I am sure that many watching this particular episode today will laugh at the sort of old fashioned values it espouses, but this sort of plot line is what many others loved about this show. In an illustration of 'the Golden Rule', Opie, Andy and Barney learn a lesson in honesty and integrity.
The show begins with Opie creating a wild story in order to cheat another boy during a trade. Andy catches him and admonishes him to always be truthful. Later, in a similar situation, Andy has the opportunity to get rid of an aging cannon that the town fathers want to sell. When he begins 'embellishing' (i.e., lying) about the cannon's history to clinch the deal, Opie reminds him of the Golden Rule--resulting in Andy backtracking a bit on the sale and telling the prospective buyer the whole truth.
As I have said in some of my reviews, although the show was a comedy, often characters and lessons on simple virtues were a strong point of the series and often too precedence over simple laughs. This sort of episode helped to elevate the series above other comedies as because of this you cared more for the townspeople and their values. A nice episode all around.
The show begins with Opie creating a wild story in order to cheat another boy during a trade. Andy catches him and admonishes him to always be truthful. Later, in a similar situation, Andy has the opportunity to get rid of an aging cannon that the town fathers want to sell. When he begins 'embellishing' (i.e., lying) about the cannon's history to clinch the deal, Opie reminds him of the Golden Rule--resulting in Andy backtracking a bit on the sale and telling the prospective buyer the whole truth.
As I have said in some of my reviews, although the show was a comedy, often characters and lessons on simple virtues were a strong point of the series and often too precedence over simple laughs. This sort of episode helped to elevate the series above other comedies as because of this you cared more for the townspeople and their values. A nice episode all around.
