10 Stars for originality.
It's time to do some cleaning and June finds a box of Ward's old stuff, including a pedometer he used as a boy to measure how much he walked a day. This new gadget sparks Beave's enthusiasm, especially with Ward's "inflated" story of having walked 20 miles a day.
Now to the good part. Beave brings the thing to school, kind of a "show and brag..." and with a little elbowing from Larry, he makes a bet with Whitey (for his baseball glove) that he can walk the walk.
You darn well know how it's all going to turn out, but a very relatable story, especially if you've ever exaggerated something to your friends and then had to put your money where your mouth is. This is a tough one for Beave, and once again Larry has absolutely nothing to lose.
The only surprise is that Whitey gets the glove instead of Larry! It also displayed how shrewd of a character Larry was, when you think about it. This way, win or lose, Larry would still be Beave's best friend for life, and Whitey the spoiler! Hmmm?
Interestingly, just a few years from this episode, pedometers became sort of a craze around the world, thanks to Japanese doctor Yoshiro Hatano who came up with the 10,000 step diet plan. He noticed there was an obesity problem in Japan, and if patients stuck to his diet program (which amounted to five miles per day), they would noticable lose weight.
Well written by Theodore Ferro, who later became a top writer for soaps, such as THE GUIDING LIGHT and GENERAL HOSPITAL. If you are keeping score, both Ward and Beave learn a tough lesson.
Yes, there is a happy ending, but Beave has to wait it out! From SEASON 3 EPISODE 6.