Season Four

Laura's dog Jack dies, and Charles buys her a new dog, Bandit to ease her loneliness. Bandit follows her everywhere, but Laura resents the dog as she feels she cannot love any other dog than Jack. One day Laura visits with Aunt Kezia who lives on the outskirts of town and always feels lonesome because most of the adults in town don't seem to want to be friends with her. It is then that Laura realizes that she actually loves Bandit. After that, they become good friends.

Charles and Mary are at first thrilled when they get ready to take their first trip to Chicago. They soon learn what big city life is like. They end up being more than happy when they return home.

69. MY ELLEN September 26, 1977

Laura and Mary convince Ellen's mom to let Ellen come and swim with them. While they are swimming, a couple of boys come to get a "better look." When the girls realize the boys are there, they duck under the water. Ellen never resurfaces. Laura brings Ellen's mother, Eloise, flowers one day to try and cheer her up. Eloise, still in denial about the death of Ellen, believes that Laura is actually Ellen. So she takes her in and locks her in the basement for days, pretending that Laura is Ellen, such as making her call her "ma". Laura is found when Eloise is in town looking for a birthday present for Ellen.

70. THE HANDYMAN October 3, 1977

As Charles is working on the addition to the house he is called away to make an emergency delivery to Mancato, causing him to leave the house with a hole. Caroline hires an attractive young gentleman Chris Nelson to finish the house. Mary becomes suspicious of the gentleman when she finds him wearing Charles shirt, and when she sees him grab her ma. The grab was actually to keep Caroline from falling in the water. Mary and Caroline have a huge fight and the mess is straightened out. Chris leaves when he realizes the trouble he has caused, but Mary tells him to stay. By the time Charles returns they are great friends.

71. THE WOLVES October 17, 1977

While Charles and Caroline are away, Laura and her friend Andy find baby wolves near their tree house. They set up a pen for them in the Ingalls barn. While feeding them one afternoon , the barn is surrounded by several wild dogs. They try very hard to get into the barn. When Laura's dog, who had been bitten by a wild dog, shows up at the Garveys, Mr. Garvey rides out to the Ingalls' home. Andy's father and a few other men are able to shoot the dogs.

72. THE CREEPER OF WALNUT GROVE October 24, 1977

A series of petty thefts has the citizens of Walnut Grove mystified. When Laura and her friend Andy Garvey turn into amateur super-sleuths to track down the culprit, their imaginative detective tactics sorely try the patience of several townspeople - including Laura's father.

73. TO RUN AND HIDE October 31, 1977

When Doc Baker is unable to save a patient of his, he believes that he is unhappy being a doctor. He finds a new doctor for the town. Doc Baker stays on when he realizes that the new doctor really doesn't care about his patients.

74. THE AFTERMATH November 7, 1977

The infamous and notoriously dangerous Jesse James and his brother Frank hide out in Walnut Grove disguised as wealthy businessmen. None of the townspeople suspects the newcomers' true identity until a posse of bounty hunters rides into town, and the desperate outlaws take hostages to effect their escape. The outlaws realize they made a big mistake in who they had taken as hostages. Eventually they release the hostages.

75. THE HIGH PRICE OF BEING RIGHT November 14, 1977

After Mr. Garvey's barn burns to the ground with the crops inside, his wife, Alice, takes a job at the post office. Mr. Garvey opposes this believing that a man should be able to support his family. He is ready to get a divorce until he realizes what his stubborn pride was doing to his family.

76. THE FIGHTER November 21, 1977 (Ninety Minute Episode)

People in Walnut Grove are betting on a big boxing match in town. Mr. Ingalls does not know that he will be fighting an extremely sick person. That's why Charles is surprised in the ring when he is able to defeat his opponent so quickly. After his opponent collapses, he is brought to Doc Baker. Doc Baker is able to save him but warns him that he needs to stop fighting.

77. MEET ME AT THE FAIR November 28, 1977

The Ingalls travel to the annual fair. When Carrie gets tired, she climbs into the basket of a hot-air balloon. When the hot-air balloon is set free to the sky by Mary's spiteful suitor, the adventure begins as everybody has to catch the balloon that has Carrie inside.

