Charles' fourth-grade teacher is about to direct a drama adaptation of The Wind in the Willows. Among the other kids, Drew is the Water Rat, Melinda is the jailer's daughter, and Charles is… a willow tree? During this time, however, Charles learns that he has asthma, and suddenly Drew starts treating him differently.

Inspired by the "Arthur" episode "Buster's Breathless"

In November 1966, Chas and Melinda had known each other for two months. Since Chas had stood up for Melinda against Drew's attacks, Drew would always think twice about picking on the new kid.

It was during this time, when the teacher made an announcement to his students: "Boys and girls, we will soon be staging The Wind in the Willows. It was my favorite story when I was your age. I have therefore assigned each of you a role for the play. Just remember: there are no small parts, only small actors."

And he pulled out the role list and spoke: "William Baker, you're the Mole."

"Thank you, sir," said William.

"Andrew Pickles, you're the Water Rat."

"Wow! A major role in a school play! What an honor!" said Drew.

"Daniel Gallagher, you're Mr. Toad."

"Nice," said Daniel. "I'll make sure I play my role well."

"Malcolm McDuff, you're the Badger."

"A bonnie role for me!" cried Malcolm, who was a foreign exchange student from Scotland.

"Melinda Cavanaugh, you're the jailer's daughter."

"Thank you, sir," said Melinda.

This went on and on, until the teacher ran out of major roles and gave the remainder of the students non-speaking roles. For example…

"Charles Finster, you're a willow tree."

"Wow! You mean the title role?" gasped Chas with excitement.

Drew snickered at Chas, "What are you excited about, Finster? You're a tree!"

Melinda was miffed at Drew for making fun of Chas, and she said to Drew, "He's a willow."

"Look, Cavanaugh!" said Drew. "I know a tree when I see one, and Finster is playin' a tree!"

The teacher then said to his students, "All right, class. Now that you have been assigned your roles, you will be given your scripts."

And he handed the students some old books, so old that they had collected dust. As the teacher set them down, however, Chas began to cough. It was a really bad cough that concerned Melinda.

And as Drew looked through his script, he read the Water Rat's lines: "You are fast becoming a menace to society! If you won't think of yourself, think of poor old Badger! And as for that horse, no good could ever come from galloping about with such a fast and irresponsible beast!"

But as Drew read his lines, Chas was coughing violently.

This time, Drew noticed with Melinda. "Finster!" cried Drew. "Are you okay?!"

Chas wheezed, "Having… trouble… breathing…"

Even the teacher was concerned upon hearing Chas' wheezing. He said, "Charles, whatever is the matter? You should go see a doctor right away."


And so, the teacher sent Chas to a nearby hospital. There, a nurse used her stethoscope to check the red-headed boy's heart and breathing.

"What exactly do you feel?" asked the nurse.

Chas replied, "I don't know. It feels like I'm trying to breathe through a straw."

"Anyone can breathe through a straw."

"A straw that's been clogged."

Meanwhile, in the waiting room, Marvin and Shirley were waiting patiently, alongside Melinda and her father Christopher, Stu, Drew, and their parents Lou and Trixie.

Second-grader Stu, having heard of Chas' breathing problems, turned on Drew and shouted, "This is all your fault, Drew!"

"My fault?" cried Drew in bewilderment. "How can it be my fault?"

"Because you read that dirty book! That's what made him sick! I know it!"

"Well, how was I supposed to know my script was so dusty?"

Lou then said to his sons, "Boys, boys, stop arguing. Stu, you're eight years old. Drew, you're nine. Grow up, you two!"

But Melinda didn't play the blame game. Instead, she said to herself, "Poor Charles…"

Back in the nurse's office, the nurse said to Chas, "The dust and mold from your friend's script made it hard for you to breathe because you have asthma."

Chas was startled. "Asthma?" he cried. "Does it mean I can't participate in my school play?"

"Don't worry, Chas. If you take your medicine, you can do all the things you like."

Yes, having asthma didn't seem like a big deal… to Chas.


The next day, at school, Chas was walking down the hallway with Melinda.

"So, you're saying that if you get even one little bit of dust up your nose, you can't breathe?" asked Melinda.

Chas replied, "You got that right. I can't play kickball with you, Stu, Drew, and Betty without wheezing!"

"Is asthma contagious?"

"I certainly hope not…"

But little did Chas and Melinda know that Drew and Stu were hot on their tail.

"I don't get it, Drew," said Stu. "Why are we stalking Chas?"

Drew replied, "Listen, Stu. You and I both don't know anything about asthma. It could be contagious. In fact, Finster may not actually have asthma, but consumption."

"And consumption is contagious?"

"Yes! He may spread it to Cavanaugh! We're talkin' long-term exposure here!"

"Hey, Drew," said Charlotte, who was leaning on her school locker. "If Chas has consumption, do you think he could move a garret in Paris, become a starving poet, make friends with a painter, fall in love with a seamstress, and cry like a baby after she dies right in front of him?"

Confused, Drew replied, "I have no idea what you're talkin' about, Charlotte."

And Stu, who was equally confused, added, "Yeah, me neither."

Frustrated, Charlotte groaned, "Boys! They're never cultured!"


During the stage rehearsal of Wind in the Willows, the students were getting into their costumes. Drew had put on his water rat costume, and Melinda had put on her jailer's daughter costume.

"This is gonna be great!" cried Melinda.

"Yeah, sure," said Chas shakily. The poor kid's confidence had worn off since he was diagnosed with asthma. The fact that he saw Drew dusting off his willow costume didn't help him.

"Here you go, Finster," said Drew as he handed Chas the willow costume. "It's all safe now."


