from your friends at PBS Kids.
Hey, podcast people.
It's me, Arthur Reed.
And me, Buster Baxter.
And this is the Arthur Podcast.
We're out on my front steps because it smells delicious out here.
Arthur's dad is making strawberry jam and the smells float this way.
Maybe we can sit here all day and sniff.
Ah.
He's making it for the Elwood City Strawberry Festival.
Ah.
The Strawberry Festival is a big deal.
There's a carnival, a parade.
And my dad is organizing the baking contest.
And the best part of the festival?
All the strawberries you can eat.
It's Francine.
Hey, Arthur.
We've got a problem.
What's all that banging noise?
She's freaking out about the baking competition.
Why?
Didn't Muffy win the baking contest last year?
Yes, and that's the problem.
She wants to win again.
She wants to prove herself.
Prove herself?
My dad was a judge last year, Arthur, and some people thought that's why I won, but it wasn't.
I won fair and square.
So what's the problem?
I don't have a recipe.
Everything I make is a disaster.
You gotta come over.
Okay, we're on our way.
Goodbye, Strawberry Jam Cloud.
Just one more sniff.
Oh, good.
You're here.
Hey, Francine.
Hi, Francine.
What's up?
We brought Binky, too.
Where's Muffy?
She's in the kitchen.
Come on.
Strawberries, strawberries, strawberries, strawberries.
Hi, Muffy.
We're here to cheer you up.
And to be taste testers.
Yeah.
What do you got to eat?
Nothing.
All my ideas are terrible.
There are no terrible ideas.
I've got it.
Strawberry meatloaf.
I don't know, Buster.
I love meatloaf.
Like, really love it.
But strawberry meatloaf is a terrible idea.
I'm not sure we're helping.
So, Muffy, what did you enter in last year's contest?
I made butter cookies and threw in sliced strawberries.
Classic and simple.
Well, what if you add some banana juice?
Here's one.
Binky, what are you doing with that banana?
Banana.
You're squeezing that banana.
There.
It looks like an alien brain.
I'll just throw in this strawberry, and it's alien brain strawberry surprise.
That is ridiculous, Buster.
Maybe it needs alien eyes.
Chocolate chips?
Oh, the better to see you win.
Banana chalk.
How about chocolate eyes?
More.
How about cocoa?
More bananas.
Flour.
And butter.
Another banana.
The bananas!
Think this glop could win?
Never.
But laughing is better than stressing.
Thanks, everyone.
Want us to clean it up?
Nah.
Our butler, Bailey, will do it.
Hey!
Want to go outside and play some basketball?
Daddy just added a convertible hoop to our tennis court.
Cool!
Are we playing three on three?
Let's go!
Well, podcast people, it's the Strawberry Festival.
I say straw, you say berry.
Straw.
Berry.
Straw.
Berry.
We've got strawberry juice.
Yum.
I'm wearing my strawberry hat.
Ta-da!
We already went strawberry bowling and did strawberry face painting.
Mm-hmm.
That was the tastiest face paint ever.
We tried my dad's strawberry jam.
Again?
Yum.
And I won the strawberry spoon race.
I love the strawberry festival.
Hey, I bet the podcast people have festivals and town parties that they love, too.
Let's check my inbox and see what they say.
If I were to pick an event in my community I love most, I would pick Read Aloud at my school.
It's a quiet time where our teacher reads stories to us.
One of the events that I like going to in our community is watching the fireworks at the mall, because it's super cool and we can watch them from our rooftop.
I love competing in the various Special Olympics sports in my community because I have the chance to compete, have fun, get stronger and win some gold medals.
Awesome!
That sounds great!
Come on, we should probably get seats for the fireworks.
Hello, Elwood City Strawberry Festival.
Hey, that's my dad.
Why is Muffy up on stage with him?
I am so pleased to announce the winner of our dessert baking competition.
It's Muffy Crosswire.
Way to go, Muffy.
Muffy won?
I didn't even know she entered.
She must have found a recipe.
And just so everyone knows, my dad was not a judge.
This was all me.
If you want to try her winning dessert, it's on the table at the back.
They're my own original cookies.
Muffy Crosswire's Scrumptious Smacker Doodles.
Yay, Muffy!
Come on, let's get one of Muffy's cookies.
Yummy.
These are good.
What's in these?
There's a card with the ingredients on the table.
Banana, chocolate chips, peach slices, oatmeal, cocoa, raisins...
Those are the ingredients for the cookies we made together.
We thought those cookies were going to be super gross.
These are way better than gross.
But we all helped Muffy make them.
Don't worry.
She's going to tell everybody how we came up with it together.
My own unique cookies will be on sale at the Sugar Bowl.
An exclusive cookie buying opportunity.
See you there.
Um, yeah, I don't think she's going to mention us.
Well, podcast people, we left the festival after Muffy's big win.
It just didn't seem fun anymore.
So we're in the treehouse now.
We made those cookies together.
And she didn't even say our names.
Hey.
Hey, Binky.
Hi, Binky.
Did you hear that Muffy won the dessert contest?
Yes, with the recipe that we made.
Does it have my banana in it?
Yes.
Did she tell everyone that I put the banana in?
No.
But banana was my idea.
