Leave It to Beaver (1957–1963): Season 1, Episode 37 - Beaver Runs Away - full transcript
Beaver starts playing with his father's unplugged drill. When Larry comes over, he tries to goad Beaver into plugging it in to drill real holes. Knowing he isn't supposed to play with his father's tools, Beaver refuses. But Beaver doesn't stop Larry from doing it, with Beaver even holding the piece of wood Larry is going to drill into up against the garage wall. When the resulting drill holes result in holes in the garage wall as well, Beaver knows he's going to get into trouble when his father sees what happened. Indeed, Ward feels that the incident is more Beaver's fault than Larry's fault since Beaver knew directly from Ward previously that he was not to play with his tools. Angry that he is being punished for what he believes is not his fault, Beaver not only tells his father that he is going to run away, but defiantly (at first) walks out of the house in front of his father. But when Ward lets him go, Beaver seems confused but leaves anyway. The battle of wills is now not only between Ward and Beaver, but also between Ward and June who doesn't care about anything except the welfare of her son, even after they find out that Beaver is fine and over at the Mondello's. Wally is the one who provides the voice of reason, or at least the voice of what it feels like to be a child pushed into a corner.
That you, dear?
Yes, it is.
Oh, Ward. We've been up and down
every block in this neighborhood,
and Beaver's nowhere around.
Yeah, Dad. I think
we oughta call the police.
So do I.
All right, now let's all calm down.
The thing to do is to make
some phone calls first,
see if anyone's seen him.
[Announcer]
Leave It To Beaver.
Starring Barbara Billingsley,
Hugh Beaumont, Tony Dow...
And Jerry Mathers as the Beaver.
[Phone Rings]
Hello? Oh, hello, Larry.
Beaver? He's down in the garage
with his father and Wally.
They're building a table
to play checkers on.
All right, Larry. I'll tell Beaver
you're on your way over. Bye.
Of course, dear.
You can stay for lunch. Bye.
Tuna fish, dear.
Good—bye.
[Whirring]
Boy, Dad, that drill sure is
a neat wood—eater, isn't it?
It sure is, Beave.
Wally, I think we're all ready
to put it together.
Did you find those clamps?
Well, only one, Dad.
I think I loaned 'em to Eddie Haskell
when he was building a birdhouse,
and he lost 'em.
I thought we agreed you weren't
going to lend my tools anymore.
Well, Eddie came over and—
Well, he started whining around,
and, well, I didn't think
it would hurt just this once.
When you say something,
you mustn't back down, Wally.
You gotta stick to it, right, Beave?
I don't know.
Eddie's Wally's friend.
Yeah. Well, guess we'd better
go down to the hardware store
and get some clamps.
Where are you going?
Down to the store.
Yeah, Mom. We're gonna
buy some stuff that Eddie lost.
Beaver, you'd better stay here.
Larry Mondello's on his way over.
Okay, Mom.
[Engine Starts]
Oh, get another loaf of bread.
Larry's gonna be here for lunch.
[Horn Honks]
[Imitating Airplane]
[Imitating Whirring]
Hi, Beave.
Hi, Larry.
[Imitating Whirring]
— Whatcha doin', Beaver?
— I'm pretendin' I'm drillin' holes.
[Imitating Whirring]
Is that any fun?
I don't know.
I just started.
[Imitating Whirring]
Hey, Beaver.
Here's an old piece of wood.
Let's drill a real hole.
No.
My dad told me not to never
touch his tools.
Gee, if you did everything
your father tells ya,
you'd never have any fun.
But it's no fun havin' fun
when you get in trouble.
How can you get in trouble
drillin' a little old hole?
You plug it in, and I'll drill a hole
If you're “a—scared.”
I'm not a—scared.
Then plug it in.
Okay.
There!
You hold the wood,
and I'll drill a hole.
You gotta hold it against somethin'.
Hold it here.
[Whirring]
Boy, that's neat.
Let's see what they look like.
Look, Beave.
It went right through the wood.
Uh—oh. It went
right through the garage too.
Boy, my father's gonna be real mad
when he sees it.
When will your father be back?
Right away.
He just went to the store.
