Lend Me Your Ear (episode)

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"Lend Me Your Ear"
Main image Title card
Season/Series:	20
Number in season:	5a
Original Airdate:	May 30, 2017 November 22, 2018
Credits
Written by:	Raye Lankford Peter K. Hirsch
Storyboard by:	Allan Jeffery
Episodes
Previous "That's MY Grandma!"	Next "The Butler Did It"

Read transcript

"Lend Me Your Ear" is the first half of the fifth episode in the twentieth season of Arthur.

Summary

Arthur, Buster, and Brain become worried when Mr. Ratburn is not behaving like himself. Normally, he is always pleased to see them. The real reason why comes as a surprise to the boys.

Plot

In the introduction, Arthur hosts the show "Know Your Teacher." Buster easily makes it through round one by knowing that Mr. Ratburn is smart and loves giving tests, homework, and more homework. But when asked if he knows things about Mr. Ratburn that are unrelated to school, he only knows that Mr. Ratburn likes puppets. Arthur admits that he does not know anything else, either.

Lend Me Your Ear

Arthur wants to say hi to Mr. Ratburn at the mall, but Mr. Ratburn ignores him.

When Arthur tells Brain and Buster about the meeting, Brain says that Mr. Ratburn ignored him in The Sugar Bowl. While they wonder what is wrong with Mr. Ratburn, the teacher comes in and orders three sorbets to go since the "Lost Teachers" like them. The boys are confused and decide to follow him.

The boys see Mr. Ratburn walk into his house. Arthur wants to ask him if he is alright, but Brain says that Mr. Ratburn would not admit it if he was not. They hear an odd scream and when they walk up to the window they hear a man tell Mr. Ratburn that "hope's gone." When Buster looks through a back window, a loud E-guitar is heard, causing him to fall. Mr. Ratburn hears the noise and the boys have to run.

In Brain's room, the boys discuss what they found out. Buster suggests that Mr. Ratburn may be sad because during summer vacation he has no students to give tests or homework. Arthur has an idea.

The next day, the boys ring Mr. Ratburn's doorbell to ask him to teach them, just to make him happy. Mr. Ratburn takes them by surprise and explains that he is not unhappy, but rather, his hearing is impaired. He takes the boys on an imaginary tour of his outer and middle ear and afterward admits that it felt good to do a little teaching.

When Arthur asks how he lost his hearing, Mr. Ratburn takes the boys to his workshop where he jams with two other teachers named Trevor and Hope as "The Lost Teachers." He explains that they used to play for years without earplugs, but they have learned their lesson. They play the song "Pop Quiz," which the boys like, although they also think that it supports Buster's earlier theory of Mr. Ratburn being an alien.

Characters

Major

• Arthur Read
• Buster Baxter
• Brain
• Mr. Ratburn

Minor

• Jane Read
• Vladimir and Estragon
• The Lost Teachers
• Trevor Brown
• Hope Locke

Cameo

• Molly MacDonald
• Rattles
• Angie Vanderloo
• Bailey
• Mrs. Powers
• Mr. Powers
• Rafi
• Teenager
• Peter
• Unknown Male Bear (Number 6)
• Caroline or Mrs. Lancaster
• Unknown Female Adult Rabbit (Number 7)
• Unknown Female Brown-Haired Rabbit

Mentioned

• Dr. Conway

Trivia

• The teenage boy from the episode "Bleep" appears as a background character at the beginning with another boy with him.
• In April 2024, PBS Kids rereleased this episode and 18 other titles with the addition of an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter on screen, allowing individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing to fully immerse themselves in the program. For more information about all of the ASL-interpreted episodes, see American Sign Language.

Episode connections

• In Brain's room, Buster plays with a hurricane on Brain's weather globe. This is the same globe from "Shelter from the Storm."
• Arthur, Buster, and Brain "traveling" into Mr. Ratburn's ear to learn about his hearing impairment are similar to "Buster's Breathless," when the class traveled up Buster's nose to learn about his asthma.
• Arthur notes Buster's previous theories about Mr. Ratburn, including being an alien (a running gag throughout the series), a nail-eating vampire ("Arthur and the Real Mr. Ratburn"), and a secret superhero ("Mr. Ratburn's Secret Identity").
• Mr. Ratburn is seen reading "A Brief History of Copper Smelting". He assigned his class a copper smelting diorama project in "Best of the Nest."
  • He also teaches a lesson on iron ore smelting in "So Funny I Forgot to Laugh."
• This is the second time Mr. Ratburn has been seen playing in a band. The first time was in "The Buster Report," where he sang for "The Ratburn Rats."
  • It was revealed that he was a part of his high school band in "The Butler Did... What?"
• Hope Locke's school, Glenbrook Academy, is featured in "The Return of the King." Trevor Brown's school, Mighty Mountain, is featured in many episodes.

Cultural references

• The episode title is based on a quote from William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar.

Gallery

External links

• Transcript: Lend Me Your Ear / The Butler Did It. TVOKids. Archived from the original on November 13, 2020.