After enjoying a few of Mrs. Tibble's homemade peanut butter cookies, Mary Sue
the moose girl rushed out of the house, eager to explore this cartoon fantasy
world before her dream ended. Glancing up and down the street, she noticed
that only a few children were out and about. The sun was standing over the
faraway hills, but since she couldn't tell east from west from her vantage
point and didn't own a watch, she wasn't sure if it was morning or evening.
Half a block away she recognized a beloved landmark--Arthur Read's house, in all its illustrated glory.
Running with all her strength, she arrived at the front door and searched for the doorbell button. A few seconds after she had rung it, the door swung open and Mrs. Jane Read was standing over her. "Hello, there," said the aardvark woman, smiling.
Mary Sue could hardly contain her enthusiasm. She was about to meet her favorite TV character in the whole universe, up close and personal...
"Is Arthur home?" she asked, wringing her hands impatiently.
"Yes," replied Mrs. Read, "but he can't come out to play right now. He's doing his homework."
"That's all right," Mary Sue responded. "I'll come in."
Mrs. Read stood back and allowed the unfamiliar girl to step inside--but the moment she did, she was confronted by an angry, snarling puppy.
Mary Sue squealed with delight. "Pal! You cute little doggie!" Ignoring the dog's threatening expression, she put out a hand to pet him...
SNAP!
"Ow!" she exclaimed in pain, drawing back her scratched fingers.
"Let me look at that," said Mrs. Read, inspecting the moose girl's hand. "I'm sorry about Pal. He doesn't know you yet. Come to think of it, I don't know you either."
"My name's Mary Sue," the girl replied, alternating her gaze between her wounded fingers and the lazy-looking Baby Kate in her high chair.
"Are you new here?" Mrs. Read asked her while sitting down at the kitchen table and picking up a newspaper.
"No, I'm not," Mary Sue answered. "I mean, yes, I am. What I mean is, I'm from the real world, and I'm having a dream that I'm a character on Arthur." She suddenly remembered what had transpired just before her plunge into the juniper bush, and became concerned. "No, wait. I was running from some bullies, and I fell off a cliff, and now I'm here. Maybe I'm dead, and Elwood City is heaven."
Mrs. Read gazed at her in confusion, trying to piece together what she had just said. "No, you're not dead," she finally replied, "and Elwood City isn't heaven, no matter what the travel brochures say. Arthur's upstairs in his room, if you want to talk to him."
"I know how to find him," said Mary Sue, hurrying toward the stairway without bothering to thank Mrs. Read.
At his desk, Arthur, pencil in hand, was writing a three-page report on the history of naval warfare. Suddenly a drably dressed girl whom he had never met threw open the door and charged into his room.
"Omigosh, omigosh!" she gushed, nearly suffocating from excitement. "Arthur, it's you! It's really you! This is so cool!"
Although it was hard to tell through his glasses, Arthur was narrowing his eyes. "Do I know you?" he asked suspiciously.
"Uh, no, you don't," said Mary Sue, calming down a little. "But I know you. You're Arthur Timothy Read, you're eight years old, you go to Lakewood Elementary, Mr. Ratburn is your teacher, and you have a four-year-old sister named Dora Winifred, but her real name should be Disaster Warning." Incredibly, she had uttered the entire sentence without taking more than one breath.
Arthur smiled slightly and laid down his pencil. "I don't know you either, but I think I like you."
"My name's Mary Sue," the girl went on. "I'm from the real world. I watch your show all the time, but now I'm having a dream, and I'm a character in the show. It's so exciting!"
Arthur started to fidget nervously with his glasses. "What do you mean, the real world?" he said sharply. "This is the real world."
Mary Sue gaped at the aardvark boy. How could he be unaware of the fact that he was the star of an animated TV show? "No, it isn't," she insisted. "It's a cartoon show called Arthur. It's about you and your sister and all your friends."
A look of utter astonishment spread over Arthur's face. "How...how did you know?" he stammered in amazement.
"Know about what?" Mary Sue took a step closer to the desk.
"The dreams," Arthur muttered fearfully, placing his hands on his temples as if in pain. "Every night it's the same dream. Why won't it stop?"
Mary Sue became increasingly worried as she watched Arthur shake his head frantically.
"I come home from school and I open the door," the boy raved, "and instead of my house, it's...it's a sound stage! And there's this weird-looking man...his name is...his name is..."
"Marc Brown?" Mary Sue suggested.
"Argh!" Arthur cried out, putting his arm up as if to shield himself from the girl's evil influence.