I think I gotta go, Beaver.
You wanna come, Beaver?
No. I think I better be here
when he gets back.
I don't know, Beaver.
He's gonna be awful mad
when he first sees that.
Maybe I'd better come with you
and come back after he's used to 'em.
Yeah. Come on.
Now, we've got our clamps.
If you didn't give Eddie the glue,
we can finish this up.
The glue's back there
in the corner, Wally.
Hey, Dad.
I thought you unplugged this.
Oh, I did. I wouldn't leave
a drill plugged in.
Well, gee, maybe you forget things,
too, sometimes, huh?
[Chuckles]
Yeah. Maybe.
Well, uh, get that glue
opened up, Wally.
What's the matter?
That's what's the matter.
Wow.
Hey, look. You can see
right into the house.
Yeah.
Oh, hi, Mom.
Hi. Honey, you want
your lunch now?
In a minute. Where's the Beaver?
He went over to Larry Mondello's to play.
0h, he did huh? Look.
Beaver?
Beaver. I've told him a thousand times
not to touch my power tools.
Yet the minute my back's turned,
he—he drills holes in the garage wall.
Well, maybe it was an accident.
Twice?
— Boy, I wanna be here
when he gets home.
— Never mind, Wally.
We have tuna fish.
Well, that helps.
Come on.
Uh, hello, Mom.
Hello, Beaver.
You're late.
It's almost suppertime.
I know. I was out playin'.
Where's Dad?
In the living room.
Did he see the holes in the garage yet?
Yes, he did.
Then I guess I'd better go out
and play some more.
Now, Beaver, you know
you have to go in there
to your father...
and explain to him
what happened.
Well, couldn't I explain to you,
and you could 'splain to him?
I'm afraid not.
Now, look, you're
not helping anything
by putting things off.
Now, Beaver, you know your father's
going to be perfectly fair.
I know.
That's what I'm a—scared of.
[Sniffles]
Dad?
Yes, Beaver?
I guess you wanna know
how the holes got in the garage.
I certainly do.
Well, uh—
Well, they got there, but, uh—
Oh, I didn't make 'em.
You didn't make them.
No. Larry made them.
I was makin' noises with the drill,
and Larry came in.
And he said let's make a real hole,
and I held the board against the wall.
And the next thing I knew,
he made 'em.
But you were a party to it.
No, sir. I just held the board.
Beaver, you knew what Larry
was doing was wrong.
You could've stopped him.
Well, gee, Dad, I have enough trouble
keeping myself good...
without keeping
all the other kids good.
You know how I feel
about this, Beaver?
I feel that you're more to blame
than Larry.
Because I've told you time after time
never to touch my tools.
But, Dad, Larry was the one that—
What you did shows that you have
very little respect for what I tell you...
and no pride
for the home you live in.
But, gee, Dad, I didn't mean it to happen.
It just happened.
Beaver, I try very hard
to provide a nice home for you.
I try to do the right thing
for all of us, don't I?
Yes, sir. But, Dad, Larry—
All right. I also make certain rules,
and if you don't obey them,
you and I are going to have
nothing but trouble around here.
Yes, sir.
Where are you going?
I'm going away.
So you won't never not be troubled
with me hanging around here again!
Beaver, are you threatening me?
No, sir!
I'm just going away!
[Footsteps Running Up Stairs]
Now, Beaver—
Where's he going?
Well, he's going away.
So we'll never not be
troubled with him
hanging around here again.
Oh, Ward.
Now, there's nothing
to worry about.
When I was his age,
I was always threatening
to run away from home.
Yes, but you weren't a little boy
like the Beaver.
June, what do you think I was,
a kangaroo?
Ward?
Huh?
Did you ever really
run away from home?
Yeah, once.
My father let me go too.
I was back in about half an hour
and never did it again.
Hmm. It certainly
taught me a lesson.
Hey, Beaver, are you really
gonna run away from home?
No foolin'?
Yeah. Dad said
this was his house,
and he didn't want me
hangin' around here
makin' trouble for him.
Aw, he didn't mean it.
Then why'd he say it?
Well, that's the way parents are.
They're always sayin'
mean things like that so,
well, you'll be too scared
to do somethin' wrong.
