A very promising and welcomed addition to Walnut Grove was about to arrive: a bank. Charles and Mr. Hanson worked hard at constructing the building, discussing the new banker, a guy by the name of Sprague, who sounded like a "charming" fellow. Charles had hoped that when the bank is all finished, he might just take out a loan and buy 40 more acres of land. He was sure that the other farmers would be expanding, so why should he be left behind? Anyway, by the end of the month, Ebenezer Sprague finally arrived. Charles and Mr. Hanson had just finished putting the bank together, and Sprague gave them both the cold shoulder and expected them to unload his wagon for him. Trying to show hospitality, Charles invited the newcomer over for supper, which he coldly declined. The next day, Harriet's attempt to get chummy with Sprague failed, he showed very little interest in Charles' proposition for a loan and will more than likely deny him, so when work was finally over at 3:00, Sprague headed out. As Laura and Jack were heading to the creek, Jack barked at Sprague's horse, spooking it and taking the supercilious banker for a joyride. When he finally managed to stop, he threatened to report this to the Walnut Grove sheriff, whom Laura informed him did not exist. So Sprague continued on his merry way. It turns out he was heading to the same creek as Laura to do a little fishing too. He tried to ignore her, but found that he just couldn't. Especially when Laura nearly caught a whole school on her hook and Sprague had caught zip.
The Walnut Grove school was facing a book crisis, as each student should be able to have their book, but unfortunately, books do not grow on trees...they're just made from them. Harriet preached to the parents that they shouldn't squander their money on food and clothing for their kids, but rather text books. Caroline suggested they take up a collection, as they only need roughly $27.50. So they set about their task, and for lulz, Harriet requested that Caroline ask Sprague for a donation, and as expected, he told her to get lost. To celebrate another day of being a douche, Sprague went back to the fishing hole, and Laura and Jack eventually came. She asked if he wanted to try her own special brand of bait: dough balls. He refused, but eventually gave in when he was having no luck. Surprisingly, he caught a big one! After that, he and Laura really bonded. It was if Ebenezer Sprague was a whole different person from who we've seen at the bank. Speaking of which, when Charles and Caroline hear of Laura's new friend, they suggest he meet Mr. Sprague, not knowing they were the same person, because the Sprague they know is a meany-head. So Laura and Sprague became even better friends and all seemed to be going nicely, until Laura found out from Nellie that her new friend WAS the aloof, greedy banker. She confronted him on it, and when he found out her name was Ingalls, he assumed she wanted to be his friend to sweeten up and approve her pa's loan. Laura was heartbroken. So the next day, Charles went to see Mr. Sprague. He told him where to stick his loan and made it very clear that Sprague was a very small man who too afraid to give or take. Charles was right, he was a very lonely, very petty man. Well I guess, he was visited by three spirits that night, because the next day, the school received a crate full of text books from an anonymous donor. But Laura knew who it was. From that moment on, Ebenezer Sprague was a new man. He approved Charles' loan, took him up on his dinner invite, and learned to love Christmas...I mean, people as they filled a gap in Sprague's life that had been there too long.
Very good, very endearing episode. We get introduced to a new character who at first comes off as a jerk, then we see a softer side to him, and with help from the people who tried to reach out to him, his icy heart melted. Ted Gehring was amazing as Sprague, yet another actor on this show who got cheated out of an Emmy, and he does appear in a few more episodes before he leaves in Season 3, around the time the bank goes bust, but that's another story. Melissa Gilbert and Michael Landon were also very good. Hindi Brooks' script was outstanding and Victor French directed it to perfection. The scenes of Sprague and Laura are really a joy to watch, as he seems to take on a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde persona throughout the episode. This one is not to be missed.
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