Crotchety old businessman Ben Weaver wants moonshiner Sam Muggins locked up for Christmas but, after seeing the holiday spirit in Andy's jail, he tries to be arrested himself.
No one will admit to Aunt Bee's homemade pickles being the worst they've ever tasted. Andy switches them with store-bought ones to avoid eating hers, but her decision to enter them in the county fair presents a dilemma.
After Opie accidentally kills a mother bird with his new slingshot, he takes on the job of raising her babies himself. He grows very attached to them, but then has to set them free when they fledge.