— They don't really mean it.
— I don't care.
Larry drilled the holes,
and Dad said it was
more my fault than his.
That's bein' too mean.
Where are you
gonna run away to?
I don't know.
I might run away
and join some pirates...
and come back
with a wooden leg.
Mom and Dad wouldn't
even recognize me.
Aw, cut it out, Beaver.
They don't have pirates anymore.
Well, then I might run away...
and be a tramp, all by myself,
and eat all my food
outta tin cans.
— What are you takin' these for?
— In case I might meet up
with some other tramps.
We might play marbles.
Ward, will you call the boys?
Supper's ready.
All right, dear.
Wally. Beaver.
Supper.
Where's the Beave?
Uh, he's comin' down, Dad.
Listen, Wally, I want—
[Footsteps Coming Down Stairs]
He's runnin' away, Dad.
Uh—huh. Well, you'd better
go on in to supper, Wally.
Yes, sir.
I'll see ya, Beave.
See ya, Wally.
So you're, uh—
You're leaving home, huh?
Yes, sir. And I'm not
never comin' back.
— Well, don't you wanna talk it over?
— No, sir.
Well, good—bye.
Good—bye.
— Well, I'm really goin'.
— So you said.
I, uh, don't suppose you'd want
to have your supper first.
No. I'm goin' right now.
Well, all right then.
Good—bye.
I'll tell your mother you've gone.
Thank you.
Well, good—bye.
Good—bye.
Ward, Wally just told me.
What's this all about the Beaver?
Oh, he just ran away from home.
Oh, Ward, let's go get him.
No. No, that's exactly what
he wants us to do.
But he might mean it.
There's nothing to worry about.
He'll walk around the block once,
and he'll be back by the time
we finish our soup.
Did he really go?
Yes, he did.
Hey, Dad, he said he was
gonna join the pirates
and come back with a wooden leg.
[Laughing]
Ward Cleaver, if he does,
I'll never speak to you again.
[Thinking]
I'm sorry, Dad,
but I'm not comin' back.
You can beg me all you want,
but I'm not.
You can promise me
all the ice cream in the world...
and my own television set...
and even if I could stay up till 10:00
for the rest of my life,
I'm not comin' home.
but you shouldn ’t have been
so mean to me.
I'm not comin' back never.
Okay, I'm goin'.
I, uh—I guess these
go up here, huh?
Oh, should I put the butter
in the refrigerator?
Look, June, if I gave in to his threats,
how would I have any control
over him in the future?
It's not that I don't love him,
but if I let him get away with this,
he'll pull the same thing every time
he does something wrong.
[Whistling]
What's that?
I don't know.
It's probably Wally.
He wanted to go outside
and look around.
Gee, Dad, he's nowhere around.
I think he really ran away.
Oh, Wally—
Ward Cleaver, you never should
have let him go out that door
in the first place.
Listen, June—
Yeah, Dad.
I think Mom's right.
All right, Wally. You're probably
going to have children
of your own someday.
Now,just how would you
have handled this situation?
Well, I probably would've
socked him one instead of
telling him to leave home.
Yeah—I did not tell him
to leave home.
Ward Cleaver, are you gonna
get that car out and go
and look for Beaver?
No, I'm not.
Very well.
Where are you going?
If you won't get the car out, I will.
All right. All right. All right.
I still think I'm right about this.
But if you insist on undermining
my authority, go ahead.
Right now,
I don't care about authority.
All I care about is my baby.
[Sighs]
I know he's out there
somewhere, cold and hungry.
It was very nice of you, Mrs. Mondello,
to invite me to have supper with you.
You're welcome, Beaver.
We were surprised
to see you though.
It's okay, Mom. I eat a lot of junk
over at his house.
I'm sorry to hear your aunt
was taken ill so suddenly.
Oh, yeah. My whole family
had to go see her in the hospital.
That's why they told me
to come over here
and get invited for supper.
They didn't take me with 'em 'cause
I might catch stuff in the hospital.
We were waiting supper for Mr. Mondello,
but he's working late.
Mom, can I have Pop's dessert?
Oh, I guess so.