"Calm down, Arthur," Mary Sue tried to comfort him. "I've been having the same dream."
Arthur breathed heavily as he recovered from his shock. "Weird," he mused. "Maybe Brain has a scientific explanation."
Mary Sue's moose face lit up. "I want to meet Brain. He's so smart, and cute, too."
"He's probably doing his homework, just like me," said Arthur. "No, I take that back. He's done with homework, and now he's walking along the beach as the tide gently laps at his feet." He sighed wearily.
"Will you introduce me to all your friends?" asked Mary Sue eagerly.
"I can't now," Arthur answered, picking up his pencil again. "I need to finish this report by tomorrow. But it was nice to meet you, Mary Ellen."
"Mary Sue," the moose girl corrected him.
"Whatever." Arthur turned his face toward the half-empty sheet of paper lying on the desk.
Seeing that Arthur wasn't in a socializing mood, Mary Sue closed the bedroom door and wandered down the hallway toward D.W.'s room. Though they weren't the same age, she might have a little fun with the preschool-age girl...and maybe even catch a glimpse of Nadine.
To her surprise, the bathroom door burst open ahead of her and D.W. raced out, completely naked except for a cloud of soap bubbles around her hips. "Mom! Mom!" the little girl shrieked in terror. "There's an octopus in the bathtub!" She stopped cold when she saw Mary Sue, then screamed, "Mom! A strange moose is trying to get me!" D.W. then streaked into the bathroom and slammed the door shut after her.
Mary Sue sighed. There was apparently no enjoyment to be had at the Read house, so she resolved to seek out the other characters.
"The Crosswire mansion is four blocks away," Mrs. Read informed her. "Take a right, go two blocks, take another right, and go two more blocks."
"Thank you, Arthur's mom," said Mary Sue as Pal growled menacingly at her.
While she strolled down the sidewalk in the direction of Muffy's house, Arthur emerged from his room and came down the stairway to use the phone. "Hello, Buster?"
"Yeah, what's up?" came the rabbit boy's voice, which sounded as if he was munching on snacks.
"Do you know a girl named Mary Sue?" Arthur asked him.
"Maybe she's an alien," Buster replied.
"I haven't even said anything about her," Arthur shot back.
"Oh, sorry," said Buster contritely. "No, I don't know a girl named Mary Sue. But I like the name. In fact, I wrote a Bionic Bunny fan fiction last month, and I put in a character named..."
"Thanks, Buster," said Arthur, hanging up the phone.
TBC
Half a block away she recognized a beloved landmark--Arthur Read's house, in all its illustrated glory.
Running with all her strength, she arrived at the front door and searched for the doorbell button. A few seconds after she had rung it, the door swung open and Mrs. Jane Read was standing over her. "Hello, there," said the aardvark woman, smiling.
Mary Sue could hardly contain her enthusiasm. She was about to meet her favorite TV character in the whole universe, up close and personal...
"Is Arthur home?" she asked, wringing her hands impatiently.
"Yes," replied Mrs. Read, "but he can't come out to play right now. He's doing his homework."
"That's all right," Mary Sue responded. "I'll come in."
Mrs. Read stood back and allowed the unfamiliar girl to step inside--but the moment she did, she was confronted by an angry, snarling puppy.
Mary Sue squealed with delight. "Pal! You cute little doggie!" Ignoring the dog's threatening expression, she put out a hand to pet him...
SNAP!
"Ow!" she exclaimed in pain, drawing back her scratched fingers.
"Let me look at that," said Mrs. Read, inspecting the moose girl's hand. "I'm sorry about Pal. He doesn't know you yet. Come to think of it, I don't know you either."
"My name's Mary Sue," the girl replied, alternating her gaze between her wounded fingers and the lazy-looking Baby Kate in her high chair.
"Are you new here?" Mrs. Read asked her while sitting down at the kitchen table and picking up a newspaper.
"No, I'm not," Mary Sue answered. "I mean, yes, I am. What I mean is, I'm from the real world, and I'm having a dream that I'm a character on Arthur." She suddenly remembered what had transpired just before her plunge into the juniper bush, and became concerned. "No, wait. I was running from some bullies, and I fell off a cliff, and now I'm here. Maybe I'm dead, and Elwood City is heaven."
Mrs. Read gazed at her in confusion, trying to piece together what she had just said. "No, you're not dead," she finally replied, "and Elwood City isn't heaven, no matter what the travel brochures say. Arthur's upstairs in his room, if you want to talk to him."
"I know how to find him," said Mary Sue, hurrying toward the stairway without bothering to thank Mrs. Read.
