Louie gets a pet goldfish, Pepper, after his sweetheart, Jeannie, announces she and her family are moving away. Louie has to contend with that, along with his visiting grandmother and cantankerous father.
An Anderson family Thanksgiving is nothing short of a catastrophe, Andy's well-off brother in-law shows off, the turkey taking too long to cook, and on top of everything else, Louie must write an essay on the true meaning of Thanksgiving.
Louie joins his father and friends on their deer hunting trip, and ends up bringing home a young deer, which he tries to hide from the gun-toting hunters looking for their next trophy.
The Andersons partake in the annual Cedar Knoll winter carnival. Andy and Ora get caught in competition, and Louie becomes smitten by Jeannie's older sister.
The Anderson family goes to a fair where Ora tries to win the best cooking contest, and Andy wins a pig. Meanwhile, Tommy gets upset because Louie always takes him to the childish fair rides.
When Andy's Rambler gets damaged, Ora decides to buy him a new car for his birthday. After Andy complains and returns the car, Louie fixes the Rambler with the help of a repair man named Smitty.