D.W.'s bowl goes flying and it goes into the waiter's face and everyone else gasps) Uh-oh.
• Waiter: THAT'S IT! I QUIT!
• Mom: Dora Winifred Read!
• Grandma Thora: (Stands up) Back so soon? Did you have a good time?
• Arthur: (about D.W. punching her salad and the bowl going on the waiter) D.W. punched her salad and it exploded........(His mother looks at him)..........A-All over the waiter and everyone was staring at us.

• D.W.: They were not! Everybody's making this into such a big deal!
• Mrs. Read: No more restaurants for you, young lady, until you can behave and learn to eat what's placed in front of you! Now go to your room!
• (D.W. heads upstairs)

• Arthur: What about Grandma Thora's birthday at Once upon a Restaurant next week?

• Mrs. Read: D.W. will not be joining us.