The telephone comes to Walnut Grove, and Mrs. Olesen is hired as the switchboard operator. She takes advantage of her responsibilities to engage in her favorite pastime: gathering gossip. It will have a very damaging effect on the Garveys' marriage when she learns about Alice's hidden past.

Walnut Grove has a school bully, Bart. Albert and Laura want to teach the bully a lesson. Albert dresses up as a werewolf, but the bully doesn't buy it when Carrie comes out and tells Albert and Laura that she'll tell Ma that all of the glue was used by them. Laura and Albert come up with another plan. But in the end, it takes the joint efforts of the school children to get the bully to be nice.