The Philosopher's Stone

Nanny (Juliet Mills) receives a large trunk in the mail from her cousin Thelma, who goes by the name of Sleeping Lotus after her missionary work in the Orient, and has now retired to spend the rest of her life in contemplation in a little Tibetan village called Chin Chin Soo Soo. Nanny was staying with her when she left, not knowing where she would end up, and now her personal belongings have been sent to her. Hal (David Doremus) comes home in a bad mood, losing his class presidency race. Nanny gives Hal a stone from her trunk that she says came from the house where Greek philosopher Socrates lived and contains great powers of wisdom and good fortune, and he who posses it will be granted three wishes. When Hal is bullied in the school cafeteria he tells the kid "I wish you'd just drop it" and the boy falls to the ground. He now believes in the stone. He tells his younger bother Butch (Trent Lehman) to take a flying leap and he falls over a pair of skates. Feeling he has one wish left, Hal takes everything in ease wooing a girl and not bothering with research for his science contest, lending only to the last wish. His father (Richard Long) quips, "My nice, quiet son has become the Hugh Hefner of the chemistry crowd." Nanny secretly rips a hole in Hal's pants pocket, making him lose the stone. She tells him, "Life is like a bank, we can only withdraw what we deposit...we're all responsible for our own affairs." She helps Hal study for the science contest, but he feels he can't get it together in time. His father explains that it's not about beating someone, but setting out to do the best to your ability. Like the preceding episode, their isn't much comedy, but a great lesson.

Nanny and the Professor - the show and the characters - were at their best when dealing with family life's problems. Nanny would bring a little magic - like the philosopher's stone that brings a little too much good luck to Hal and makes him neglect what he needs to do to prepare for a science competition. To handle the problem as a practical rather than magical situation, the Professor has a heart to heart with Hal and Nanny snips a hole in his pocket so he will lose the stone. The family chips in to help Hal load up on studying once he realizes he has to do the work and not just rely on a magic stone.

Like another episode concerning Butch believing he is a jinx, a touch of Nanny magic works with loving practical advice from the Professor to set one of the boys right again. This approach made this one sweet show and one sweet episode.