With her birthday only a day away, Laura Ingalls' face was glued to the window of Oleson's Mercantile, admiring the toy selection. Unable to get Mary to spill, Laura had to guess what her present would be. New dress? A doll? A dictionary? When her birthday finally comes, Laura unwraps her present to reveal... a dictionary. Not too impressed, she still thanks her Ma and Pa, but this here wasn't no ordinary dictionary. It had a map of the sky, the constellations and everything! It was still underwhelming to say the least. Happy birthday, Laura. Next day, the middle Ingalls child went back to staring at the toys in the store window. She is joined by her new friend Anna, a sweet child with a stutter. Things were going fine when Nellie suddenly invited her up to her room along with a group of her friends to start a "top secret" club. At first, Laura was hesitant, and who could blame her? But when Nellie allowed her to bring Anna, she decided to give it a try. So, Nellie Oleson proceeds to try and form her own club, or a pre-dated Third Reich, excluding Anna because of her stutter. Furious at Nellie for humiliating her friend in front of everybody, Laura swiped the brat's music box. At first the victory was as sweet as the song it played, but after a while, Laura begins to regret the act and agonize about it for days and nights on end. She had a nightmare where she's put on trial for stealing the music box and was sentenced to 100 years of school and having to write "I will not steal" ten million times. Heavens, I'd hate to think what she'd get if she stole a wagon. The next day, Nellie insults Anna publicly again only this time Nels hears her and prepares to do something he should have done years ago: take his cajones out of Harriet's purse and throttle his bratty kid. Under the threat of the strap, Nellie sets off to find Anna and apologize. Not knowing where Anna lived, she first went to the Ingalls' to ask Laura and as bad luck would have it, she happens to catch her with the music box! Worried about what her parents might do to her, Laura begs Nellie not to squeal, but her silence would come at a price: doing ANYTHING she asked.
Following another horrifying nightmare (this time, Laura is a beggar in rags on Skid Row, and then Nellie's doppleganger hits her with a chicken leg), Laura was forced to play tag with Nellie and her friends, and finds that Willie is off limits on account of him knowing her awful secret. Needless to say, a good time was not had by all; Laura's odd behavior began to cause problems at home too, getting into a heated argument with Mary, forcing Charles to intervene. Throughout this struggle, it was difficult to figure out who was suffering the most: Anna or Laura. Well, after nightmare number three where Laura is hung, she witnesses Nellie torturing Anna by making her recite 'Peter Piper', it was her club's secret password. The poor little girl broke down in tears, much to Nellie's amusement. This child is a sadist in training! So after making amends with Anna, Laura finally confesses to her parents that she stole the music box and prepares to take her medicine, but whatever that medicine is will be up to Nels Oleson...for some reason. Why is Charles letting him discipline his child? Sure the music box belonged to his daughter, but still. So, Laura and Mary hug and make up, and the next day, Charles goes with Laura to Oleson's Mercantile where she comes clean over the whole thing and her punishment is what she's already endured. She'll think twice before stealing something ever again. And so, our story has a happy ending as Nellie gets a well- deserved butt whooping, and best friends Laura and Anna head to school.
I guess Anna moved away after that because we never see her again. But anyway, another great episode! Though I think the simplistic plot was really drawn out, prolonging Laura from coming clean about stealing in order to see her go through more mental torture. This could easily have been a 30-minute episode. But it still has a very good message: don't steal, don't forsake your friends, don't make fun of somebody different than you, and don't be like Nellie Oleson.
Following another horrifying nightmare (this time, Laura is a beggar in rags on Skid Row, and then Nellie's doppleganger hits her with a chicken leg), Laura was forced to play tag with Nellie and her friends, and finds that Willie is off limits on account of him knowing her awful secret. Needless to say, a good time was not had by all; Laura's odd behavior began to cause problems at home too, getting into a heated argument with Mary, forcing Charles to intervene. Throughout this struggle, it was difficult to figure out who was suffering the most: Anna or Laura. Well, after nightmare number three where Laura is hung, she witnesses Nellie torturing Anna by making her recite 'Peter Piper', it was her club's secret password. The poor little girl broke down in tears, much to Nellie's amusement. This child is a sadist in training! So after making amends with Anna, Laura finally confesses to her parents that she stole the music box and prepares to take her medicine, but whatever that medicine is will be up to Nels Oleson...for some reason. Why is Charles letting him discipline his child? Sure the music box belonged to his daughter, but still. So, Laura and Mary hug and make up, and the next day, Charles goes with Laura to Oleson's Mercantile where she comes clean over the whole thing and her punishment is what she's already endured. She'll think twice before stealing something ever again. And so, our story has a happy ending as Nellie gets a well- deserved butt whooping, and best friends Laura and Anna head to school.
I guess Anna moved away after that because we never see her again. But anyway, another great episode! Though I think the simplistic plot was really drawn out, prolonging Laura from coming clean about stealing in order to see her go through more mental torture. This could easily have been a 30-minute episode. But it still has a very good message: don't steal, don't forsake your friends, don't make fun of somebody different than you, and don't be like Nellie Oleson.
