This is a solid episode....that is highlighted with the return of E. Sprague for a small appearance at the end. Laura finds out that all the riches in the world, doesn't add up to the most important thing.....LOVE. The dream sequences are quite hilarious and clever. Overall, a nice episode with a valuable lesson
Little House on the Prairie (TV Series)
At the End of the Rainbow (1975)
User Reviews
Review this title5 Reviews
Gold in Them Thar Streams!
ExplorerDS67895 April 2012
Warning: Spoilers
The day started off with Willie and a new boy, Jonah, wrestling over a nickel they found in the dirt. Turns out it actually belonged to Mary, who had carelessly dropped it. This lead to Miss Beadle teaching the class about Sutters' Mill and the big Gold Rush, which fascinated Laura and Mary. After that, Laura took her new friend Jonah fishing, and after a few hours without a bite, Jonah finally got one, but that wily fish got away, so Laura jumped into the water after it (I'm serious), and while she didn't get the fish, she spotted a shiny, sparkling golden substance covering the riverbed. Could it be gold dust? Laura swore her friend to secrecy. Nobody else must know about their discovery, lest they start another Gold Rush. But then she stays up late reading about it in her history book, particularly the part about mining gold. Way to keep it subtle, Laura. But finally, at Mary's insistence, Laura puts away the book and falls asleep, and then the gold fantasies commenced: she dreamed that she and Mary were escorted to school in a shiny, new coach as Nellie and Willie, dressed in rags, looked on. Laura brought Miss Beadle a basket of apples, which contrasted to Nellie's meager, wormy apple. Laura thought it was hysterical and woke up laughing. Nothing like using riches for revenge!
The next day, after keeping their discovery a secret, while baffling everyone around them, Laura ad Jonah returned to the creek to start panning for riches, however it didn't work quite like they'd planned. Jonah thought a screen would work, so he stole the Olesons' screen door and he and Laura gave it another go the next day after school. And guess what? The two little Oleson monsters tailed them to the creek, despite their best efforts to shake them. Thankfully, Nellie and Willie never caught on when they just saw Laura and Jonah fishing. That night, Laura had another gold fantasy: we see Lord and Lady Ingalls, accompanied by their lovely daughters Marilyn, Laura and Caroline Jr., having just bought out the mercantile, and allowing paupers Nels and Harriet to load up their limousine carriage for them. Nellie and Willie brought the candy, and Laura ate it right in front of them. Back to reality, paranoia began setting in as Laura lashed out at Jonah for hiding the gold in another place without telling her first...neither of them have a freakin' phone after all. After that, Laura watched Charles make a new sign for Hanson's Mill, and imagined that it was Ingalls' Mill. Yep, they bought the mill and forced Mr. Hanson into abject poverty, or made him very rich. But why stop there? Ingalls' Mercantile, Ingalls' Bank, Ingalls freakin' Grove! Plus, they live in Sleeping Beauty's castle. Anyway, Laura and Jonah decided it was too risky to continue hiding their gold, so after Jonah returned the Olesons' screen door, which Nellie ends up walking through, they wheeled their sacks of gold over to Sprague at the bank. He immediately identified it as iron pyrite, or fools' gold, which isn't worth jack. Charles heard what happened from Sprague and went to console Laura down by the creek. He made her see that they've already got what counts and no amount of gold could buy that, so everything worked out and they never discussed this whole ordeal ever again.
Worth its weight in gold is how I'd describe this episode. It was a nice break from the usual drama and introduced a fun plot line. How many of us have been in Laura and Jonah's shoes, thinking we've struck it rich only to find we'd been played for fools. That's what iron pyrite is: nature's practical joke on us. She thinks she's so funny. As for performances, Melissa Gilbert and Shane Sinutko were very good, and I believe this was the last we'll see of Jonah. Arthur Heinemann wrote another winner and Michael Landon directed it very well. If you like gold-themed Little House episodes, I'd also recommend Gold Country at the end of Season 3, which is a bit more dramatic as the adults get in on the action. Check out At the End of the Rainbow, 24 karat entertainment.
The next day, after keeping their discovery a secret, while baffling everyone around them, Laura ad Jonah returned to the creek to start panning for riches, however it didn't work quite like they'd planned. Jonah thought a screen would work, so he stole the Olesons' screen door and he and Laura gave it another go the next day after school. And guess what? The two little Oleson monsters tailed them to the creek, despite their best efforts to shake them. Thankfully, Nellie and Willie never caught on when they just saw Laura and Jonah fishing. That night, Laura had another gold fantasy: we see Lord and Lady Ingalls, accompanied by their lovely daughters Marilyn, Laura and Caroline Jr., having just bought out the mercantile, and allowing paupers Nels and Harriet to load up their limousine carriage for them. Nellie and Willie brought the candy, and Laura ate it right in front of them. Back to reality, paranoia began setting in as Laura lashed out at Jonah for hiding the gold in another place without telling her first...neither of them have a freakin' phone after all. After that, Laura watched Charles make a new sign for Hanson's Mill, and imagined that it was Ingalls' Mill. Yep, they bought the mill and forced Mr. Hanson into abject poverty, or made him very rich. But why stop there? Ingalls' Mercantile, Ingalls' Bank, Ingalls freakin' Grove! Plus, they live in Sleeping Beauty's castle. Anyway, Laura and Jonah decided it was too risky to continue hiding their gold, so after Jonah returned the Olesons' screen door, which Nellie ends up walking through, they wheeled their sacks of gold over to Sprague at the bank. He immediately identified it as iron pyrite, or fools' gold, which isn't worth jack. Charles heard what happened from Sprague and went to console Laura down by the creek. He made her see that they've already got what counts and no amount of gold could buy that, so everything worked out and they never discussed this whole ordeal ever again.
