The episode opens with the narrator hearing a scratching sound that appears to be coming from the Princess's window. It turns out to be the Princess, scratching her head. The Maid enters and suspects that the Princess has nits, but the Princess hates the idea of having bugs in her hair. Puss is also not keen on the idea of the Princess having nits, and he starts packing his briefcase in preparation for running away. She then realises that her hair was only washed the previous night, but the Maid says that getting nits is easy because the lice jump and are attracted to clean hair. The Princess, however, refuses to believe she has nits, and goes outside to play, while the Maid pursues her with a magnifying glass.
The Princess cycles over to the Prime Minister, who notices her itch, but she denies it. She invites him to race, and he agrees, but the Maid stops them and tries to check the Princess's hair. To add insult to injury, the Prime Minister is apparently afraid of nits, and cycles away. The Princess cycles after him, while Puss continues his attempt at running away.
She tries to ask the Admiral to play with her, but the Prime Minister has told the Admiral and the two are hiding, because the Admiral is also afraid of nits. The two men go to warn the General, who's playing with hurdles, but she gets to him first. He agrees to play with her, but the Prime Minister and Admiral tell him about the nits. The General is also afraid of nits, and he leaps over the bush and runs away.
The Princess notices that everyone is unaccounted for, so she climbs up a tree and sulks. Then, the Maid shows up and literally drags her inside, while Puss hides in the garden shed with the Prime Minister, Admiral, and General.
The Princess sits in a chair, while the Maid inspects her hair, the Queen tries to reassure her, and the King wonders where the Princess got the nits from. The Princess, now apparently more open to the idea of having nits, says she got them from Scruff, but the Maid says that only humans get nits, while dogs get fleas. The Maid reveals the Princess does have nits, and the King, who, perhaps unsurprisingly at this point, is also afraid of nits, runs into the shed as well. The Queen, however, is fascinated by the louse and takes a closer look.
The Princess is grumpy about having bugs in her hair, but then perks up when the Maid reveals she can get rid of them, along with Scruff's fleas. She bathes them both, then washes the Princess's hair with nit shampoo and combs the nits out of the Princess's hair.
The Princess goes outside to wish everyone else goodnight, but there's no one around. She hears scratching coming from the garden shed and finds the Admiral, General, Prime Minister, and King sitting in the shed scratching their heads, along with Puss, who's scratching his temple. The Maid shows up, and has everyone's hair washed, suspecting them to have caught the lice (or in Puss's case, fleas).
This episode provides examples of
- Ambiguous Ending: Because they were never checked, it's unclear if Puss and the King, Prime Minister, Admiral, and General really did catch the nits/fleas, or if it was psychosomatic.
- Artistic License – Animal Care: When Puss is suspected to have fleas, the Princess washes him with nit shampoo. In reality, if a cat has fleas, you apply medication to their neck rather than bathing them, and certainly not with human products.
- Big Word Shout: The Princess screams, "BUGS!!" upon hearing the definition of nits.
- Bittersweet Ending: The episode ends with the King, General, Admiral, Prime Minister, and Puss getting treated for their possible lice and fleas, but finding it annoying.
- Buffy Speak: The Princess's itchiness is referred to as "an itchy-scratchy".
- Flea Episode: Downplayed. Scruff has fleas, and it's a semi-important plot point, but it's not the main focus of the episode.
- Here We Go Again!: Downplayed. The episode ends with the Admiral, General, King, and Prime Minister possibly catching the Princess's nits, and Puss possibly catching Scruff's fleas, but it's not revealed. Even if they did have nits and fleas, they immediately get washed and combed, so it's not a big deal.
- Mirthless Laughter: The Admiral does his Signature Laugh out of fear when the Princess suggests he has nits.
- Pet Dress-Up: Either the Princess or the Maid ties a ribbon around Scruff's tummy after his bath.
- Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: The Princess reads out the title as "I don't! Want! Nits!"
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: The whole cast, save the Maid, the Queen, the Gardener, the Chef, and Scruff, seem to have an irrational fear of nits— the Princess refuses to entertain the possibility she might have them, and everyone else runs away in terror at the mention of them.
