Arthur opens a drawer to look for socks, but finds it empty.
Arthur: Huh?
D.W. stands in the hallway. She is not wearing socks either.
D.W.: All right, mister! Very funny! Give them back!
Arthur: Give what back?
D.W.: You know what! You stole my socks! Probably to make a sweater for your Moronic Bunny doll!
Arthur: I did not! In fact, I was just gonna ask you!
Mr. Read, also sockless, joins them.
Mr. Read: Have either of you seen my socks?
D.W.: (gasps) Yours are gone too?! She runs into her room. Quick! Call the feet police! There's a booty burglar on the loose! Everyone hide your shoes! He'll be after those next!
Mr. Read: Relax! I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation.
Arthur: Like what?
Mr. Read raises his hand as if to explain, then drops it.
Mr. Read: I don't know.
***
Meanwhile, Pal drags a sack full of socks down a street to the sock market.
Pal: (struggles)
He knocks on the door. A slit opens and Amigo looks out. He opens the door.
Pal: I brought everything I could find! Is the market still open?
Amigo: It just closed. I'm afraid we're too late.
They walk down to the basement.
Amigo: We couldn't stop it! That greedy amphibian bought up every single sock! The Sock Market has crashed! And now, anybody who wants a sock has to go to Mr. Toad!
Mr. Toad sits on a pile of socks. Various pets stand around him looking confused.
Mr. Toad: Hahaha! They said I was just a tadpole! Well, I showed them! I beat 'em at their own game! From now on, we're playing Mr. Toad's game! (mean laugh)
Title Card: Pal Searches[]
A dachshund pulls the cart with the pile of socks down the street. Mr. Toad sits on the cart and dangles a sausage in front of the dog’s nose.
Mr. Toad: Come on, Hans, move those stubby little legs! I've got a tree to redecorate! Mush, mush!
The other animals leave the sock market.
Pal: What will this mean for pets and their families?
Amigo: I'm not sure. But it's probably not good. Let's ask the chair-pet of the Footwear Reserve, Ben St. Bernardsky.
***
Pal and Amigo are in a room with a St. Bernard dog who uses an abacus.
St. Bernardsky: Hm, could be a repeat of the Great Chilly Toe Scare.
Amigo: Encanascos. When I was a puppy, my great-grandpa told me about the Great Chilly Toe Scare of 1929! It affected the entire world!
Flashback: Amigo’s great-grandfather walks down a street with his owner who is wearing shoes but no socks.
Amigo (narrator): Socks became very expensive. Many people could not afford to buy them. So they got blisters and were cranky! The man takes off a shoe and massages his foot. And their feet smelled terribly! Normally, smelly feet are not a problem for dogs, we enjoy them like a ripe Camembert. The dog sniffs his owner’s foot. But even a dog has its limits!
Great-Grandfather: (howls)
The flashback ends.
Amigo: Also, because times were tough, there was no bacon!
Pal: Stop, stop! Oh, it's too terrible! We must find a way to get some of those socks back from Mr. Toad!
Amigo: But how?
Pal: There's someone who might be able to help us.
***
Mr. Read trims the bushes in the Reads’ card. Meanwhile Kate and Pal talk to Toadie and a squirrel. Toadie sits on a sock.
Toadie: We're rich, but I never get to see him. With Toad it's always work, work, work. Bring the sock into the shade, Alphonse, all this sun dries me out! She gets off the sock and the squirrel carries it into the shade. It fans Toadie with a leaf. Ahh, sometimes I miss the days when I was just D.W.'s pet.
Kate: But can you help us? If we can't convince Mr. Toad to give back some those socks, it could be bad for everyone.
Toadie: Toad doesn't listen to me when it comes to business. But I promise I'll get him to meet with you. Maybe you can convince him. Well, it's been nice chatting, but I gotta go. We’re having the Turtlemans over for dinner, and I have to pick up the slugs.
She hops off. The squirrel follows with the sock.
***
Pal walks by the creek.
Pal: Toadie said it was a big tree by the edge of the pond. I wonder which one it could... Oh. Found it.
There is a tree with a sculpture of Mr. Toad’s head on top. The door is guarded by a lizard.
Lizard: Yeah?