Worth its weight in gold is how I'd describe this episode. It was a nice break from the usual drama and introduced a fun plot line. How many of us have been in Laura and Jonah's shoes, thinking we've struck it rich only to find we'd been played for fools. That's what iron pyrite is: nature's practical joke on us. She thinks she's so funny. As for performances, Melissa Gilbert and Shane Sinutko were very good, and I believe this was the last we'll see of Jonah. Arthur Heinemann wrote another winner and Michael Landon directed it very well. If you like gold-themed Little House episodes, I'd also recommend Gold Country at the end of Season 3, which is a bit more dramatic as the adults get in on the action. Check out At the End of the Rainbow, 24 karat entertainment.
A lot of ado over five cents!
mitchrmp9 March 2013
Warning: Spoilers
The whole thing starts with a nickle. That leads to Miss Beatle telling the story of Sutter's Mill. While fishing with her friend, Laura discovers gold. She and Noah proceed to learn h ow to pan for gold so they can surprise their families.
That night, Laura has the first of three visions. In it, she and Mary are filthy witch. They give Miss Beatle a whole basket full of red, juicy apples. A poverty stricken Nellie and Willie give her a rotten apple. Unfortunately, Mary wakes Laura up because she was laughing in her sleep!
The children soon run into a problem, though when the panning doesn't work. Instead, they use a screen. And where did they get a screen? Well...you'll have to watch it and see! Now, how it worked I'm a bit unsure about...
Nellie is of course not happy that Laura and Noah are trying to keep a secret from them. Nellie does everything she can to figure out what they are doing! Laura is finally able to throw her off their trail.
One evening when Charles started playing his fiddle, Laura has her second vision. In this one, she imagines her parents dressed all up fancy and sparkling with richness. As they walk toward their adorned buggy, the Olsen's come out dressed like hillbillies, along with the children, and they are carrying what is left of the provisions of their store. Laura obviously enjoys seeing that they've left the entire Olsen family in rags, and I suppose she will be eating all the candy she can get her hands on!
One more vision happens in the barn as she watches Charles pain a sign. She sees a series of signs. Ingalls Mill Office, Ingalls Mercantile, Ingalls Bank, and of course my personal favorite: Welcome to Ingalls Grove! The who town practically shines in gold. And of course, she rides off to a castle that looks a lot like Walt Disney's Castle (and they thought Walt Disney had the vision first...)
But in the end, you can't help feeling sad for Laura as she learns the truth about the "gold" they are collecting. There's a hard lesson learned. Pa helps his little girl face yet another reality of life.
That night, Laura has the first of three visions. In it, she and Mary are filthy witch. They give Miss Beatle a whole basket full of red, juicy apples. A poverty stricken Nellie and Willie give her a rotten apple. Unfortunately, Mary wakes Laura up because she was laughing in her sleep!
The children soon run into a problem, though when the panning doesn't work. Instead, they use a screen. And where did they get a screen? Well...you'll have to watch it and see! Now, how it worked I'm a bit unsure about...
Nellie is of course not happy that Laura and Noah are trying to keep a secret from them. Nellie does everything she can to figure out what they are doing! Laura is finally able to throw her off their trail.
One evening when Charles started playing his fiddle, Laura has her second vision. In this one, she imagines her parents dressed all up fancy and sparkling with richness. As they walk toward their adorned buggy, the Olsen's come out dressed like hillbillies, along with the children, and they are carrying what is left of the provisions of their store. Laura obviously enjoys seeing that they've left the entire Olsen family in rags, and I suppose she will be eating all the candy she can get her hands on!
One more vision happens in the barn as she watches Charles pain a sign. She sees a series of signs. Ingalls Mill Office, Ingalls Mercantile, Ingalls Bank, and of course my personal favorite: Welcome to Ingalls Grove! The who town practically shines in gold. And of course, she rides off to a castle that looks a lot like Walt Disney's Castle (and they thought Walt Disney had the vision first...)
But in the end, you can't help feeling sad for Laura as she learns the truth about the "gold" they are collecting. There's a hard lesson learned. Pa helps his little girl face yet another reality of life.
seeing is believing
RedRainbowUnicorn232 October 2015
Oh what a great mind a kid have. Laura and her friend Jonah learned about sutters mill(hope I typed that correctly). The evening she and Jonah went fishing and what do they find. GOLD or so they thought.They start to collect it and they just think of what they are going to buy with it all.This is also the start of many episodes with futures Luara's funny and hilarious dreams. The funny dreams that she have is what makes this episode for me.. While this episode is not on my favorite list I still like to watch it.. And the memorable line.. Nellie :"we have to follow them" Willie :"why their just going into the school house?" Nellie :"after school stupid. Hilerious.
very poor argument
drfernandogil18 February 2024
Warning: Spoilers
This chapter shows a totally poor plot: Laura and a little friend on duty confuse gold with a worthless mental, and spend the series thinking what they will do with that money, until Mr. Sprague has the opportunity to open their eyes and take their zero illusions... In reality, the little girl Ingalls in her dreams showed quite a bit of resentment and hatred towards the Olesons, that didn't seem good to me at all. Well, very little to rescue, except that Mary looks beautiful dressed as a princess, of course that only happened in Laura's perverse dreams. This chapter leaves no teaching. Very poor argument.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
