The Race

When Reverend Alden falls ill while collecting donations for a struggling town, he is taken in by an exconvict named Caleb Hodgekiss and his loving wife. Caleb agrees to help the Reverend by traveling to Walnut Grove and encouraging everyone to donate money, but in the process, he steals the Reverend's clothes and poses as Brother Hodgekiss. He quickly earns the community's trust with his sensitive and caring personality, but because he has such a dark past, it's hard to tell what he might do.

Adoptive parents Grace and Isaiah Edwards have begun to notice how bright their oldest son John is, and thanks to his writing talent, the boy receives a four-year scholarship to a university in Chicago. Grace is thrilled, but Isaiah would rather have a son to share his farming lifestyle. Furthermore, John and Mary have immediate marriage plans that will not be possible if John decides to follow his ultimate dream. Torn between two worlds, John is forced to make the most difficult decision of his life.

Now that her beloved horse Bunny has officially been returned to her, Laura eagerly prepares to enter a local race. Angry and jealous about this, Nellie throws a tantrum until Harriet agrees to buy her an expensive thoroughbred from Mankato without Nels' approval. Although Nellie and her horse are now expected to win the race, Laura perseveres with her training, and the stakes are higher than ever when Harriet donates a lavish prize for the winner.

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.

On Halloween night, Laura and Mary get permission from their parents to walk into town and pull off 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 seem to 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. This will not be an easy task, however, seeing as Lansford Ingalls would rather commit suicide than continue his life with anyone. 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 when 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 Ingallses are forced to deal with him - and he's not exactly the ideal family pet.

The innocent townspeople of Walnut Grove have no idea what they're in for when the three Galender brothers settle in. While the oldest two run up large bills at the mercantile and the mill, the youngest boy causes big problems at school. At first, everyone attempts to take Reverend Alden's advice and give the Galenders a chance, but when their crimes turn violent, the community must decide how far their religious loyalties can take them.

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.

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. Despite the frantic efforts of everyone in town, the only person who can really help is the knowledgeable Mr. Laudy, an alcoholic ex-miner who may finally have a shot at redemption.

When Doc Baker is assisting with an outbreak of mountain fever in a nearby town, the people of Walnut Grove are hopeful that the disease will overpass their community. Unfortunately, when Grace and Isaiah's young daughter Alicia becomes seriously ill, Isaiah takes her to an abandoned house in town and attempts to nurse her back to health. Things get even worse when 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.

Spotted Eagle, the young son of a recently killed Sioux Indian, moves to Walnut Grove with his Caucasian mother Amelia. Amelia's father grudgingly agrees to let them stay with him, but Jeremy-- who is ashamed that his daughter married a Native American--ostracizes the child and refuses to call him by his preferred name, then forces Amelia to lie about both her marriage and her son. Tension flies as the Ingalls girls become Spotted Eagle's only friends at school, and because kids are often threatened by someone who's different, poor Spotted Eagle endures harsh treatment from his most insensitive classmates--which might be somewhat bearable if he could at least form a relationship with the grandfather he loves.

After being kicked in the stomach by one of the family's horses, Mary insists that she is fine, but she actually has internal injuries that 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.

An 11-year-old black child named Solomon Henry feels oppressed by his heritage's lack of opportunity in life. He runs away from his mother and older brother to pursue his dream of attending school somewhere. He comes across Charles Ingalls in Mankato, secretly hitches a ride in the back of his wagon, and 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 a true inspiration to the whole family, but he struggles to open up about his real life.

Laura befriends a timid classmate named Anna, whose excessive stuttering negatively impacts 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 some ulterier motives of her own that may threaten Laura's friendship with Anna. Terrified of the disappointment her parents will feel if they find out her secret, Laura goes along with Nellie's game--but when it hits a dangerous level, Laura must use her own moral judgment to resolve the problems caused.

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 their bullied child?

A heavy rain has been falling in Walnut Grove for two months, and it shows no signs of stopping. Farmers like Charles fear that their families will go hungry, and after reading an article in the newspaper, they take a 400-mile journey with their wives and children for a temporary new life in Gold Country. Things start out pretty well when Charles and Isaiah dig up some gold, but Laura and Carl get a completely different perspective from a new friend that they meet near their camp site. Meanwhile, 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.

A heavy rain has been falling in Walnut Grove for two months, and it shows no signs of stopping. Farmers like Charles fear that their families will go hungry, and after reading an article in the newspaper, they take a 400-mile journey with their wives and children for a temporary new life in Gold Country. Things start out pretty well when Charles and Isaiah dig up some gold, but Laura and Carl get a completely different perspective from a new friend that they meet near their camp site. Meanwhile, 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.