You'd better leave room for it though.
[Chuckles]
Beaver, your aunt's not sick, is she?
Uh—uh. I run away.
Your father saw
the drill holes, huh?
He sure did.
He blamed me for 'em.
Did you squeal on me?
Yeah, I squealed on ya,
but he still blamed me.
Oh.
I might try runnin' away sometime.
Did your father try to stop you?
Nobody tried to stop me,
and I don't know what to do now.
Hey, you could stay here.
For always?
Well, I don't know if we got
enough clean sheets for always.
[Car Door Closes]
That you, dear?
Yes, it is.
Oh, Ward. We've been up and down
every block in this neighborhood,
and Beaver's nowhere around.
Yeah, Dad. I think we oughta call the police.
So do I.
All right, now let's all calm down.
The thing to do is to make
some phone calls first,
see if anyone's seen him.
Maybe he went over
to Larry Mondello's.
They're the ones
that drilled the hole together.
If he went way over there,
he's certainly going to be punished.
Oh, Ward, let's find him first.
All right.
Of course, if he isn't over there,
he could've hitched a ride
on a truck or somethin'.
Hello. Oh, Mrs. Mondello,
this is Ward Cleaver,
Theodore Cleaver's father.
Yes— He what?
Is he there?
Oh, he just finished his supper, huh?
Oh.
Oh, yes,I see.
Uh—huh. Yes, well, thank you
very much, Mrs. Mondello. I—
Oh, yes. I'm sure Mrs. Cleaver's sister
will be quite all right.
thank you. Good—bye.
Gee, I'm glad
we found him, Dad.
What was that about my sister?
Well, it seems the Beaver
made up a big fat story about
your sister being in the hospital...
and us sending him over
to the Mondellos' for supper.
How do you like that kid?
We're here worrying our heads off,
and he's over there calmly
enjoying his supper.
I don't care where he is,
as long as he's all right.
Come on. Let's go get him.
No. I still think we should wait
till he comes home of his own accord.
Ward, I think you're being very unfair.
What's unfair?
Did I bore holes in the garage wall?
Did—Did I up—upset a household...
while I went and enjoyed a party
with a friend?
Never mind.
I'll go and get him myself.
All right, if you want to spoil him
and give in to him, make a baby
out of him.
That's exactly what I wanna do.
[Sighs]
Uh, Dad, if I say something,
you won't get mad at me, will ya?
I don't know, Wally.
What is it?
It's about the Beaver runnin' away.
Well, I know he was bluffin'
and everything,
but, when you let him go,
what else could he do?
What else could I do?
I couldn't run after him,
beg him to come back, let him win.
Gee, Dad, I don't think he wants to win.
I just think he wants
to be able to come back
without lookin' like a creep.
Hi, Dad.
Hello, Beaver.
I'm home.
Yeah. Did you have a nice time
at the Mondellos'?
Su—Sure, Dad.
Enjoy your supper?
Yeah. We had a loaf of meat.
Beaver, you must be rather tired.
Suppose we go on upstairs to bed.
Dad?
Yes, Beaver?
I’m sorry I ran away.
I'm sorry too.
You shouldn't have done that.
Mom said, when you were a kid,
you ran away once.
Your, uh, mother told you that?
Yeah.
How did you feel when your father
didn't come after you?
Well, I... felt pretty bad.
Then how come you didn't
come after me?
Uh—
I guess I made a mistake, Beaver.
I guess I was so anxious
to be right that I—
I kinda forgot what it felt like
when I was a little boy.
Good night, Dad.
Good night, Beaver.
Good night, Beaver.
Good night, Mom.
[Footsteps Going Up Stairs]
[Door Closes]
June, you didn't tell the Mondellos
the real story, did you?
No, I guess I didn’t.
I kinda knew that's what you'd do.
And I kinda knew this is what you'd do.
All right, Ward, I'll tell 'em.
Boys.
[Footsteps Running Down Stairs]
Yeah, Mom?
Yeah, Mom?
Your father wants you.
He's out in the garage.
[Together] Okay, Mom.
I think he's doin' some work out there.
Whew.
You wanna see us, Dad?
Oh, yeah.