The next day, during class, Drew spontaneously asked, "Hey, has anyone seen my penicillin… I mean, pencil and pen?"

The entire class gave Drew weird looks, none of them knowing why he said "penicillin" in the first place.


And during recess, Drew was crawling on the ground, faking an asthma attack as he wheezed, "Can't breathe! Tell the nurse! I think I have plasma!"

"Don't you mean asthma?" asked Chas, who was sitting on a swing.

Then Drew got up and grumbled, "Oh, stupid word—too many consonants all smooshed together!"


That afternoon, after school, Stu, Drew, and Melinda spied on Chas, who was at the nurse's office taking his asthma medication via an inhaler.

"You really think he's faking it, Drew?" asked Stu. "Nobody can fake a cough that bad."

"Well, he is!" said Drew. "He's faking it to go home early. See? He's playing the kazoo."

"Um, that's an inhaler," said Melinda. "I think he's taking medicine to help him breathe."

"What do you know, Cavanaugh?" snapped Drew at Melinda. "You don't have what Finster's got, although you might."

"I doubt it. I think he can be cured of it."

"Let's hope so, Melinda," said Stu.

But little did his friends know that Chas overheard their conversation, and he felt even less confident.


Not long afterward, during another rehearsal, Chas dropped by to speak with Drew and Melinda. He said to them, "Great news, guys! I'm cured!"

Melinda was pleasantly surprised. "Really? Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yeah! Could I do this if I had asthma?" And as he put on his willow costume, Chas smelled its wooden aroma deeply. "Ahh… the sweet scent of wood! It must have dust in it! I haven't worn it in a few days."

"So you don't have to use that kazoo anymore?" asked Drew.

"Nope."

"Good. Now I don't have to worry about catchin' asthma or consumption."

Chas was confused. "Consumption? What are you talking about?"

"Never mind," said Drew.


But the next day, during recess, Chas, having skipped his appointment with the school nurse, was playing kickball with Stu, Drew, Betty, Howard, and Melinda.

"Ah, kickball," said Stu. "The one sport no kid should have to miss out on."

"Pitch that sucker, Finster!" shouted Drew very rudely to Chas.

"No decent kid, that is," grumbled Chas.

And so, he pitched the kickball and sent it in Drew's direction. As Drew kicked the ball and ran across the bases, however, he kicked up a large cloud of dust until he was caught by Howard, who was standing at second base and placed the ball he had caught on Drew's head. "You're out!" he cried.

"Hooray!" Chas cried. Then he began to dance until he started coughing from the dust. "That's one… to nothing…" he wheezed.

Stu, Drew, Melinda, Betty, and Howard quietly surrounded Chas and looked at him sympathetically.

"Are you okay, Chas?" asked Betty.

"Maybe we should go get the nurse," said Melinda.

"I'm fine…" gasped Chas. "I just need a drink of water. That's all…"

But Melinda felt sorry for Chas, and she walked him to the nurse's office.


There, Chas took his asthma medication by spraying it into his mouth from his inhaler. After taking a deep breath, he sighed, "Ahh… that's much better."

"It's important to take your medicine," said the nurse.

"Thanks, ma'am," Chas replied.

As soon as Chas left the nurse's office, he saw Melinda standing by the door. She asked him. "Charles, why did you skip your appointment?"

Chas replied, "I didn't want you guys to know about it. Drew's especially been acting really weird."

"Do you think maybe he doesn't understand?"

"Maybe…"

Presently, Chas got an idea. The teacher having assigned him and his classmates to do a science project, Chas cried out, "That's it! I know just what to do my science project on!"


And so, on the day before the play, all of Chas' classmates presented their science projects, with Drew doing his on static electricity: "As you can see, the comb, once run through your hair very rapidly, is able to pick up little pieces of paper. And that's an example of static electricity. Thanks for the opportunity."

And as the students clapped, the teacher said, "Excellent report, Andrew. Next up we have Charles Finster's report."

Chas stepped up and spoke: "My science report is about asthma. But first I need you to imagine that you're very, very small."

And so, all of Chas' classmates closed their eyes and imagined that they were microscopic in size. They then heard Chas say, "Very good. Now I want you all up my nose on the double!"

As Chas began to breathe through his nose, his classmates imagined that they were all sucked in with the fresh air.

Drew said to himself, "Wow! I don't think I've ever been in anyone's lungs before!"

"Me neither!" said Melinda.

"So, where is the asthma?" asked Drew. "Is it a giant bug that'll attack us? Will it make you cough up blood?"

Soon, the fourth graders heard Chas' high-pitched voice: "No, no, asthma is just a word for what happens to my lungs when I breathe in dust or mold. See the dust particles? Now, the walls are getting smaller! This is when I usually start to cough! Hold on!"

And sooner than the fourth graders knew it, Chas started to cough, and he coughed them all up!

When Chas' classmates opened their eyes, they were back in the classroom.

"And the best part is," said Chas, "unlike consumption, asthma is not contagious."

As he finished, his classmates all applauded.

The teacher was impressed, and he said, "Excellent insight on your asthma report, Charles! Another 'A' for you!"


The next day, the fourth-grade class staged Wind in the Willows. Among the other students, Drew was the Water Rat, Melinda was the Jailer's Daughter, and Chas… was the willow, but he was a good sport about it. In fact, at the end of the play, all of the fourth graders stepped forth to receive the curtain calls, from Daniel Gallagher as Mr. Toad to Chas Finster as the willow tree.

Learning that he had asthma was a sorrow for young Charles Finster, but with the help of friends like Stu, Drew, Howard, Didi, Betty, and especially Melinda, he came to realize that his asthma wasn't such a big deal anymore. For the rest of his childhood, he would still be the same old Chas Finster, but with asthma.