Report card day, the day most schoolchildren dread, but the grades issued at the Walnut Grove school were substantially high. Nellie and Willie received all A's and B's, which they rubbed in Laura's face and gloated about their rewards, and as for Mary, her grades had fallen behind her usual performance. It was quite a mystery. Miss Beadle was convinced the advanced work of her current grade was too difficult and she might have to be held back, but the Ingalls' wouldn't have it. Could it be a boy? Naw, Johnny Johnson is gone and besides, she never liked him anyway. Next day in class, Miss Beadle wrote dates on the board and asked the class to not only read them aloud, but state a historical event from the corresponding year. Willie and Nellie answered immediately when called on, but when it was Mary's turn, she froze up. Almost as if she didn't understand what was written on the board. The problem repeated itself that night as Mary wrote out her math problems on a slate, and when Charles held it from across the table, she couldn't see them. Now we're getting somewhere. Since optometry is one of the few medical fields in which Doc Baker is not an expert, Charles took Mary to see an optometrist in Mankato. Dr. Burke ran a few tests and concluded that Mary needed glasses, so adjusting the frames to the proper depth, Mary could see the chart on the wall clear as day, and so she was presented with a new pair of glasses. Everything around her was so much more clear and vivid. All her troubles were over, right? Unfortunately not.
Almost instantly, the Oleson brats started calling Mary a "four eyes" and made fun of her, and because she seems to care what the Olesons say for some reason, she took offense. When stood up in class to read from the board with her new glasses and her new self-esteem, the entire class started to robotically chant "four eyes, four eyes." Miss Beadle put on her own glasses to shut them up. The next day was no better. Willie put glass bottle frames over his eyes to mock Mary, which must be where the expression "Coke bottle frames" came from. So Mary ran away to the creek and had a good cry. Deciding to let the childish kids get the better of her, Mary left her glasses under the log, forcing her to return to straining her eyes to see the board, ruining the muscles, making her grades drop further and get held back. So when she got home without her glasses, she fibbed that they got lost. Charles and Caroline were rightfully upset at her. Next day, she made an ass of herself in class and when going behind the building to pout, who should ride up to her but a handsome young man looking for Miss Beadle. He was equipped with candy and flowers, so it looks as though she's finally got a date. Mary walked in on the two of them making out, and realized that even people who wear glasses can get a beau, so she ran back to the log to retrieve her glasses and took the big history exam, which she passed with flying colors. She ran to the mill to tell Charles the news and even fessed up on lying about her glasses. Charles understood, because, well, remember when some idiot said "sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me," they most definitely will.
So I'm glad everything worked out in the end, but alas, this will be the start of many eye problems Mary will be experiencing from now until the end of Season 4. For the most part, this episode was acted very well. Melissa Sue Anderson was fabulous, so was Michael Landon, Melissa Gilbert, Charlotte Stewart, and even Alison Arngrim and Jonathan Gilbert as Nellie and Willie, two kids that would make you want to sterilize the human race. Those of you who had to start wearing glasses at a young age will understand what Mary is going through here, and even to this day, other kids call people who wear glasses a "four eyes." If you think about it, that name really makes no sense. Kids say the damnedest things, don't they? So if you like Mary and want to see where her eye troubles really began, Four Eyes is one to see.
Almost instantly, the Oleson brats started calling Mary a "four eyes" and made fun of her, and because she seems to care what the Olesons say for some reason, she took offense. When stood up in class to read from the board with her new glasses and her new self-esteem, the entire class started to robotically chant "four eyes, four eyes." Miss Beadle put on her own glasses to shut them up. The next day was no better. Willie put glass bottle frames over his eyes to mock Mary, which must be where the expression "Coke bottle frames" came from. So Mary ran away to the creek and had a good cry. Deciding to let the childish kids get the better of her, Mary left her glasses under the log, forcing her to return to straining her eyes to see the board, ruining the muscles, making her grades drop further and get held back. So when she got home without her glasses, she fibbed that they got lost. Charles and Caroline were rightfully upset at her. Next day, she made an ass of herself in class and when going behind the building to pout, who should ride up to her but a handsome young man looking for Miss Beadle. He was equipped with candy and flowers, so it looks as though she's finally got a date. Mary walked in on the two of them making out, and realized that even people who wear glasses can get a beau, so she ran back to the log to retrieve her glasses and took the big history exam, which she passed with flying colors. She ran to the mill to tell Charles the news and even fessed up on lying about her glasses. Charles understood, because, well, remember when some idiot said "sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me," they most definitely will.
So I'm glad everything worked out in the end, but alas, this will be the start of many eye problems Mary will be experiencing from now until the end of Season 4. For the most part, this episode was acted very well. Melissa Sue Anderson was fabulous, so was Michael Landon, Melissa Gilbert, Charlotte Stewart, and even Alison Arngrim and Jonathan Gilbert as Nellie and Willie, two kids that would make you want to sterilize the human race. Those of you who had to start wearing glasses at a young age will understand what Mary is going through here, and even to this day, other kids call people who wear glasses a "four eyes." If you think about it, that name really makes no sense. Kids say the damnedest things, don't they? So if you like Mary and want to see where her eye troubles really began, Four Eyes is one to see.
