Wally, if you go to this marching school,
you think they'll let you bring your horse home on weekends? I don't think so.
But maybe you can come up and spend a weekend with me and the horse.
That'd be almost as good as going.
— What you doin', Wally? — Just sorting out my junk.
If a guy's gonna leave home, he should put away the stuff he's not gonna use.
[Announcer] Leave It To Beaver.
Starring Barbara Billingsley Hugh Beaumont, Tony Dow...
and Jerry Mathers as the Beaver.
Oh, certainly, Mrs. Franklin. I'm sure Wally and the Beaver will be delighted.
Thank you. Bye.
What are forcing our boys to be delighted about now?
That was Bernice Franklin. Her boy, Johnny, is home from military school...
and he's coming over to see Wally and the Beaver. Johnny Franklin?
Oh, that's the kid we took fishing. He fell out of the boat... with the lunch.
Oh, no. That was a different Johnny. This is Johnny Franklin.
He was a grade ahead of Wally, and he went away to military school about a year ago.
So?
So he's coming over.
Oh, good.
— Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad. — Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad.
— Hey, kids, where you going? — Over to the new supermarket, Dad. They're givin' out free samples.
And there's gonna be a real live movie star there.
What movie star? [Wally] Well, I don't know, Mom.
It's one of these movie stars you never heard of before.
But it says out front he's a real live movie star though.
[June] We/l, boys, you can go over there later. Johnny Franklin’s coming over to see you
Johnny— Oh, yeah. He used to be in the eighth grade.
[Wally] Gee, Mom, do we have to stay home?
Uh—huh. His mother says he's on his way over.
But, Mom, if we don't get over to the supermarket now, all the free samples will be gone.
And the movie star will have went home.
Gone home, Beaver.
Anyway, you said no one ever heard of him before.
Come on, boys.
You wait upstairs. And when Johnny gets here, we'll send him up.
Okay, Mom. But, gee, our whole day is spoiled.
Well, offhand, I'd say they weren't too happy About Johnny coming over.
Well, it's pretty hard to compete with an anonymous movie star.
Hey, look, Wally. I finally got the eyes in the clown.
Hey, that's pretty good. How'd you do it?
I took the top off and stuck 'em in. Oh, yeah.
Boys, look who's here— Johnny Franklin.
Yeah. Uh...
— Uh, well, hi,Johnny. — Hi, men.
- Hi. —Well, I guess you boys have a lot to talk about.
Um, thank you, Mrs. Cleaver, for letting me come over.
You're welcome.
That sure is a neat army suit.
Oh, it's just a school uniform.
That's pretty neat. Oh, hey, you wanna sit down?
It won't hurt your suit, will it?
thank you.
June, this is the third time I've tightened these hinges.
I wish the boys wouldn't slam the back door.
All right, dear, I'll have them slam the front door for a while.
Oh, thanks.
Hey, uh,Johnny really looked sharp in his uniform, didn't he?
And he's so polite. Really polite. Not like Eddie Haskell.
I think Johnny really means it. Yeah.
Do you really get to march every day?
Well, sure. And on Saturdays, we have a parade with a band and everything.
Boy, that sure sounds swell.
— Oh, I bet you don't get to carry guns though. — Why, sure we do.
Can you shoot real bullets with 'em?
Well, the big guys have a rifle team, but we drill with wooden guns.
Well, gee, what's the good of havin' a gun if you can't shoot it?
Well, if there was an invasion or something, you could hit guys with it.
Boy, it sure sounds like a neat school.
Sure, it is. And in gym, we practice rope climbing and tumbling and wrestling and stuff like that.
Gee, I never heard of a school where you could have fun before.
We even have horseback riding and swimming.
We even have two guys from the regular army to teach us the drillin'.
And you know somethin' else? All our teachers are men, well, except the nurse.
Oh, boy! All men teachers, huh?
No lady teachers?
Not a single one. You mean you don't have to wash?
Well, sure they make us wash. You get demerits if they find dirt on you.
Well, gee, Beaver, you have to wash, no matter where you go to school.
Yeah, I guess so.
Say, Wally, where are you goin' to school next year?
Well, I don't know.
I guess Mayfield High with Eddie and the other guys.
Yeah, I guess that's an all right school.