At his desk, Arthur, pencil in hand, was writing a three-page report on the history of naval warfare. Suddenly a drably dressed girl whom he had never met threw open the door and charged into his room.
"Omigosh, omigosh!" she gushed, nearly suffocating from excitement. "Arthur, it's you! It's really you! This is so cool!"
Although it was hard to tell through his glasses, Arthur was narrowing his eyes. "Do I know you?" he asked suspiciously.
"Uh, no, you don't," said Mary Sue, calming down a little. "But I know you. You're Arthur Timothy Read, you're eight years old, you go to Lakewood Elementary, Mr. Ratburn is your teacher, and you have a four-year-old sister named Dora Winifred, but her real name should be Disaster Warning." Incredibly, she had uttered the entire sentence without taking more than one breath.
Arthur smiled slightly and laid down his pencil. "I don't know you either, but I think I like you."
"My name's Mary Sue," the girl went on. "I'm from the real world. I watch your show all the time, but now I'm having a dream, and I'm a character in the show. It's so exciting!"
Arthur started to fidget nervously with his glasses. "What do you mean, the real world?" he said sharply. "This is the real world."
Mary Sue gaped at the aardvark boy. How could he be unaware of the fact that he was the star of an animated TV show? "No, it isn't," she insisted. "It's a cartoon show called Arthur. It's about you and your sister and all your friends."
A look of utter astonishment spread over Arthur's face. "How...how did you know?" he stammered in amazement.
"Know about what?" Mary Sue took a step closer to the desk.
"The dreams," Arthur muttered fearfully, placing his hands on his temples as if in pain. "Every night it's the same dream. Why won't it stop?"
Mary Sue became increasingly worried as she watched Arthur shake his head frantically.
"I come home from school and I open the door," the boy raved, "and instead of my house, it's...it's a sound stage! And there's this weird-looking man...his name is...his name is..."
"Marc Brown?" Mary Sue suggested.
"Argh!" Arthur cried out, putting his arm up as if to shield himself from the girl's evil influence.
"Calm down, Arthur," Mary Sue tried to comfort him. "I've been having the same dream."
Arthur breathed heavily as he recovered from his shock. "Weird," he mused. "Maybe Brain has a scientific explanation."
Mary Sue's moose face lit up. "I want to meet Brain. He's so smart, and cute, too."
"He's probably doing his homework, just like me," said Arthur. "No, I take that back. He's done with homework, and now he's walking along the beach as the tide gently laps at his feet." He sighed wearily.
"Will you introduce me to all your friends?" asked Mary Sue eagerly.
"I can't now," Arthur answered, picking up his pencil again. "I need to finish this report by tomorrow. But it was nice to meet you, Mary Ellen."
"Mary Sue," the moose girl corrected him.
"Whatever." Arthur turned his face toward the half-empty sheet of paper lying on the desk.
Seeing that Arthur wasn't in a socializing mood, Mary Sue closed the bedroom door and wandered down the hallway toward D.W.'s room. Though they weren't the same age, she might have a little fun with the preschool-age girl...and maybe even catch a glimpse of Nadine.
To her surprise, the bathroom door burst open ahead of her and D.W. raced out, completely naked except for a cloud of soap bubbles around her hips. "Mom! Mom!" the little girl shrieked in terror. "There's an octopus in the bathtub!" She stopped cold when she saw Mary Sue, then screamed, "Mom! A strange moose is trying to get me!" D.W. then streaked into the bathroom and slammed the door shut after her.
Mary Sue sighed. There was apparently no enjoyment to be had at the Read house, so she resolved to seek out the other characters.
"The Crosswire mansion is four blocks away," Mrs. Read informed her. "Take a right, go two blocks, take another right, and go two more blocks."
"Thank you, Arthur's mom," said Mary Sue as Pal growled menacingly at her.
While she strolled down the sidewalk in the direction of Muffy's house, Arthur emerged from his room and came down the stairway to use the phone. "Hello, Buster?"
"Yeah, what's up?" came the rabbit boy's voice, which sounded as if he was munching on snacks.
"Do you know a girl named Mary Sue?" Arthur asked him.
"Maybe she's an alien," Buster replied.
"I haven't even said anything about her," Arthur shot back.
"Oh, sorry," said Buster contritely. "No, I don't know a girl named Mary Sue. But I like the name. In fact, I wrote a Bionic Bunny fan fiction last month, and I put in a character named..."
"Thanks, Buster," said Arthur, hanging up the phone.
TBC