Boy, Dad, it sure is neat the way
you took the holes out of the wall.
Something over there
on the bench, fellas.
Hey, look, you got yourself
a lot of new tools.
No, boys.
Uh, these are yours.
Ours, Dad?
Boy!
Yeah. I got to thinking.
I realized you were always
out here watching me...
when I worked with tools,
and that it must be kinda hard
to always watch and never touch.
Yeah, Dad.
We always like to do what you do.
Well, now you've got
some tools of your own.
Hey, Dad. Now if the Beaver
wants to drill holes in the wall,
he can use his own stuff.
[All Laughing]
Yes, it is.
Oh, Ward. We've been up and down
every block in this neighborhood,
and Beaver's nowhere around.
Yeah, Dad. I think
we oughta call the police.
So do I.
All right, now let's all calm down.
The thing to do is to make
some phone calls first,
see if anyone's seen him.
[Announcer]
Leave It To Beaver.
Starring Barbara Billingsley,
Hugh Beaumont, Tony Dow...
And Jerry Mathers as the Beaver.
[Phone Rings]
Hello? Oh, hello, Larry.
Beaver? He's down in the garage
with his father and Wally.
They're building a table
to play checkers on.
All right, Larry. I'll tell Beaver
you're on your way over. Bye.
Of course, dear.
You can stay for lunch. Bye.
Tuna fish, dear.
Good—bye.
[Whirring]
Boy, Dad, that drill sure is
a neat wood—eater, isn't it?
It sure is, Beave.
Wally, I think we're all ready
to put it together.
Did you find those clamps?
Well, only one, Dad.
I think I loaned 'em to Eddie Haskell
when he was building a birdhouse,
and he lost 'em.
I thought we agreed you weren't
going to lend my tools anymore.
Well, Eddie came over and—
Well, he started whining around,
and, well, I didn't think
it would hurt just this once.
When you say something,
you mustn't back down, Wally.
You gotta stick to it, right, Beave?
I don't know.
Eddie's Wally's friend.
Yeah. Well, guess we'd better
go down to the hardware store
and get some clamps.
Where are you going?
Down to the store.
Yeah, Mom. We're gonna
buy some stuff that Eddie lost.
Beaver, you'd better stay here.
Larry Mondello's on his way over.
Okay, Mom.
[Engine Starts]
Oh, get another loaf of bread.
Larry's gonna be here for lunch.
[Horn Honks]
[Imitating Airplane]
[Imitating Whirring]
Hi, Beave.
Hi, Larry.
[Imitating Whirring]
— Whatcha doin', Beaver?
— I'm pretendin' I'm drillin' holes.
[Imitating Whirring]
Is that any fun?
I don't know.
I just started.
[Imitating Whirring]
Hey, Beaver.
Here's an old piece of wood.
Let's drill a real hole.
No.
My dad told me not to never
touch his tools.
Gee, if you did everything
your father tells ya,
you'd never have any fun.
But it's no fun havin' fun
when you get in trouble.
How can you get in trouble
drillin' a little old hole?
You plug it in, and I'll drill a hole
If you're “a—scared.”
I'm not a—scared.
Then plug it in.
Okay.
There!
You hold the wood,
and I'll drill a hole.
You gotta hold it against somethin'.
Hold it here.
[Whirring]
Boy, that's neat.
Let's see what they look like.
Look, Beave.
It went right through the wood.
Uh—oh. It went
right through the garage too.
Boy, my father's gonna be real mad
when he sees it.
When will your father be back?
Right away.
He just went to the store.
I think I gotta go, Beaver.
You wanna come, Beaver?
No. I think I better be here
when he gets back.
I don't know, Beaver.
He's gonna be awful mad
when he first sees that.
Maybe I'd better come with you
and come back after he's used to 'em.
Yeah. Come on.
Now, we've got our clamps.
If you didn't give Eddie the glue,
we can finish this up.
The glue's back there
in the corner, Wally.
Hey, Dad.
I thought you unplugged this.
Oh, I did. I wouldn't leave
a drill plugged in.
Well, gee, maybe you forget things,
too, sometimes, huh?
[Chuckles]
Yeah. Maybe.
