Summary[]
Opie hand-raises three orphaned baby birds, after accidentally killing the mother bird.
Plot[]
Opie is given a new slingshot by Barney, but Andy strictly warns him against using it in a way that might hurt people or animals. Once Opie gets home, he disregards Andy's warning and shoots it into a tree towards the sound of birds singing, and accidentally kills a mother bird. In tears, he flees into the house. Andy finds the dead bird, and hearing the babies crying for food, is upset and tells Aunt Bee to tell the neighbors to keep their bird-killing cat out of their yard. When Aunt Bee retorts that the neighbors (and their cat) have been on an extended vacation, Opie flees from the dinner table, and Andy realizes the truth. He takes the slingshot away from a guilt-stricken Opie, and, to drive home the lesson about the consequences of misusing dangerous weapons, forces Opie to listen to the crying baby birds, who will soon starve to death without their mother.
To Andy's surprise, Opie immediately decides HE must become the baby birds' new mother, and gets a ladder to start putting worms and bugs in the nest, multiple times a day. Andy is proud of Opie taking the responsibility, and he, Barney, and Aunt Bee help and encourage him along the way. Opie names the babies Winkin', Blinkin', and Nod, and the whole family helps to transfer them into an old budgie cage when the neighbors return home with their cat. Andy gently reminds Opie that the birds will eventually have to be set free, being of a species that does not do well in captivity. Opie is reluctant, but once they are big enough, resignedly goes through with it, learning another lesson about parents sometimes having to let go. After the three baby birds are back flying free in the yard, Opie remarks that the cage seems very empty, only for Andy, proud of his son, to remark, "But don't the trees seem nice and full?" The two share a moment in the front yard, smiling together and listening to the baby birds flying about and singing.
Notes/Trivia[]
- This episode has been voted #2 of the top 10 fan-favorite episodes. The best episode, according to fans, is Man in a Hurry.
- TV Guide named this episode as one of the greatest episodes of all time.
- Current airings on TV Land don’t have a laugh track.
- One of only two episodes to be specifically referred to in the television movie "Return to Mayberry." Andy, in trying to help Opie (a husband and a new father) decide about taking a job in the big city refers to the time he told Opie that sometimes a parent has to let go.
- A picture of Barney shooting Opie's slingshot with Andy, Opie, and Gomer watching him is among the most used promo pictures in the series.
- This episode served as the basis for the 1998 "The Simpsons" episode, "Bart the Mother."
- This is the only episode where someone killed an animal mid-episode.
Goofs[]
- When Opie releases Nod, the first bird, it does a nosedive. This can be detected by Andy and Opie's initial split-second eye movement, watched in slo-mo they both follow the bird's flight path which is toward earth, they are quick in recovering. But... watch the shadow of the bird, it can be seen traversing Andy's body and headed in a nosedive.
- When Opie is on the ladder feeding the birds and Andy and Barney are watching from below, there is a closeup of Andy where he says, "How they doin', Ope?" At that point, you can see a microphone cable that appears to be running up Don Knotts' leg.
- DirecTV listings accidentally add Jim Nabors to the cast.
Music[]
Quotes[]
Opie: Cage sure looks awful empty don't it, Paw?
Andy: Yes, son, it sure does. But don't the trees seem nice and full?
Barney: "All wild creatures shy away from anything with man smell. You want to bait your trap for a tiger or somethin' like that, main rule is...never touch the food with your hands."
Andy: "That's good to know...next time I go tiger huntin', I'm gonna take my tweezers."
Gallery[]
Behind the Scenes[]
