Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing

When Mr. Hatcher suggests that he and his sons attend a movie, Peter objects, noting, “Fudge is very young to go” (97). Nonetheless, his father brings them to see A Bear’s Life, which is rated G. Peter advises that Fudge be “cleaned up,” since he slept in his clothing from the previous day. They walk to the theater since the rainy weather makes it difficult to hail a cab. When Fudge is soaked as a result of jumping and splashing in every puddle, his father “stuffed a bunch of paper towels up each pant leg so Fudge wouldn’t have to sit around wet” (99). When the lights dim, Fudge throws his popcorn at the people in front of them. Peter becomes engrossed in the movie, which documents the lives of bears and their cubs. Subsequently, he becomes aware that Fudge has left his seat. Mr. Hatcher leaves to find the toddler, and the movie is stopped while the lights are turned on and a search is conducted. Peter fantasizes about what happened to Fudge, thinking, “Maybe he’s been kidnapped!” (101). Peter walks the aisles calling for his brother, who pops out from under the first row of seats, explaining that he “wanted to touch the bears” (102).

Mr. Hatcher holds Fudge on his lap for the duration of the movie. Upon arriving home, Mr. Hatcher announces that he is going to make a “super-duper omelet” with mushrooms for dinner. Peter thinks the dinner tastes awful but tells his father, “It’s nice.” When his father tastes the omelet, it is so bad that he spits it out. Fudge, of course, thinks that it tastes good. The boys and their father eat peanut butter sandwiches for dinner.

As they drive to the airport to get Mrs. Hatcher the next day, Peter’s father suggests that they keep “all the things we did over the weekend a secret—just between the three of us—kind of a man’s secret” (106). Several weeks later, the Toddle-Bike commercial starring Fudge appears on television. Mrs. Hatcher initially believes that the child merely looks like Fudge, but her husband explains that the toddler’s appearance in the ad was kept as a surprise. Peter and his father laugh as they remember “all the things my mother didn’t know” (107) that had occurred during her visit to Boston.