Leave It to Beaver (season 2)

Beaver needs to write a poem for a school assignment. Ward writes the poem when Beaver goes to bed. The next day, Wally announces Beaver has been chosen to read his poem in assembly and will be given an award. Ward and June discourage Beaver from accepting an award for a poem he didn't write. Ward talks to Mrs. Rayburn who decides to give Beaver another chance to write a poem.

Eddie's new girl Caroline is more interested in Wally and invites him to a dance. Wally declines the invitation but Eddie complains of a sore throat and urges Wally to take Caroline to the dance. Wally finally agrees. Later, Eddie tells Beaver he knew Wally wouldn't go to a dance with someone else's girl so he pretended to be sick to give Wally the chance to accept the invitation.

Sue Randall as Miss Landers

Guests: Sue Randall as Miss Landers, Rusty Stevens as Larry Mondello, Stanley Fafara as Whitey Whitney, Jeri Weil as Judy Hensler, Bobby Mittelstaedt as Charles Fredericks, Patty Turner as Linda Dennison. Director: Norman Tokar. Teleplay: Joe Connelly, Bob Mosher. Story: Ed James.

Beaver makes friends with Chuey, an Hispanic boy, and consults Eddie (who's taking Spanish in high school) about Spanish phrases. Eddie teaches Beaver an insulting phrase without revealing its meaning. When Beaver uses the phrase with his friend, the boy runs home crying. Chuey's parents want to know why their son was so upset. The misunderstanding is corrected and Wally sets off to "slug" Eddie.

Lumpy accuses Beaver of losing his watch and demands restitution, giving Beaver forty-eight hours to return the watch — or else. Beaver never had the watch but takes the twenty-five dollar savings bond his Aunt Martha gave him and tries to redeem it at the bank. The teller calls Ward. Ward gets the truth about the matter from Beaver. Fred Rutherford says his son lost the watch and Lumpy apologizes to the Cleavers.

Guests: Richard Deacon as Fred Rutherford, Rusty Stevens as Larry Mondello, Frank Bank as Lumpy Rutherford, Buddy Hart as Chester Anderson, "Tiger" Fafara as Tooey Brown, Jonathan Hole as Bank Teller. Director: Norman Tokar. Writer: Richard Baer.

Beaver sits with Linda Dennison in the park. Larry and Whitey tease Beaver about Linda being his girl. To prove he's not sweet on Linda, he calls her a "smelly old ape". The next day, Miss Landers gives the class a talk about boys and girls extending mutual respect to one another and getting along. When Beaver sees Linda with Larry in the park, he feels bad and wonders if the feeling is that which causes people to marry.

Aunt Martha sends Beaver a family ring. Ward tells him not to take it to school but he does. He puts it on and can't get it off. The school nurse says it will have to be cut off. Beaver panics, thinking the nurse means his finger. The ring is cut off. At home, Beaver writes a letter of apology to Aunt Martha telling his father it's "awful hard" to write a letter saying you're bad. Ward decides Beaver has been punished enough.

Guests: Rusty Stevens as Larry Mondello, Stanley Fafara as Whitey Whitney, Jeri Weil as Judy Hensler, Sue Randall as Miss Landers, Anne Loos as Nurse Thompson. Director: Norman Tokar. Teleplay: Joe Connelly, Bob Mosher. Story: Ed James.

Wally's friends brag about shaving. Wally wants to shave, too, but Ward bawls him out in front of Eddie, saying he shouldn't be shaving until he has a beard. Later, Ward realizes he was thoughtless. The next day, Wally and his friends go to the barber shop for haircuts. Ward arranges for the barber to give Wally a shave without divulging his part in the plot. The barber recommends a shave and Wally becomes the envy of his pals.

Guests: Ken Osmond as Eddie Haskell, Buddy Hart as Chester Anderson, "Tiger" Fafara as Tooey Brown, Howard McNear as Andy the Barber, Frank Bank as Lumpy Rutherford, Charles Cirillo as Barber. Director: Norman Tokar. Writers: Bob Ross, Joe Connelly, Bob Mosher.

Beaver and Larry smoke coffee grounds in Ward's meerschuam pipe. They are disgusted. The next day, they try to smoke cigarette ashes collected from ashtrays around Larry's house and are disgusted again. Ward discovers the pipe bowl stained and believes Wally has been smoking. Wally is mystified until Beaver confesses and says he "won't do anything bad again until I'm 21". Ward assures Beaver he will be punished.

