Little House on the Prairie - Season 3

Reverend Alden falls ill while collecting donations for a struggling town. He is taken in by an ex-convict named Caleb Hodgekiss and his wife. Caleb helps the Reverend by traveling to Walnut Grove and encourages everyone to donate money. He earns the community's trust with his sensitive and caring personality, but because of his dark past, it's hard to tell what he might do.

Johnny Cash and his wife, June Carter Cash, play the roles of Caleb and Mattie Hodgekiss in this episode.

Nellie's physical abuse toward Bunny leads to a dangerous riding accident, but as the little girl lies in bed with a concussion and possible paralysis, her distraught mother blames Laura and orders Nels to shoot the animal. Laura secretly takes Bunny home until she can figure out a plan, but her problems run even deeper when she begins to believe that she is responsible for Nellie's condition.

Laura's beloved horse, Bunny, has officially been returned to her. She eagerly prepares to enter a local race. Jealous, Nellie throws a tantrum until Harriet agrees to buy her a thoroughbred -- without Nels' approval. Although Nellie and her horse are expected to win the race, Laura perseveres with her training. The stakes are higher than ever when Harriet donates a lavish prize for the winner.

Frustrated that Carrie has insisted on tagging along for a school assignment, Mary and Laura fail to keep a close eye on her. They live to regret this when the little girl wanders off and falls into an underground mine shaft.

Emotionally distraught after her little girl has fallen down a mine shaft, Caroline Ingalls instinctively blames someone else (in this case, Miss Beadle). Even considering the magnitude of the situation, this is incredibly out of character for Caroline, and you never see her do such a thing again.

On Halloween night, Laura and Mary get permission from their parents to walk into town and pull a little prank at the Mercantile. Laura's imagination runs wild when she peeks into the Olesons' window and witnesses Nels committing an unspeakable crime. Scarred by what she has seen, Laura can't get anyone to believe her.

In the wake of his mother's death, a devastated Charles travels home with the intention of bringing his father back to Walnut Grove. Lansford Ingalls is devastated after his wife's death and would rather commit suicide than continue his life with someone else. Meanwhile, with Thanksgiving approaching, Mary and Laura aren't quite sure how to tell Carrie the truth about the turkey they just purchased.

Although he is still struggling with his wife's death, Lansford adjusts well in Walnut Grove and bonds with everyone in the family, especially Laura. Unfortunately, another tragedy threatens to tear them all apart just as things are really starting to look up.

After working temporarily for some neighbors, Laura decides to take their problematic billy goat instead of money. The neighbors are thrilled to have "Fred" off their hands, but now the Ingalls family is forced to deal with him – and he's not exactly the ideal family pet.

The townspeople of Walnut Grove have no idea what they're in for when the three Galender brothers settle in. The oldest two run up large bills at the Mercantile and mill, and the youngest boy causes problems at school. Everyone tries to take Reverend Alden's advice and give the Galenders a chance, but when their crimes turn violent, the community's religious loyalties are tested.

Despite being a bit too young, Laura convinces her father to help sweet-talk Caroline into letting her accompany him on a hunting trip. Laura delights in this rare one-on-one time with Charles, and everything is going beautifully -- until she accidentally knocks over his loaded gun. With her beloved father very close to death, Laura must find help all on her own.

On Christmas Eve, Miss Beadle decides to surprise the schoolchildren by letting them go home early. This proves to be a grave mistake when the kids are trapped by a vicious blizzard outside, and none of them can find their way home. As Doc Baker turns the school into a makeshift hospital for frostbitten victims, the men must brave the extreme weather conditions and track down their loved ones.

Grace and Isaiah Edwards' adopted son, John, receives a four-year scholarship to a university in Chicago. Isaiah would rather have a son to share his farming lifestyle. John and Mary have marriage plans that will not be possible if John decides to follow his dream. Torn between two worlds, John is forced to make the most difficult decision of his life.

Doc Baker assists with an outbreak of mountain fever in a nearby town. The people of Walnut Grove are hopeful that the disease will pass their community by. Grace and Isaiah's young daughter, Alicia, becomes seriously ill, so Isaiah takes her to an abandoned house in town to nurse her back to health. Laura appears to have the fever as well, and Charles frantically sets out to find Doc Baker.

As a special school activity, Miss Beadle allows the children to create group skits that they will later perform for their parents. Mary and Laura team up with Nellie and Ginny Clark, a lonely young girl whose widowed mother has been neglecting her daughter's emotional needs. Meanwhile, Willie is having trouble getting the other boys to perform "Tom Sawyer" with him.

The young son of a recently-killed Sioux Indian moves to Walnut Grove with his Caucasian mother, Amelia. Amelia's father agrees to let them stay with him, but is ashamed that his daughter married a Native American and ostracizes the child. Spotted Eagle also endures harsh treatment from his insensitive classmates, but the Ingalls girls become his only friends.

At the end of this episode, Miss Beadle gets extremely angry at a student, Seth, for beating up Spotted Eagle. She slams her hand down on his desk and screams in his face. This is an extremely rare bout of fury from Miss Beadle, who was usually very mild-tempered and calm, even when such issues arose in the classroom.

Mary is kicked in the stomach by one of the family's horses, but insists that she is fine. Her internal injuries worsen over time. Unable to be properly treated by Doc Baker, she is hospitalized in Rochester, where she must undergo surgery. As if this weren't stressful enough, Charles and Caroline are in a position where they may not be able to afford the mounting hospital bills.

While Caroline stays with Mary, Charles sets out with Mr. Edwards to find work and send money back to the hospital. They eventually accept a mining job that involves building a tunnel for a railroad. Sick with fear over his daughter's illness, Charles disregards his own safety and faces serious danger.

Solomon Henry, an 11-year-old child, runs away from home to pursue his dream of attending school somewhere. He comes across Charles Ingalls in Mankato, and hitches a ride in the back of his wagon. He eventually becomes a guest in the Ingalls home. As he helps out around the farm and goes to school in Walnut Grove, Solomon's optimistic attitude is an inspiration to the whole family.

Laura befriends a classmate named Anna, whose excessive stuttering affects her ability to make friends. Laura stands by the girl's side when she is excluded from Nellie's elite new club, but matters are complicated when Laura is caught stealing Nellie's music box. Nellie agrees not to tell anyone, but she has ulterior motives of her own that may threaten Laura's friendship with Anna.

When it comes time to elect a new classroom president, Mary and Nellie are first to compete for the position. To even things out a bit, the boys strategically elect a shy, mentally-delayed classmate named Elmer Dopkins. The trouble is, Elmer's overprotective father is fully aware of the boys' ulterior motives, but how far can a parent go to protect his bullied child?

Michael Landon, Jr. plays Jim in this episode. He's the blonde boy who nominates Mary for class president.

A heavy rain has been falling in Walnut Grove for two months, and shows no signs of stopping. Charles fears that his crops will suffer and his family will go hungry. He takes them on a 400-mile journey for a temporary new life in Gold Country. Caroline opens and teaches a school in a tent, right in the middle of town, but it proves to be a less-than-ideal learning environment for everyone.