Pal: I have an appointment to see Mr. Toad.
Lizard: Name?
Pal: Pal. Pal Read.
Lizard: Wait here. He goes inside and comes back out. Sorry, you're not on the list.
Pal: But I have an appointment! His wife Toadie assured me he'd see me today!
Lizard: Urr, wait here. He goes inside and comes back out. Sorry, you're still not on the list.
Pal: Fine! Then I will wait right here until Mr. Toad sees me. I also just might mark this territory...
He raises his hind leg.
Lizard: Okay, okay, you're on the list! Follow me.
The lizard leads Pal into an elevator powered by a squirrel in a bogie wheel.
Upstairs, Toad is asleep.
Pal: Uh, Mr. Toad? Sorry to disturb you, but...
Mr. Toad: Hey! Who let you in? Security!
A porcupine comes out of a door.
Pal: Wait! I'm Pal Read, Toadie said I could see you!
Mr. Toad: I remember you. Friend of the baby, liked hot dogs. What do you want? You got two minutes.
Pal: Well, um, in the interest of preventing a Chilly Toe Scare, my colleagues and I feel you should give back some of the socks you bought and...
Mr. Toad: Not a chance!
Pal: But it's the right thing to do!
Mr. Toad: Right shmight! Listen, puppy, it's a jungle out there. Well, maybe it's not a jungle, but it is a marsh. And the law of the marsh is, take as much as you can, whenever you can! He snaps a fly out of the air. Now, if you asked me to loan you a sock, that's different.
Pal: Okay, when would I have to give it back?
Mr. Toad: In a week. Along with ten other socks.
Pal: That's ridiculous! What makes you think I would ever agree to such a terrible deal?
Mr. Toad: What if I throw in a few... wieners?
He opens a box. Pal’s mouth waters.
Pal: Oh, you're a cold-blooded creature, Mr. Toad.
Toad smiles.
***
Kate is in her crib when Pal returns with one sock.
Kate: So, how did it go?
Pal: It wasn't a complete loss!
Kate: One sock? That's all you got back?
Pal: Um...not exactly! This one is on loan. I have to pay Mr. Toad back ten socks by the end of the week.
Kate: Ten socks?? We don't have ten socks! What happens if we don't pay him?
Pal: Well, I think I may have promised him this house. He said something about a toad colony that he wanted to rent it to.
Kate: Pal!
Pal: It all happened so fast! Oh, Kate! I'm a terrible business-dog! I've ruined us again! (sobs)
Kate: Don't worry, Pal! We'll think of something!
***
Arthur is about to brush his teeth in the morning. He opens the bathroom cabinet and finds a toad.
Toad: (croaks)
Arthur: Ah!
He runs down the stairs. D.W. comes out of her room and runs after him.
D.W.: Dad! Arthur put a frog in my slippers!
Arthur: I did not!
D.W.: Then how did it get there?
Arthur: I don't know!
Mr. Read is in the kitchen and gets a coffee mug out of a cupboard. There is a toad sitting on the mug.
Mr. Read: (sighs) Never a dull moment.
Toad: (croaks)
Mr. Read: Argh!
He drops the mug.
***
Pal and Amigo confront Mr. Toad and Hans in the Reads’ yard.
Pal: But it hasn't been a week yet! Those toads have no right to be in there!
Mr. Toad: Relax! They're just looking around. And besides, you and I both know you won't be able to pay me back. The lily pond will go here, Hans. Make a note of it.
Amigo: You don't know that! Pal and I have a plan!
Mr. Toad: Ha! Sure you do. But a deal's a deal. And unless you give me ten woolly ones by Friday, the bullfrogs are coming in!
Two toads hop past Pal. Mr. Toad leaves with Hans.
Pal: So, what's the plan?
Amigo: I was bluffing.
Pal: Oh, dear!
Amigo: If only we had something Mr. Toad wanted. That would give us an edge.
Pal: But he already has everything. We'd have to create something he doesn't have and then... Wait a minute! That's not such a bad idea.
***
Pal and Amigo stand in front of Kate’s crib.
Pal: See, then, when everyone else has this new thing, Mr. Toad won't be able to resist! He'll be just like I was with those wieners the other day!
Kate: What wieners?
