Oliver is tired of paying storage for something neither he or Lisa can recall, so he has it shipped to Hooterville. Inside a giant crate is a genuine Stavinski birdbath that Lisa had bought years earlier for Oliver's birthday. The hideous collection of pipes and faucets leads Oliver to plot "the thing's" demise.

With Doris out of town, Fred has to look after Arnold all by him self, but when Arnold sees an advertisement for free movies, ice cream, he goes to Pixley, and Lisa comes to the conclusion that he has been kidnapped, so Mr. Kimball, Sam Drucker, and the rest go search for Arnold.