Death of the Goldfish

In this highly-acclaimed early episode, Mister Rogers sensitively addresses children’s understanding of death and the feelings around it. Mister Rogers finds a dead fish in his aquarium, buries it, and talks about his boyhood feelings when his dog died. He helps children know the heavy sadness they might first feel when a pet or a loved one dies doesn’t last forever. In his closing song Mister Rogers lets children know that some things, like death, are hard even for grownups to understand. In the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, Trolley appears to have died; Dr. Bill Platypus discovers that it has just come off its tracks.