Wally needs a new suit for a dance and persuades his father to let him buy it himself. Against his better judgement, Ward agrees. Wally buys a loud plaid suit his parents dislike. Tactfully, June notes the sleeves are too long and suggests the suit be altered. The clothier knows boy pyschology and steers Wally to a traditional suit, pointing out that the suit flatters his athletic build. Wally says he would have felt like a creep wearing the plaid suit.

Beaver is cast as a canary in the school play but gets a bad case of stage fright on opening night. The teachers switch Beaver and Whitey at the last moment with Beaver being assigned the silent and immobile mushroom role. At home, Beaver tells his family he wasn't good enough to be the canary and he wasn't disappointed being the mushroom because a "guy oughta do what he can do, not what another guy can do".

Guests: Sue Randall as Miss Landers, Dorothy Adams as Miss Wakeland, Stanley Fafara as Whitey Whitney, Jeri Weil as Judy Hensler, Rusty Stevens as Larry Mondello, Linda Beardon as Girl. Director: Norman Tokar. Writers: Joe Connelly, Bob Mosher.

Ward denounces movies and comic books and wants the boys to have an outdoor weekend at Shadow Lake. Ward discovers the lodge charges for each fish caught and June wants to go into town to get her hair done. When he finds the boys watching a movie from a hilltop overlooking a drive-in, he decides to pack up and return home. The boys change his mind when they discover an island in the lake and want to build a pirate's raft.

Wally plans his birthday around a hamburger party at the drug store with his friends and leaves Beaver out of the fun. Beaver takes his revenge by spending his money on a cheap toy for his brother instead of the camera he intended to buy. When Wally changes his mind and includes Beaver in the party, it's too late for Beaver to make amends with a nice gift. Beaver apologizes for his selfishness.

Guests: Rusty Stevens as Larry Mondello, Ken Osmond as Eddie Haskell, Arthur Space as Mr. Judson. Director: Norman Tokar. Teleplay: Joe Connelly, Bob Mosher, Keith Fowler, Norman Paul. Story: Keith Fowler, Norman Paul.

Beaver gets permission to ride in the garbage truck, then goes to the garbage man's house to play with his sons. He comes home thrilled with his visit. June suggests he invite the garbage man's boys to lunch. The boys arrive at the Cleaver house well-groomed and polite, rather than grimy and disorderly as she expected. The boys think Ward is a great guy and June as pretty as a movie star. June and Ward are glad the boys have visited.

The boys build a kayak in the garage with their friends and launch it at Miller's Pond with Beaver as navigator. The kayak sinks and Beaver is drenched. At home, the boys hide the mishap from their parents. Wally puts Beaver's clothing on the furnace vents to dry. Later, Ward finds the clothing smoldering, and, when he learns the truth, gives the boys a severe lecture on the possible consequences of their adventure. He grounds the two for the weekend.

Beaver and Larry play hooky. After hiding behind a billboard for a while, they get hungry and go to the grocery store looking for free samples. A television show is in progress at the store and the boys are caught on camera. At home, Wally and June see the boys on TV. June calls Ward and he picks up Beaver. He drops him at school to talk to Miss Landers who impresses upon the boy the importance of attending school.

Guests: Dick Lane as Marshall Moran, Rusty Stevens as Larry Mondello, Sue Randall as Miss Landers, John Hart as Construction Worker, Robert Mitchell as Husband at Supermarket, Berniece Dalton as Wife at Supermarket. Director: Norman Tokar. Teleplay: Joe Connelly, Bob Mosher, Dick Conway, Roland MacLane. Story: Dick Conway, Roland MacLane.

Ward introduces the boys to the book, Tom Sawyer. When he's called to the office just as he begins painting the garage doors, the boys offer to do the job. The boys play Tom Sawyer and try to get friends to pay to paint the doors. Lumpy and Larry won't bite. Little Benjie Bellamy pours a can of paint over himself. Wally and Beaver are sent to their room. Ward tells the boys the world was less complicated in Tom Sawyer's day.

Wally is attracted to the new girl at school, Gloria Cusick, but when she says Wally has a pug nose, he buys a gadget to straighten it. Ward tries to build Wally's confidence but Wally continues to wear his nose gadget. One day, Gloria asks Wally to escort her to a school dance. He asks why she chose him and she says it's because of his cute pug nose. Wally is happy and throws away the nose gadget.

