Season 1 Episode 18 “The Circus Man”- Little House on the Prairie

Someone shoots a rifle near the Ingalls’ home in the middle of the night. Charles comes out on his porch with his rifle and sees a man near his barn. The man introduces himself as William O’hara and tells Charles that he just chased off a bobcat in the yard. He is a circus man and was looking for a place to camp for the night with his wagons. Charles invites him to stay in the barn with his animals.

Laura and Mary see the circus wagon the next morning and are amazed at the drawings on it and a talking bird. Mr. O’hara greets them and teases them about being pixies. He shows them a chimpanze and tells a story about him. The girls aren’t so sure about the truthfulness of Mr. O’hara’s stories.

At the mill, Mr. Hansen gives Charles some more work orders. The Doctor is talking to Charles and notices that Mr. Hansen has a headache that needs to be treated. Mr. Hansen refuses to have the doctor examine him. He tells the doctor that his medicine didn’t help him, so he doesn’t need the doctor looking at him.

It’s night again and Mr. O’hara begins yelling that there is a thief in his wagon. Charles comes out and finds Mr. O’hara on the ground, saying that his ribs are broken. Charles brings him into the house and wraps up Mr. O’hara’s ribs. Mr. O’hara asks the girls to get a special box out of his wagon for him. He tells them that it contains secret powders that will help him heal faster. He puts some in water and drinks it and explains that he will be healed in a couple of days. He instructs them not to tell anyone about the secret powders.

Mr. Hansen brings back the medicine he bought at the Oleson’s store. He tells Mrs. Oleson that it isn’t helping his headache and he wants his money back. Mary and Laura are in the store and over hear the conversation. They tell Mr. Hansen about Mr. O’hara’s secret powders from India that will heal him.

Mr. Hansen visits Mr. O’hara, who gives him the powders for free. Mr. Hansen believes the powder will heal him and begins feeling better. Dr. Baker tells Hansen that the powders aren’t helping him, it’s only Mr. Hansen thinking that they help is the reason they work. They argue, but Mr. Hansen is convinced he has a miracle powder. Dr. Baker begins to worry that Mr. O’hara will start selling the powder to everyone and people won’t seek proper medical care because of it.

Mr. O’hara comes into the Oleson’s store to buy some candy. Mrs. Oleson complains about him taking business from her store by selling fake remedies. Mr. O’hara shows Mrs. Oleson that his ribs are already healed. She is amazed and is suddenly interested in his secret powders because she has been having a severe ache in her side. He gives her some of the powder.

Dr. Baker comes out to the Ingalls to tell Charles that Mr. O’hara is leading people astray with his fake medications. Mrs. Oleson needs to be operated on for appendicitis, but she believes Mr. O’hara’s powders will cure her. Dr. Baker asks Mr. O’hara to come with him to convince Mrs. Oleson to have the operation so she won’t die. Mr. O’hara denies saying that his medicine would cure Mrs. Oleson, so he goes into town and convinces Mrs. Oleson to have the operation and his powders will help her to come through the surgery well. Dr. Baker operates and everything works out. He is angry, though, at how close Mrs. Oleson came to dying. He asks Charles to have a talk with Mr. O’hara.

Charles tells Mr. O’hara that he needs to be more truthful and he asks him to leave. Charles wishes him good luck. The girls are sad that Mr. O’hara left in the night. Charles tries to explain that circus people just don’t stay in one place for very long.

The girls go to town with their dog Jack. While they are in the Oleson’s store, Jack sees a cat and runs out into the street after it right in front of a wagon. He is ran over and badly hurt. The doctor looks at him and finds no broken bones, but Jack won’t wake up. Laura wishes Mr. O’hara was still there because he could give Jack his secret powders to make him well again. Charles tries to explain to Laura that the powders don’t cure anything, but she won’t believe him.

Charles decides to go find Mr. O’hara and bring him back because if Jack dies without them trying the powder, Laura will never forgive her dad. He brings him back to the house and Mr. O’hara gives Jack the powder. Laura is overjoyed and really believes he will be healed now. She sits with him all night and in the morning, Jack is awake and moving around. She thinks the powders really worked. Charles tells Mr. O’hara he needs to tell Laura the truth. Mr. O’hara finally tells Laura that the powder doesn’t work. He explains that he is a circus man and just full of tricks. He even admits that his name isn’t Mr. O’hara and that his accent is fake too. Laura is very disappointed and asks him why he lies to people. He tells her that it makes him feel better about himself.

As Mr. O’hara is leaving, Charles thanks him for coming back and telling the truth. Mr. O’hara feels bad about what he’s done. Charles tells him to stop by again if he’s ever in the area. Mr. O’hara immediately perks up and sets off with a grin on his face.