Yeah, I guess it's an all right school.
Of course, they— they don't have horses.
They don't have guns either, not even wooden ones.
— Yeah. — Yeah.
Well, men, I've gotta get going.
I have to report back to school. I'm on sentry duty tomorrow.
Sentry duty?
You mean you get to shoot at guys that don't know the password?
No. Tomorrow's visiting day,
and we stand around the campus and direct the parents to where the washrooms are.
Well, I really have to get going now.
It's nice talking to you, men.
Uh, yeah.
Hey, that was pretty snappy, huh?
Yeah, they must give 'em turning around lessons too.
I don't really think it was so hard.
I'm sorry you have to leave so soon, Johnny.
I'm sorry too, Mrs. Cleaver, but I have to report back tonight. I'm on sentry duty.
Sentry duty, huh?
Well! Well, uh, drop in anytime you're home,john.
thank you, sir.
At ease, men.
I can't help it, dear. I used to be a Seabee.
I'm always a little self—conscious in the presence of that much brass.
Pow. Pow.
Pow.
Hey, you know, Beaver, I might ask Dad If I can go to Bellport next year.
I thought you wanted to go to Mayfield with Eddie and the other guys.
Yeah, but I've been thinkin'. Who wants to be like Eddie Haskell?
But he's your best friend, isn't he?
Well, that's what he's always tellin' me,
but he's kind of a creepy guy to have for a best friend.
He sure is.
You gonna ask Dad if you can go to Bellport?
Well, not all at once.
You know, if you want somethin' real good, you gotta be careful how you ask.
What do you mean? Well, if you come right out and ask 'em and then they say no, you're dead.
Yeah.
Sure wish I could go to military school. You're not old enough yet, Beave.
I know. But I'd sure like to be on sentry duty and tell people where is the washrooms.
Pow.
Well, fellows, uh, what did you and Johnny Franklin talk about this morning?
Oh, things and stuff.
Well, it seems funny you wouldn't find much to talk about. You haven't seen him in almost a year.
Yeah. Well, I guess that's why we didn't have much to talk about. [Chuckles]
I thought he looked very nice in his uniform.
Dad,
a long time ago, you were a kid once, weren't you?
— Well— — I think he was.
That's, uh, one of the things that's rather hard to avoid.
— Uh-huh. — Uh.
did, uh, you ever ride a horse?
Did I ever ride a horse? Well, I was practically brought up on a farm. We rode 'em bareback.
Ah, you kids don't know what you missed.
— Did you ever shoot a gun? — Well, when I was old enough, I went hunting with my father.
Gee, you must have had a lot of fun when you were a kid.
I sure did. [Chuckles]
I-I remember one time my brother and I—
— Ward, please. — Oh, this was my younger brother, dear.
Uh, anyway, Dad let us take these two horses and we rode way over to— Dad?
Uh, could I go to Bellport Military Academy next year?
Why, Wally, uh, why would you bring that subject up?
Uh, 'cause they got horses and guns there.
But, Wally, I thought you wanted to go to high school here with all of your friends?
Well, gee, Dad, it's a real neat school.
They teach you marching and wrestling and swimming, and I'd get good marks. Couldn't I go?
Why, Wally, you wouldn't wanna leave us, would you?
Well, gee, how else could I go away to school?
Well, uh, Wally, this is quite a surprise you've sprung on us, uh—
You mean I can go?
Well, uh,
um, well, at least I'll look into it.
But it'd take a lot of thought though.
We'll see what we can do.
Gee, thanks, Dad.
Mom, can we stick our dishes in the sink now?
Yes, you may be excused.
Wally, does this mean you really get to go?
Well, I sure hope so, Beave.
Huh. He wants to go to military school.
Well, of course he does, the way you encouraged him.
June, I didn't encourage him.
Well, you did all that bragging about horses and guns.
Well, you know, military school might do Wally a lot of good. He might be very happy up there.
Now listen, Ward, if he's going to be happy,
I want him to be happy right here at home where we can keep an eye on him.
Of course, with all this talk about going away, uh,
maybe he's not as happy here at home as we think he is.
What do you mean by that?