Guests: Cheryl Holdridge as Gloria Cusick, "Tiger" Fafara as Tooey Brown, Frank Bank as Lumpy Rutherford, Ralph Brooks as Mailman. Director: Norman Tokar. Writer: George Tibbles.

Beaver, Larry, and Whitey form a pigeon club. Beaver buys two pigeons at the pet shop. Beaver gets the chicken pox, stays in bed, and Wally is assigned to care for the pigeons in the garage until Beaver recovers. A cat kills the birds. Beaver watches from his bedroom window as his fellow club members bury the birds in the back yard. Ward offers to bring Beaver another pair of pigeons, but Beaver declines.

Beaver is frightened over an upcoming dentist's appointment. At the dentist's office, Beaver and Ward find Fred Rutherford and his daughter Violet in the waiting room. Fred brags about his daughter's courage. Ward firmly tells Beaver he expects him to be a good soldier and not to let him down. At home, Ward apologizes to Beaver, saying he should have offered reassurance rather than pressure.

When Beaver breaks Wally's trophy, his parents scold him. He says they don't love him anymore. Ward says if he can improve on his parents, then he's welcomed to try. Beaver goes to an adoption agency and asks for new parents. The interviewer says she knows the perfect couple and makes a telephone call. Beaver begins to worry about liking his new parents. Shortly, June and Ward appear at the door. Beaver says he'll take them.

Elderly Miss Cooper returns to Mayfield to re-open her ancestral home. She calls June and arranges for Beaver to walk her dog. Beaver goes to the house but then runs away, thinking the house is haunted and Miss Cooper a witch. Ward tells Beaver Miss Cooper is a very pleasant lady but Beaver resists. The next day, Beaver meets Miss Cooper in the pet shop, finds she's a nice person, and is glad to walk her dog.

Guests: Lillian Bronson as Miss Cooper, Rusty Stevens as Larry Mondello. Director: Norman Tokar. Writer: George Tibbles.

Beaver's old friend Billy Payton lives ninety miles away at Crystal Falls and invites Beaver for a weekend visit. Wally offers to accompany Beaver on the bus, drop him at Crystal Falls, and return home. When the bus stops for refreshments, Beaver deboards but then boards the wrong bus and returns to Mayfield. In Crystal Falls, Wally explains the situation to the Paytons. Mr. Payton decides to drive Wally home and pick up Beaver.

Stephen Talbot as Gilbert Gates

Guests: Rusty Stevens as Larry Mondello, Carleton G. Young as John Gates, Stanley Fafara as Whitey Whitney, Stephen Talbot as Gilbert Gates. Director: Norman Tokar. Teleplay: Joe Connelly, Bob Mosher, George Tibbles.

The Mayfield Fire and Police Departments rescue Beaver after he is locked in the principal's office. Ward and June are furious. Another day, Beaver gets his head stuck between the bars in a park fence. He tells Wally not to call the police or fire departments. Ward finds the gardener who frees Beaver. Ward reminds Beaver always to call his parents when he's in trouble. Beaver says he'll be calling frequently while growing up.

Beaver and Wally do chores at a carnival and are paid with an old circus horse named Nick. The horse is put in the garage for the night but Ward says he cannot remain due to Board of Health regulations. The boys are dismayed. Ward contacts Mr. Payton (the father of Beaver's old friend Billy) who agrees to board NIck on his farm at Crystal Falls. Mr. Payton says the boys may visit the horse any time they wish.

Guests: Burt Mustin as Gus the Fireman, Mike Ross as Board of Health Official, Bill Baldwin as Mr. Johnson. Director: Norman Tokar. Teleplay: Joe Connelly, Bob Mosher. Story: Hugh Beaumont.

Beaver brags to his classmates that his father was a hero in the war. At home, Ward tells him he was in the Seabees and built bases. Nevertheless, Beaver and Wally forge a letter from Ward describing a dangerous war mission. Ward finds the letter and calls Beaver's teacher before the boy gets in too deep. In school, the teacher avoids the topic of the war. Later, Ward tells Beaver that he could do more with tools to win the war than with guns.

Beaver tells his classmates he's going to move and they secretly plan a farewell party for him. Beaver has found out, however, that he won't be moving and doesn't know how to tell his classmates. After the party, he takes their gifts home. Larry drops by and Ward tells him they won't be moving. Larry believes Beaver lied to get presents. The next day, the class shuns Beaver. Miss Landers says Beaver has brought their gifts unopened back to school.