78. HERE COME THE BRIDES December 5, 1977

Adam Simms and his son Luke move into town. Adam falls in love with Miss Beadle, while Luke and Nellie Oleson fall for each other. After Miss Beadle talks to Nellie about love and marriage, Nellie and Luke decide to get married. Mr. and Mrs. Oleson arrive to end the marriage of Luke and Nellie. Adam and Miss Beadle get married in the church that night instead.

79. FREEDOM FLIGHT December 12, 1977

An American Indian boy arrives in Walnut Grove seeking medical attention for his ill father. When the townspeople become hostile, Charles helps the small band of peaceful Indians escape.

80. THE RIVALS January 9, 1978

Charles and Laura must each deal with a competitor, he for the welfare of his business, and she for the love of a boy, Jimmy Hill who is her fishing partner.

81. WHISPER COUNTRY January 16, 1978

Mary takes a teaching position in a backwoods community, but find the leader of the community, Miss Peal, against her and her teaching. She convinces the other people in the community that school isn't needed. Everyone in the community soon learns that Miss Peal can't read when Mary asks her to read a passage from the Bible. The community, including Miss Peal, then become more receptive to the school.

82. I REMEMBER, I REMEMBER January 23, 1978

Mr. Ingalls is severely delayed when a wheel breaks on his wagon in the pouring rain. This is the day of Charles and Caroline's wedding anniversary. Everything had been all prepared and set up for that day. When Charles doesn't show up in time, Caroline tells the children how hard it was to get Charles to notice her and how many heartbreaks she had before she finally knew that Charles loved her.

Guest stars: Matthew Laborteaux as young Charles Ingalls

83. BE MY FRIEND January 30, 1978 (Ninety minute episode)

When Laura is playing along a creek, she finds a bottle with a note in it. The note read, "Be my friend." Each day she finds more notes soon Laura convinces Pa to help her look for the person who sent the note. They end up finding a baby. Charles then searches for the parents of the child. The baby belongs to teen parents. The reason the mother left the baby for the Ingalls to find was because her dad was opposed to her being with the guy she conceived the child with. When Charles finds the young girl, her father starts a fight, which results in the house being set ablaze. The mother gets her baby from Laura, and the parents decide to start over.

84. THE INHERITANCE February 6, 1978

Friends and neighbors advise Charles on how to spend an inheritance he has received from a wealthy relative. But Charles faces the loss of the farm when he spends the money prematurely, as the money turns out to be confederate money.

85. THE STRANGER February 20, 1978

Mrs. Oleson's wealthy but unloved nephew is sent to Walnut Grove to develop a sense of values after being expelled from school. He then learns about love from the Ingalls family, as he works for Charles to earn money to replace the window he broke at the mercantile.

86. A MOST PRECIOUS GIFT Feb 27, 1978

When Caroline is pregnant, she sees a fortune teller who reveals the baby she is carrying is indeed a boy. She drives Charles crazy by constantly referring to the bay as 'he'. When Caroline gives birth much sooner than expected, Charles is forced to take on the roll of midwife. All is forgotten about the baby being a 'he' when Grace, a beautiful baby girl, is born.

87. I'LL BE WAVING AS YOU DRIVE AWAY (Part One) March 6, 1978

Mary falls in love with Seth. When Mary's eyesight starts to get worse, Charles takes her to a specialist. He is devastated when the specialist tells him that Mary will lose her sight. Charles is unable to tell Mary for a while that she is going blind. When Mary does go blind, the whole family suffers.

88. I'LL BE WAVING AS YOU DRIVE AWAY March 13, 1978

Mary becomes increasingly bitter because of her frustration over her blindness. Charles and Caroline sign Mary up for the blind school in Iowa. At first, Mary is very reluctant to learn anything at the school. However, after being with her teacher, Adam Kendall, for a while, she turns her outlook on life around. Mary is such a great student that Adam asks her to help her teach at a blind school with him. Adam and Mary fall in love.