This week Mister Rogers discusses the importance of play in a child’s life. In the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, Bob Dog helps X the Owl get a ball that is stuck in the tree, and he falls off the ladder and is hurt. Dr. Bill takes a scared Bob Dog to the hospital for an X- ray. When King Friday hears about the accident, he bans all play forevermore in the Neighborhood. Mister Rogers plays with a wooden wheeled toy and shows a video of how it is made.
In the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, everyone is feeling sad about King Friday’s rule of “no play.” Lady Elaine Fairchilde tries to change his mind, and when she can’t, announces she will not live in a place where people are not allowed to play. She packs up her Museum-Go-Round and leaves the Neighborhood of Make-Believe! Mister Rogers shows a film of how a real house is moved.
Mister Rogers talks about the importance of imagination in play. Everything is very somber in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. The
Neighbors can’t find where Lady Elaine and the Museum-Go-Round have gone, and no one is allowed to play. Finally, Ana, Prince Tuesday and Daniel just have to play. When King Friday discovers them, the Prince speaks up against the rule. In Negri’s Music Shop, Lou Schreiber, a musician who is blind, is playing different instruments.
Mister Rogers visits an underground mushroom farm to see how mushrooms are grown. In the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, King Friday is reconsidering his “no play” rule, and Officer Clemmons finds Lady Elaine Fairchilde enjoying her freedom at a real playground far from the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.
Mister Rogers walks on stilts and talks about how long it took him to learn to walk on them. Bob Dog helps persuade Lady Elaine Fairchilde to return to the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. A big play celebration follows with everybody joining in, even King Friday who has learned that we all need to play. . Mister Rogers talks about loud play and quiet play, and all the different ways there are of playing.