Beaver types a newspaper at home with Wally's help and the two manage to sell the copies. Beaver plans another eidition but, the next day, Wally has a ball game and can't help Beaver. June fills in. Ward later tells Beaver he shouldn't expect his mother to help because she has other houshold duties. Beaver doesn't want to be a quitter, so Ward solves the problem by typing 'Final Edition' at the head of the page in Beaver's typewriter.

Beaver buys a gaudy sweater. At school, he sees Judy wearing the same sweater and believes he's bought a girl's garment. He rids himself of the sweater by stuffing it behind the candy machine at the movies. The theater manager alerts the Cleavers. June reasons Beaver made a mistake in buying the sweater but didn't have the maturity to admit it to his parents. They tell Beaver they will give the sweater to someone who can use it.

After a fight, Beaver and Larry let bygones be bygones and pledge eternal friendship like Damon and Pythias. Larry takes advantage of the pledge by insisting Beaver give him his homework. Beaver hesitates but gives Larry his homework. Beaver refuses to tell Miss Landers what happened to his homework and is given a note. Beaver says Larry is a "crummy Pythias." The next day, Larry confesses to Miss Landers and the boys become friends again.

Mary Ellen invites Wally to a cotillion and enters the two of them in a cha-cha contest. Wally buys an instructional record and practices in his room. Beaver and Larry find the record and, with much merriment, practice the dance. Wally is furious, breaks the record, and says he's not going to the dance. Ward enrolls Wally in a quick cha-cha crash course with a dance instructor. Wally and Mary Ellen win honorary mention at the cotillion.

Wally gets the latest hairdo — a greasy cut called the "jellyroll". June hates it. The school principal says he cannot stifle a student's self-expresssion. The last straw comes when Beaver styles his hair after Wally's do. June reminds Wally how embarrassed he was when Beaver wore an old hat of hers to Sunday school and tells him she suffers the same sort of feeling when she sees him with his jellyroll hair-do. Wally understands and cleans his hair.

Beaver and Larry are cookie fund monitors at school. They're conned out of three dollars by a bigger boy in the eighth grade. The cookie company representative gives the boys overnight to replace the money which they do. The boys suggest Miss Landers relieve them of cookie fund duty. Miss Landers tells the boys they made the mistake of trusting someone but she won't make the mistake of not trusting the two of them.

Beaver forgets David Manning's birthday party and Mrs. Manning calls about his attendance. Ward hustles to give Beaver a bath while June runs to the store for a gift. She returns with a blow-up pool float Beaver calls a baby toy. When Beaver is alone for a moment, he substitutes his new camera for the float. Later, Ward and June discover the deception but understand Beaver was only thinking of David. Beaver takes the float to his bathtub.

Beaver tries out for the boys-versus-girls baseball teams and performs so poorly he begins clowning around to mask his inadequacy. Judy hits a home run and Beaver begins worrying about the upcoming game. Later, Ward finds Beaver practicing his swing at the school baseball field. He tells his father it's permissible to fool around for your friends but only if you can really perform when it counts. He scores well in the game.

Guests: Rusty Stevens as Larry Mondello, Jeri Weil as Judy Hensler, Stanley Fafara as Whitey Whitney, Robert Carson as Coach Grover. Director: Norman Tokar. Teleplay: Joe Connelly, Bob Mosher. Story: George Tibbles.

Closing sequence

Guests: Rusty Stevens as Larry Mondello, "Tiger" Fafara as Tooey Brown, Madge Blake as Mrs. Mondello, Eddie Marr as Carnival Barker. Director: Norman Tokar. Writers: Katherine Eunson, Dale Eunson.

Beaver's class is assigned the composition theme, "The Most Interesting Character I Have Ever Known". At home, Ward is delighted when Beaver decides to write about him but, after following his father about for the afternoon, Beaver decides Ward is boring. June suggests that Beaver write about what his father means to him rather than trying to list interesting things about him. Beaver writes a simple composition that moves Ward deeply.

Guests: Sue Randall as Miss Landers, Rusty Stevens as Larry Mondello, Jeri Weil as Judy Hensler, Stanley Fafara as Whitey Whitney. Director: Norman Tokar. Writers: Joe Connelly, Bob Mosher, Mathilda Ferro, Theodore Ferro.