Well, uh, get that glue
opened up, Wally.
What's the matter?
That's what's the matter.
Wow.
Hey, look. You can see
right into the house.
Yeah.
Oh, hi, Mom.
Hi. Honey, you want
your lunch now?
In a minute. Where's the Beaver?
He went over to Larry Mondello's to play.
0h, he did huh? Look.
Beaver?
Beaver. I've told him a thousand times
not to touch my power tools.
Yet the minute my back's turned,
he—he drills holes in the garage wall.
Well, maybe it was an accident.
Twice?
— Boy, I wanna be here
when he gets home.
— Never mind, Wally.
We have tuna fish.
Well, that helps.
Come on.
Uh, hello, Mom.
Hello, Beaver.
You're late.
It's almost suppertime.
I know. I was out playin'.
Where's Dad?
In the living room.
Did he see the holes in the garage yet?
Yes, he did.
Then I guess I'd better go out
and play some more.
Now, Beaver, you know
you have to go in there
to your father...
and explain to him
what happened.
Well, couldn't I explain to you,
and you could 'splain to him?
I'm afraid not.
Now, look, you're
not helping anything
by putting things off.
Now, Beaver, you know your father's
going to be perfectly fair.
I know.
That's what I'm a—scared of.
[Sniffles]
Dad?
Yes, Beaver?
I guess you wanna know
how the holes got in the garage.
I certainly do.
Well, uh—
Well, they got there, but, uh—
Oh, I didn't make 'em.
You didn't make them.
No. Larry made them.
I was makin' noises with the drill,
and Larry came in.
And he said let's make a real hole,
and I held the board against the wall.
And the next thing I knew,
he made 'em.
But you were a party to it.
No, sir. I just held the board.
Beaver, you knew what Larry
was doing was wrong.
You could've stopped him.
Well, gee, Dad, I have enough trouble
keeping myself good...
without keeping
all the other kids good.
You know how I feel
about this, Beaver?
I feel that you're more to blame
than Larry.
Because I've told you time after time
never to touch my tools.
But, Dad, Larry was the one that—
What you did shows that you have
very little respect for what I tell you...
and no pride
for the home you live in.
But, gee, Dad, I didn't mean it to happen.
It just happened.
Beaver, I try very hard
to provide a nice home for you.
I try to do the right thing
for all of us, don't I?
Yes, sir. But, Dad, Larry—
All right. I also make certain rules,
and if you don't obey them,
you and I are going to have
nothing but trouble around here.
Yes, sir.
Where are you going?
I'm going away.
So you won't never not be troubled
with me hanging around here again!
Beaver, are you threatening me?
No, sir!
I'm just going away!
[Footsteps Running Up Stairs]
Now, Beaver—
Where's he going?
Well, he's going away.
So we'll never not be
troubled with him
hanging around here again.
Oh, Ward.
Now, there's nothing
to worry about.
When I was his age,
I was always threatening
to run away from home.
Yes, but you weren't a little boy
like the Beaver.
June, what do you think I was,
a kangaroo?
Ward?
Huh?
Did you ever really
run away from home?
Yeah, once.
My father let me go too.
I was back in about half an hour
and never did it again.
Hmm. It certainly
taught me a lesson.
Hey, Beaver, are you really
gonna run away from home?
No foolin'?
Yeah. Dad said
this was his house,
and he didn't want me
hangin' around here
makin' trouble for him.
Aw, he didn't mean it.
Then why'd he say it?
Well, that's the way parents are.
They're always sayin'
mean things like that so,
well, you'll be too scared
to do somethin' wrong.
— They don't really mean it.
— I don't care.
Larry drilled the holes,
and Dad said it was
more my fault than his.
That's bein' too mean.
Where are you
gonna run away to?
I don't know.
I might run away
and join some pirates...
and come back
with a wooden leg.
Mom and Dad wouldn't
even recognize me.
Aw, cut it out, Beaver.
They don't have pirates anymore.
Well, then I might run away...
and be a tramp, all by myself,
and eat all my food
outta tin cans.
— What are you takin' these for?
— In case I might meet up
with some other tramps.
We might play marbles.