Without me, she'd have no banana.
We know.
And if she's selling them, she's going to be famous.
But we should be famous with her.
Hello.
Anybody up here?
Muffy Crosswire.
We're talking about your cookies.
Muffy's scrumptious macaroodle.
Delish, right?
But I don't have any more samples.
You'll have to buy them like everybody else.
Buy them?
We made them.
We're responsible for all those crazy ingredients.
Banana was my idea.
Without me, there's no banana.
Oh, yeah?
Well, who bought the ingredients?
Who owns the oven?
You're all just jealous.
Are we just jealous?
No.
She's a big sneaky rat.
Banana was my idea.
Oh, stop with the banana already.
You all wanted to put that dough in the trash.
But Bailey baked them anyway.
Then I tasted them.
And I entered the contest with them.
And I won.
And now I win.
Muffy Crosswire.
If you leave right now without promising to include us, then you're choosing cookies over friendship.
Well, I have to do a photo shoot at the Sugar Bowl so I can put my face on the cookie package.
So goodbye.
It might be her face on those cookies, but it isn't her recipe.
We made it together, and we remember the whole thing.
Banana.
Yup.
One alien-brained banana.
Then Arthur put in a cup of cocoa.
And I added three more bananas later.
I put in exactly ten peach slices.
There were twelve, but I ate two.
See?
We know the recipe.
We should make our own cookies and drive that rat out of business.
Even if we did, she'd still choose cookies over us.
Yeah.
I thought she'd choose friendship.
Well...
I won't eat her cookies if she pays me, and that's that.
Me neither.
Yeah.
I've never turned down a cookie, but I guess so.
Well, podcast people, you heard it here.
Our friend Muffy and her cookies are off the menu.
Podcast people, I'm on my way to the Sugar Bowl.
Today is Muffy's first day selling our cookies.
I was not planning on going, but this morning, Muffy sent a message.
Here, let me play it for you.
Arthur!
Buster!
Binky and Francine!
Emergency!
Please come to the Sugar Bowl at 11 a.m.
I really need you to be there.
Arthur!
Hey, Francine!
Arthur!
Francine!
Wait up for me and Binky!
Did you get Muffy's message?
I don't know what's going on, but she said it was an emergency.
Her emergency was last night.
She video chatted me, and you'll never believe what she said.
Hello?
Hi, Francine.
Did I hear a rat squeaking?
Um, do you want to come and help me make the cookies?
Why don't you just make them by yourself like you did last time?
Because I don't remember the recipe!
What?
I remember everything that went into the pool, but I don't remember how much.
I was laughing too hard.
So now you need our help?
Will you give us credit this time?
That won't be possible.
Impossible.
I don't get you, Muffy Crosswire.
You have convertible tennis courts and a butler.
Why do you cheat for something like cookies?
You don't know what it's like to be me.
There's a lot of pressure being number one.
I have a reputation.
As a dishonest rat?
As a winner.
I had to prove to everyone that I could win again.
But you couldn't.
We did it together.
But nobody else knows that.
You know it.
And we know it.
Wait, she didn't know the recipe?
You didn't give it to her, did you?
Yep.
Why?
I put in that banana.
I gave it to her because she's our friend, even if she is being a rat.
She's probably going to be more famous than donuts.
Well, we're going to find out.
Look at all the people at the sugar bowl.
Wow.
She's got balloons with her face on them.
And all these people are in line to buy our cookies.
Hey, there's Muffy.
She's coming out.
Oh, thank you.
Oh, thanks.
Bye, a bunch.
You'll love them.
Hi, everyone.
I'm so glad you came.
I want you to have the first bag of cookies.
I don't even want to look at those miserable things.
Francine, wait.
Look at the bag.
It says Muffy and Friends Scrumptious Smacker Doodles.
And look.
They're each shaped like one of you.
Ha-ha.
Look at my long ears.
I've never been a cookie before.
So you've finally realized honesty and friendship are more important than winning.
Yeah, I'm sorry.
Daddy and I talked about it.
He said honesty is the best policy.
Anyway, try them.
I love those cookies.
They're bananas.
And they're selling fast.
So I think we should start working on my new recipe for next year.
Uh...
Whose new recipe?
Oh, right.
Our new recipe.
I have to get used to that.
How about a cake?
Or donuts?
It should have lots of bananas in it.
I put the banana in this recipe, you know.
We know.
You've been listening to the Arthur Podcast.
Hey, parents.
Do you want your kids to answer my next inbox question?
First...
Go to the Arthur website at pbskids.org to find out what I'll be asking.
Then email me a voice recording of your child's response to arthur at wgbh.org.
Your child's answer might even be featured on a future podcast.
That's the show, Podcast Nation.
If you liked it, ask your grown-up to subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes.
You can listen to all our podcasts, play games, and more at pbskids.org.
The Arthur Podcast is produced for PBS Kids by GBH Kids in partnership with Gen Z Media and distributed by PRX.
Thanks for listening, and have a wonderful kind of day.
You can learn to work and play and get along with each other.
You got to listen to your heart, listen to the beat, listen to the rhythm, the rhythm on the street.
Open up your eyes, open up your ears, get together and make things better by working together.
GBH Kids.
From PRX.