Well, I mean, he's practically ready for high school,
and he's— he's always had to share a room with his brother, and, uh—
Well, and anyway, it's perfectly natural for a kid to wanna get away from his mother's apron strings.
What do you mean my apron strings?
Uh, nothing. Uh, that was a poor choice of words.
It certainly was.
Look,June, Wally brought the subject up.
Now it seems to me that the least we can do is to get an application and find out about the school.
And if we're satisfied and if he really wants to go,
I think we oughta let him go where he'll be happy.
All right. You send for the application,
and if he wants to go, we'll let him go where he's gonna be happy.
I'm glad we agree. But there's only one thing, Ward.
If he gets homesick or— or a horse bites him or something, I'll never forgive you!
“List applicant's allergies, if any."
What's that? Oh, it's an application from Bellport Military Academy.
They wanna know more about our boy than we know about him.
You think Wally really wants to go? He's gotten excited about things before, and then he's lost interest.
Oh,June, he's talked about nothing else for the last week. They want a picture of him too.
Send that one in his blue suit.
No, I think I'll send the one in the baseball uniform.
Wally, if you go to this marching school,
you think they'll let you bring your horse home on weekends? I don't think so.
But maybe you can come up and spend a weekend with me and the horse.
That'd be almost as good as going.
— What you doin', Wally? —just sorting out my junk.
If a guy's gonna leave home, he should put away the stuff he's not gonna use.
But you won't be leavin' for a whole nother year.
Well,yeah. Well, a guy should do it anyway.
Oh, here. You can have my snakeskin.
Wally, did you really take this off a snake?
Nah. Me and Eddie found it. Every year, snakes crawl out of their old skins.
I wonder how a snake makes a hole in the top of himself so he can climb out.
Well, I don't know. I guess you have to be a snake to know that.
Yeah, I guess so.
Wally, if you go to this marching school,
I guess we won't be goin' down to the lake anymore and catchin' polliwogs.
No, I guess not.
Of course, when I go down to the lake,
I can always take Larry Mondello with me, if it's all right with you?
Sure, it's all right with me. You can take Larry.
— No. — Huh?
It takes a certain kind of guy to catch polliwogs with.
How come?
Well, first you gotta find a guy that likes to lay on his stomach.
Well, doesn't Larry like to lie on his stomach?
I don't know. I never asked him.
You know somethin', Wally? What's that?
— The fun of catchin' polliwogs isn't really catchin' polliwogs. — It isn't?
No. It's lyin' there with the other guy and talkin'.
Yeah. I guess you're right.
Yeah. Like the time we were at the lake and we we're pretendin' the lake was an ocean...
and the polliwogs were whales and we was on a whaling ship, remember, Wally?
Yeah, I remember.
Well, we didn't catch one polliwog that day,
but that was the best day I ever spent at the lake.
Uh, yeah. Well, I think we better put this stuff out in the garage.
Yeah, I guess we better.
What are the boys doing out there?
Storing Wally's valuables in the garage. He's getting ready to go to boarding school.
So soon? Mm—hmm.
Ward? Huh?
Do you really think we'd be doing the right thing letting him go next year?
Oh,June, he's talked about nothing else for days.
I think if he wants to go, we should let him go. I suppose so.
You know, I, uh, I thought we might all drive up to Bellport and let him look the school over,
make up his own mind one way or the other.
I better make a sandwich for Eddie Haskell.
Is he coming over? Uh-huh.
Well, at least, If Wally goes off to school, he'll be away from Eddie's influence.
Maybe we need Eddie Haskell. What?
Well, if it weren't for Eddie, who could we blame Wally's faults on?
Hiya, men. Oh, hi, Eddie.
Hi, Eddie. What's new?
Mm, nothin'.
There is too. Wally's going to a real neat military school,
and he gets to ride horses, shoot guns and everything.
No foolin'? Military school? Yeah. It's up at Bellport.
Yeah? When did your father get this idea?
My father didn't get it. I got it.
Yeah? I'll bet you just think it was your idea.
What do you mean, Eddie?
Last year, my pop started hintin' around about military school,
all about learning to be neat and getting better marks.
But he wasn't gettin' rid of me that easy.
Gee, I don't think my father's trying to get rid of me.
Me neither.
Yeah? Well, let me Tell you something.