Ward, will you call the boys?
Supper's ready.
All right, dear.
Wally. Beaver.
Supper.
Where's the Beave?
Uh, he's comin' down, Dad.
Listen, Wally, I want—
[Footsteps Coming Down Stairs]
He's runnin' away, Dad.
Uh—huh. Well, you'd better
go on in to supper, Wally.
Yes, sir.
I'll see ya, Beave.
See ya, Wally.
So you're, uh—
You're leaving home, huh?
Yes, sir. And I'm not
never comin' back.
— Well, don't you wanna talk it over?
— No, sir.
Well, good—bye.
Good—bye.
— Well, I'm really goin'.
— So you said.
I, uh, don't suppose you'd want
to have your supper first.
No. I'm goin' right now.
Well, all right then.
Good—bye.
I'll tell your mother you've gone.
Thank you.
Well, good—bye.
Good—bye.
Ward, Wally just told me.
What's this all about the Beaver?
Oh, he just ran away from home.
Oh, Ward, let's go get him.
No. No, that's exactly what
he wants us to do.
But he might mean it.
There's nothing to worry about.
He'll walk around the block once,
and he'll be back by the time
we finish our soup.
Did he really go?
Yes, he did.
Hey, Dad, he said he was
gonna join the pirates
and come back with a wooden leg.
[Laughing]
Ward Cleaver, if he does,
I'll never speak to you again.
[Thinking]
I'm sorry, Dad,
but I'm not comin' back.
You can beg me all you want,
but I'm not.
You can promise me
all the ice cream in the world...
and my own television set...
and even if I could stay up till 10:00
for the rest of my life,
I'm not comin' home.
but you shouldn ’t have been
so mean to me.
I'm not comin' back never.
Okay, I'm goin'.
I, uh—I guess these
go up here, huh?
Oh, should I put the butter
in the refrigerator?
Look, June, if I gave in to his threats,
how would I have any control
over him in the future?
It's not that I don't love him,
but if I let him get away with this,
he'll pull the same thing every time
he does something wrong.
[Whistling]
What's that?
I don't know.
It's probably Wally.
He wanted to go outside
and look around.
Gee, Dad, he's nowhere around.
I think he really ran away.
Oh, Wally—
Ward Cleaver, you never should
have let him go out that door
in the first place.
Listen, June—
Yeah, Dad.
I think Mom's right.
All right, Wally. You're probably
going to have children
of your own someday.
Now,just how would you
have handled this situation?
Well, I probably would've
socked him one instead of
telling him to leave home.
Yeah—I did not tell him
to leave home.
Ward Cleaver, are you gonna
get that car out and go
and look for Beaver?
No, I'm not.
Very well.
Where are you going?
If you won't get the car out, I will.
All right. All right. All right.
I still think I'm right about this.
But if you insist on undermining
my authority, go ahead.
Right now,
I don't care about authority.
All I care about is my baby.
[Sighs]
I know he's out there
somewhere, cold and hungry.
It was very nice of you, Mrs. Mondello,
to invite me to have supper with you.
You're welcome, Beaver.
We were surprised
to see you though.
It's okay, Mom. I eat a lot of junk
over at his house.
I'm sorry to hear your aunt
was taken ill so suddenly.
Oh, yeah. My whole family
had to go see her in the hospital.
That's why they told me
to come over here
and get invited for supper.
They didn't take me with 'em 'cause
I might catch stuff in the hospital.
We were waiting supper for Mr. Mondello,
but he's working late.
Mom, can I have Pop's dessert?
Oh, I guess so.
You'd better leave room for it though.
[Chuckles]
Beaver, your aunt's not sick, is she?
Uh—uh. I run away.
Your father saw
the drill holes, huh?
He sure did.
He blamed me for 'em.
Did you squeal on me?
Yeah, I squealed on ya,
but he still blamed me.
Oh.
I might try runnin' away sometime.
Did your father try to stop you?
Nobody tried to stop me,
and I don't know what to do now.
Hey, you could stay here.
For always?
Well, I don't know if we got
enough clean sheets for always.
[Car Door Closes]
That you, dear?
Yes, it is.