Pal: (gulps) It's not important. The point is, if we can make it seem like we have something valuable, then I bet we can get those socks back.
Kate: I like it! But what's the thing?
Amigo: Ham bones?
Pal: No, it has to be something we can get a lot of. And, frankly, I'd rather have a ham bone than a sock.
Amigo: What about sticks? There are plenty of those!
Kate: True, but Mr. Toad lives near the woods. He can get all the sticks he wants.
Pal licks up pieces of lint from the floor.
Pal: Oh, I can't think on an empty stomach. Why aren't there any crumbs here? It's just...ugh... Lint!
He spits it out. The three smile.
***
While Mrs. Read empties the washing machine, Kate gathers bits of lint from the clothes. Mrs. Read empties the lint filter into the trash and leaves with Kate. Pal gets the lint.
Mr. Molina reads the newspaper in his living room. Amigo pushes his chair to get at the lint under it.
Mr. Molina: Whoa...
Pal and Kate sit on a blanket in Grandma Thora’s yard and offer Killer some lint.
Killer: Why do you want me to have this lint? I don't like lint, it makes my tongue itch!
Pal: You don't have to like it, you just have to pretend you like it.
Kate: It's all so we can open up the Sock Market again, and prevent a Chilly Toe scare.
Killer: (gasps) I keep my socks under a pillow. And whose toes are chilly? Mine aren't chilly! Hers aren't chilly! It's boiling in the house!
Pal: Look, if you help us, I promise to play with you.
Killer: (barks happily)
She runs in circles.
Pal: But you have to spread the word, everyone loves lint!
Killer: You betcha! It's a deal!
***
Some time later, Mr. Toad rides through the park on Hans and passes two cats wearing lint hats.
Brown Cat: I use lint as a hat, and my pillow!
Black Cat: Me too! It's so much softer than a sock.
Further down the path, Killer shows Crusher some lint.
Killer: Now, this is pashmina lint, the best! Don't tell anyone, but I can get you some for half price.
***
When Mr. Toad comes into his office carrying a newspaper, Toadie is waiting for him.
Toadie: Why don't we have any lint? The Salamanderos have lint. The Fiddleheads have lint. Why don't we have any?
Mr. Toad: Lint is worthless! It's not something real, like socks!
Toadie: Well, I sat on some at the salon and it was very soft. That's all I'm saying.
Toadie hops off. Mr. Toad reads the Wart Street Journal. A squirrel comes in wearing a lint hat.
Mr. Toad: What is that? A lint beret? Let me see that! The squirrel hands him the hat. Pah! Shoddy material! Falls apart with the slightest pressure. Hm. But it does smell nice... And it is soft... Hmm...
***
Pal paces nervously in the Reads’ yard.
Pal: Today's the day and I don't have ten socks! How will Arthur get any homework done with a house full of toads?
Kate: Just stick to the plan, Pal! Here he comes now.
Mr. Toad arrives riding on Hans, who pulls a cart.
Mr. Toad: Well, where's the wool, puppy?
Pal: You were right, I can't pay you back. The house is yours. Come on, Kate. Let's go pack up the lint.
Mr. Toad: Hold on a second! You got lint?
Kate: Tons of it! In fact, we were thinking of trading in some of it for a bigger house.
Pal: You know how it is, everyone just seems to love lint these days.
Mr. Toad thinks for a moment, then jumps in front of Pal and Kate who are moving towards the house.
Mr. Toad: I want it, I want all of it! Every last piece you've got! I'll give you anything, anything, just give me that lint!
***
Pets are gathered around a big pile of socks at the sock market. Ben St. Bernardsky hands Amigo a hammer and he strikes a bell. Pets start bringing and removing socks. Pal and Amigo high-five.
Pal and Amigo walk out of the sock market and down the street.
Pal: When do you think Mr. Toad will discover that his lint is worthless?
Amigo: Who is to say it's worthless? I mean, lint is soft, and it does smell nice. Maybe Mr. Toad will be very happy with his lint.
Pal: Very true, Amigo. One creature's lint is another's sock. Unless, of course, your lint gets wet.
Amigo: Oh, ¡sí! Then it is completely worthless! ¡Niente! ¡Nada! Garbage!
Dark clouds gather and thunder rolls.