D.W. desperately wants a new book at the library, and she has to learn how to write her name to get her own library card. After she does, the book has already been taken out, and she is impatient.

Having had enough of D.W., an enraged Arthur punches her for tossing his new model airplane out of his bedroom window even when he told her multiple times not to touch it. When he refuses to apologize, he couldn’t have TV for a week, and nobody else sees his side. Worse, when the Tough Customers hear about this, they dare Binky to punch Arthur the next time he sees him. When he does, Arthur realizes that hitting D.W was the wrong thing to do because he now knows that she felt the same way when she got hurt.
Note: The scene where Arthur hits D.W. became an internet meme.

Arthur and his friends discover a snake hidden in the woods and sneak it into Arthur's room with a shoe box. However, the snake is on the loose and Arthur learns that he is not allowed to keep snakes in the house. To make matters worse, the kids cannot remember if it is a venomous coral snake or the similarly-colored, but harmless kingsnake. They try to find and get rid of the snake without the other Reads noticing.

Muffy and Francine are best friends, but Muffy dislikes soccer and Francine dislikes shopping. After Francine and Jenna discover that both of them like soccer, Muffy searches for a new best friend who likes the same activities as her, but none of them are perfect matches.

D.W. gets poison ivy while playing a game with Arthur and Buster and is worried about being teased by her classmates, so Buster tells a story about how he got asthma. When Buster learns that he has asthma, his friends start treating him differently, with Arthur scared that any dust could affect him, while Francine believes it is a contagious disease. Buster explains that he educated his friends by doing a science project about asthma, which helps D.W. feel better.

Muffy and Francine play several pranks on Arthur, Buster, Binky, and the Brain. Luckily, they all invite the duo to a Halloween costume party at a haunted house. The boys get revenge on the girls at the party, but their pranks get unknowingly interrupted by real ghosts.

Arthur and his friends participate in a contest about writing for a TV show titled Andy and Company, and each come up with their own stories, believing theirs will win. Five years later, the results are in and the gang is shocked when they find out that a girl from Canadian, Oklahoma named Holly Holland has won.
Note: This episode was the result of an actual contest where viewers could send in story ideas for an episode, and Holly Holland, who was mentioned in the episode, was the contest's winner.

Wanting to prove to Arthur that she is smart, D.W. hangs around with the Brain, watching Nova with him, and starts her own science fair that is full of untrue facts that Arthur cannot disprove, even with the Brain's help. As the last resort, Arthur brings D.W. with him and the Brain to a science museum to show her how things really work, and she then reveals to Arthur that this had been her plan all along.

A blizzard hits Elwood City, and the townspeople face a blackout, forcing them to stay in the Read household, the only house that has power, but the Reads lose their power as well. Each family brings their supplies and food, allowing them to survive together. Meanwhile, Francine is assigned a three-page school report on the pioneers, but she’s unable to figure out what to write, until she realizes what the townspeople are going through is very similar to the pioneers struggles. Meanwhile, Mr. Ratburn, Mr. Haney, and Mr. Morris are forced to stay at Lakewood Elementary School to drain the pipes so they can prevent the campus from closing for a month.

After his house roof is damaged by snow, Mr. Ratburn stays at Arthur's house. Arthur is mortified that it’ll be non-stop homework and teaching, only to find out Mr. Ratburn is more fun outside of school than he thought. When Arthur's friends tease him, saying that he is become a "teacher's pet," Mr. Ratburn says he plans on staying at Arthur's friend's homes, too, until his roof gets repaired.

D.W. wants to prove to Arthur that she can tell a good story, and after getting advice from Grandma Thora, she retells the Odyssey in her own way.

Prunella gets two dolls for her birthday and dismisses the second one from Francine. Later, Prunella thinks that Francine spoiled the party by not joining in on the festivities. That night, Prunella has a dream where the Ghost of Presents Past takes her through time to clear things up and shows how far Francine went to get the doll for Prunella and makes her realize that Francine's attitude was because of how Prunella did not appreciate the present.

Binky does a project on butterflies and becomes obsessed with catching a rare blue butterfly. After Sue Ellen shows him that butterflies are killed and pinned in museums, Binky lets his butterflies go to the wild instead.

When Francine enters a talent show, her friends try to tell her that she sounds horrible when she sings and drums at the same time, even though she’s a good drummer. After she hears a recording of herself, she realizes her friends are right, and at the talent show, she surprises them without her drum set as she sings very well.

The Father's Day picnic at Elwood City is approaching, and Arthur and his friends try to find a substitute father for Buster while his own father is away. During the big event, Buster arrives with his father in a hot air balloon, to a surprise of his friends.

Prunella wants flash pants and Rubella predicts that she is getting them for her birthday, only to be disappointed by a watch instead. Prunella does not want to be seen without flash pants, since she told Muffy she was going to get them. Meanwhile, Arthur is afraid of being teased when wearing his father's old jacket because he has outgrown his old winter coat. Together, Prunella and Arthur realize that they do not have to hide because of what they wear.

Arthur and his friends separately find the same metal bobbin but do not know its use, even though it helps them in different ways. Muffy retrieves her toy from a sewer, Francine ends her cat, Nemo Frensky’s fear of water, the Brain uses the bobbin as a substitute wheel for his model plane, and even Buster gets the idea to write a story for his favorite TV show. They fight over it and find out that it is Mr. Ratburn's bobbin, and learn what it does at his puppet show.

Buster is funny but wants to be good at something else, and Arthur wants to be funny like Buster, resulting in them acting like each other. Francine, Muffy, and Brain try to get them back to normal.

The Elwood City Library is looking for a musician to perform for a children's show, and Francine's father suggests that they hire Joshua Redman, who is a distant uncle of Francine's and a musician who can play anything. Meanwhile, Grandma Thora takes D.W to a concert, and she wants Chinese-American mastery cellist Yo-Yo Ma to play, leading to a conflict of preferred music until both musicians show that music styles do not matter.
Guest stars: Yo-Yo Ma and Joshua Redman as themselves.

Arthur enjoys a show meant for kids younger than him, and his friends make fun of him for being a "baby." Arthur convinces them to watch the show too, after which they all admit to liking it.