Oh, Ward. We've been up and down
every block in this neighborhood,
and Beaver's nowhere around.
Yeah, Dad. I think we oughta call the police.
So do I.
All right, now let's all calm down.
The thing to do is to make
some phone calls first,
see if anyone's seen him.
Maybe he went over
to Larry Mondello's.
They're the ones
that drilled the hole together.
If he went way over there,
he's certainly going to be punished.
Oh, Ward, let's find him first.
All right.
Of course, if he isn't over there,
he could've hitched a ride
on a truck or somethin'.
Hello. Oh, Mrs. Mondello,
this is Ward Cleaver,
Theodore Cleaver's father.
Yes— He what?
Is he there?
Oh, he just finished his supper, huh?
Oh.
Oh, yes,I see.
Uh—huh. Yes, well, thank you
very much, Mrs. Mondello. I—
Oh, yes. I'm sure Mrs. Cleaver's sister
will be quite all right.
thank you. Good—bye.
Gee, I'm glad
we found him, Dad.
What was that about my sister?
Well, it seems the Beaver
made up a big fat story about
your sister being in the hospital...
and us sending him over
to the Mondellos' for supper.
How do you like that kid?
We're here worrying our heads off,
and he's over there calmly
enjoying his supper.
I don't care where he is,
as long as he's all right.
Come on. Let's go get him.
No. I still think we should wait
till he comes home of his own accord.
Ward, I think you're being very unfair.
What's unfair?
Did I bore holes in the garage wall?
Did—Did I up—upset a household...
while I went and enjoyed a party
with a friend?
Never mind.
I'll go and get him myself.
All right, if you want to spoil him
and give in to him, make a baby
out of him.
That's exactly what I wanna do.
[Sighs]
Uh, Dad, if I say something,
you won't get mad at me, will ya?
I don't know, Wally.
What is it?
It's about the Beaver runnin' away.
Well, I know he was bluffin'
and everything,
but, when you let him go,
what else could he do?
What else could I do?
I couldn't run after him,
beg him to come back, let him win.
Gee, Dad, I don't think he wants to win.
I just think he wants
to be able to come back
without lookin' like a creep.
Hi, Dad.
Hello, Beaver.
I'm home.
Yeah. Did you have a nice time
at the Mondellos'?
Su—Sure, Dad.
Enjoy your supper?
Yeah. We had a loaf of meat.
Beaver, you must be rather tired.
Suppose we go on upstairs to bed.
Dad?
Yes, Beaver?
I’m sorry I ran away.
I'm sorry too.
You shouldn't have done that.
Mom said, when you were a kid,
you ran away once.
Your, uh, mother told you that?
Yeah.
How did you feel when your father
didn't come after you?
Well, I... felt pretty bad.
Then how come you didn't
come after me?
Uh—
I guess I made a mistake, Beaver.
I guess I was so anxious
to be right that I—
I kinda forgot what it felt like
when I was a little boy.
Good night, Dad.
Good night, Beaver.
Good night, Beaver.
Good night, Mom.
[Footsteps Going Up Stairs]
[Door Closes]
June, you didn't tell the Mondellos
the real story, did you?
No, I guess I didn’t.
I kinda knew that's what you'd do.
And I kinda knew this is what you'd do.
All right, Ward, I'll tell 'em.
Boys.
[Footsteps Running Down Stairs]
Yeah, Mom?
Yeah, Mom?
Your father wants you.
He's out in the garage.
[Together] Okay, Mom.
I think he's doin' some work out there.
Whew.
You wanna see us, Dad?
Oh, yeah.
Boy, Dad, it sure is neat the way
you took the holes out of the wall.
Something over there
on the bench, fellas.
Hey, look, you got yourself
a lot of new tools.
No, boys.
Uh, these are yours.
Ours, Dad?
Boy!
Yeah. I got to thinking.
I realized you were always
out here watching me...
when I worked with tools,
and that it must be kinda hard
to always watch and never touch.
Yeah, Dad.
We always like to do what you do.
Well, now you've got
some tools of your own.
Hey, Dad. Now if the Beaver
wants to drill holes in the wall,
he can use his own stuff.
[All Laughing]