Season 3, episode 8: Fred

Fred is a Billy goat, and a rather rambunctious one at that. This episode starts off with Laura performing chores for the Parsons (The actor that played the part of Rufe Parsons, Don “Red” Barry, would later show up in the series as Judd Larrabee). Laura finds herself saving Fred from certain death, as Rufe has had enough of the cantankerous Billy goat, and is about to shoot him. For you see, Fred has the unpleasant habit of ramming folks in the butt (Get your mind out of the gutter now :D) and this has cost him more than a few friends. So Laura asks to receive Fred in place of the $.40 that the Parsons owe her.

Fred proves to be more than Laura can handle, and is given an ultimatum by Pa to find another home for him. Laura then pawns the troublesome Fred off on the dimwitted Willie. Her selling point? There’s nothing like goat cheese! It’s easy for one to envision that Willie (not sharpest tool in the shed) after being told by Laura that he was receiving a milk goat, was in for a rude awakening, and a quick lesson in biology as well, the first time that he went to milk that thing 😀

This was actually a rather humorous episode, as Fred sends a good many of the denizens of Walnut Grove, soaring into the mud, ponds, and a variety of other messy mediums, with one of his super head butts.

It was also a rather heart warming episode, as we see that Laura genuinely cares for Fred’s welfare, and the story has a happy ending.