I read it in a magazine. Legally, they can't throw you out of the house till you're 21.
You're goofy, Eddie. My father's not throwing me out of the house. I wanna go.
[Chuckles] That's what you think.
Dad wouldn't do a thing like that, would he, Wally?
Wait till it happens to you, you little squirt. You won't know what hit you.
Aw, go on, Eddie.
All right, but look at me.
I'm 13 years old and I've been to five different summer camps.
You don't think my old man's spending that kind of money just so I can have a good time, do you?
Aw, cut it out, Eddie. You're always braggin' about how much fun you have up at camp.
Well, I'm smart enough not to let my old man know about it.
You guys coming over to Metzger's Field?
Yeah. We'll be over later. We gotta have lunch first.
Okay. I'll see you characters.
Wally, it was your idea about military school, wasn't it?
Sure.
When Johnny Franklin came over in his uniform, that's when I got the idea.
Sure.
How come Johnny Franklin came over? He never came over before.
I don't know. I... guess Mom and Dad invited him.
— Yeah. — Yeah.
Say, Wally, you have anything planned for tomorrow?
No. I guess not. Why, Dad?
Well, I have your application all filled out.
I thought we might drive up to Bellport tomorrow and look the school over.
Uh,yeah. I-I guess I could go.
Wally, don't you still wanna go to boarding school?
Oh, yeah. Well, I guess I do.
Wally. we've talked about it all week. Now do you or don't you?
Well, gee, Dad, anything you say. Could I be excused?
— What's the matter with you? — How long till I'm 21?
Not for a long time, Beaver.
Oh. Can I be excused too?
Yes, Beaver.
Well, what do you suppose has gotten into Wally?
Mm, guess he doesn't wanna go to boarding school.
Yeah. But why?
Ward, I didn't say a thing to him.
All right, dear. Just don't look like you have.
You already washed your face once today.
Uh, well, I'm washin' it again.
Your eyes look funny.
Uh... well, I was playin' baseball yesterday and catchin' fiies.
The sun kind of makes my eyes red.
Yeah, I guess it does all right.
Uh, would you mind closing the door? Sure, Wally.
Ward, I really think you should go up and find out what happened to Wally.
So do I. I'm going up right now and have a talk with him.
Dear, don't be too hard on him.
Remember, we're trying to make him happy. I know.
— Dad? — Well, Beaver, what are you doing here?
— Dad, I wanna talk to you. —What is it?
How come you don't like Wally anymore?
Beaver, why would you ask a question like that?
Because you're trying to get rid of him.
Where'd you get that idea? From Eddie Haskell.
— Eddie Haskell? —Yeah.
His father tried to get rid of him by sending him away to school,
but he knows the law, so he's not gonna go till he's 21.
Well, Beaver, I don't know what Eddie told you...
or what he thought his father's intentions were,
but— but parents don't send boys away to boarding school because they want to get rid of them.
They send them away because—
well, because they want them to have certain advantages.
I don't think Wally wants no advantages.
— Any advantages? — Any advantages.
Beaver, even before Eddie talked to Wally,
I sorta got the idea that he was beginning to get cold feet about wanting to going away to school.
What do you think?
Yeah, I think his feet were getting cold even before he talked to Eddie Haskell.
— Where is he now? — He's upstairs.
And his eyes are red from catchin' fly bails out in the sun yesterday.
Oh. Well, I'll, uh— I'll go up and talk to him.
Thanks a lot, Beave. You've been a big help. Oh, sure, Dad.
Excuse me, Beaver. I have to go upstairs and talk to Wally.
Your father and I have something to discuss with him.
That's okay, Mom. I think me and Dad just took care of it.
Wally? Yeah, Beave?
You goin' up to see the marchin' school tomorrow?
Nah. Dad and I kinda talked it over,
and we figured I wouldn't go to Bellport next year.
How come?
Well, all the other guys are going to Mayfield,
and Eddie isn't really such a creep.
And anyway, Dad and I figured you might get in trouble. Me?
Well, yeah. You know, goin' down to the lake and catchin' polliwogs by yourself and stuff.
Yeah. I guess it's not gonna be so bad havin' you home for a whole nother year.
Yeah.
Well,just don't get the idea that means you can hang around me all the time.
Oh, no, Wally.