List of Little House on the Prairie episodes
Season 4 (1977–78)

List of Little House on the Prairie episodes

Section Title: Season 4 (1977–78)
Table Section Text: None

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code

69	1	"Castoffs"	Michael Landon	Tony Kayden	September 12, 1977	4003

Caroline orders Laura to care for her dog, Jack, before going to town to greet a newcomer, Kezia Horn (Hermione Baddeley), who lives in the ruins of a house.

70	2	"Times of Change"	William F. Claxton	Carole & Michael Raschella	September 19, 1977	4002

Charles takes Mary to Chicago, where he is attending the Grange Convention. There, Mary meets up with John Jr., who has started a job as a cub reporter for a newspaper.

71	3	"My Ellen"	Michael Landon	Michael Landon	September 26, 1977	4007

When Laura and Mary go skinny-dipping with their friend, Ellen Taylor (Mia Bendixsen), some perverted boys come by to get a glimpse.

72	4	"The Handyman"	William F. Claxton	Arthur Heinemann	October 3, 1977	4004

After Caroline complains about the small size of her kitchen, Charles decides to build an addition onto the house, but after starting the work he has to leave to take a rush delivery to Mankato.

73	5	"The Wolves"	Michael Landon	Lawrence M. Konner	October 17, 1977	4005

Laura and her new friend, Andy Garvey, find an injured mother wolf trying to tend to her pack of pups. Andy takes the wolf and her babies home to care for them.

74	6	"The Creeper of Walnut Grove"	William F. Claxton	John T. Dugan	October 24, 1977	4006

Laura and Andy become detectives to solve a series of burglaries in Walnut Grove. After an incident at the Olesons', Charles becomes very angry with Laura.

75	7	"To Run and Hide"	Michael Landon	John T. Dugan	October 31, 1977	4001

When Dr. Baker is unable to save a patient, he feels it was due to his incompetence and resigns as Walnut Grove's doctor.

76	8	"The Aftermath"	William F. Claxton	Don Balluck	November 7, 1977	4008

Outlaws Frank and Jesse James bring their trail of treachery to Walnut Grove. They stake out the town and assume aliases while trying to blend into the background, even hiring Mary to do their work.

77	9	"The High Cost of Being Right"	Michael Landon	Don Balluck	November 14, 1977	4009

When the Garveys' barn burns down and they lose their entire harvest, Alice wants to take a job at the post office to bring in some money, but Jonathan believes that it is a man's role to support his family and forbids it.

78	10	"The Fighter"	Michael Landon	Lawrence Konner	November 21, 1977	4011

When boxer Joe Kagan's career seems to be going nowhere, he chooses to continue boxing rather than keep his family with him.

79	11	"Meet Me at the Fair"	William F. Claxton	Bradley Berwick, Ray Berwick & Arthur Heinemann	November 28, 1977	4012

The Oleson and Ingalls families travel to a fair, where Mary hopes to spend time with a boy, Patrick. Instead, she falls for the flattery of Cass, a balloonist and Patrick's worldly employer.

80	12	"Here Come the Brides"	William F. Claxton	John T. Dugan & Robert F. Metzler	December 5, 1977	4010

When Adam Simms (Joshua Bryant) and his shoeless son Luke move to town, Adam instantly takes a liking to Miss Eva Beadle, while Luke and Nellie fall in love.

81	13	"Freedom Flight"	Michael Landon	Ron Chiniquy, Richalene Kelsay	December 12, 1977	4013

An Indian tribe comes to Walnut Grove asking for medical help for their sick chief. Doc Baker agrees to help and Charles goes with him, but they are opposed by a group of citizens who have memories of relatives and neighbors who were killed by Indians and want to take revenge and attack them.

82	14	"The Rivals"	William F. Claxton	Hindi Brooks	January 9, 1978	4014

Charles and Jonathan compete against another team to win a freighting contract. Laura feels the first stirrings of attraction to a boy named Jimmy Hill (Chris Petersen) with whom she has previously enjoyed playing baseball and going fishing, but he does not respond in the same way.

83	15	"Whisper Country"	Michael Landon	John Hawkins	January 16, 1978	4015

Mary gets her first teaching job in the backwoods community of Willow Prairie, but she is met with stern opposition from Miss Peel, an elderly woman who has thwarted a previous attempt to establish a school and justifies her actions with a flawed understanding of the Bible.

84	16	"I Remember, I Remember"	William F. Claxton	Arthur Heinemann	January 23, 1978	4016

On Charles' and Caroline's anniversary, Charles is stuck on the road in the rain with a broken wagon wheel, making him late home for their celebration meal.

85	17	"Be My Friend: Episode 1 & Episode 2"	Michael Landon	Michael Landon	January 30, 1978	4017

While out fishing, Laura finds a bottle in the creek with a note inside that reads "Be my friend." She eventually persuades Charles to help her look for the writer of the note, but instead they find an abandoned baby.

86	18	"The Inheritance"	William F. Claxton	Arthur Heinemann	February 6, 1978	4018

A lawyer visits to tell Charles that he is the heir to the extensive estate of his late Uncle Ned, who owned a business— Ingalls Carriage Company —and a large house in St Louis.

87	19	"The Stranger"	Michael Landon	Arthur Heinemann	February 13, 1978	4019

Nels' cousin sends his 12-year-old son, Peter, to Walnut Grove after the boy's behavior grows unmanageable. Mrs.

88	20	"A Most Precious Gift"	Michael Landon	Carole Raschella and Michael Raschella	February 27, 1978	4020

Charles has always wanted a son, and has another chance to get one when Caroline announces she's pregnant. But Caroline fears how Charles will react if the baby is a girl, especially after Mrs.

89	21	"I'll Be Waving as You Drive Away: Episode 1"	William F. Claxton	Carole Raschella and Michael Raschella	March 6, 1978	4021

Just as Mary falls in love with newcomer Seth Barton, her nearsightedness begins to worsen. Charles takes her to an optometrist and she initially appears to need a stronger lens but the vision still worsens a few days later.

90	22	"I'll Be Waving as You Drive Away: Episode 2"	William F. Claxton	Carole Raschella and Michael Raschella	March 13, 1978	4022

Mary, who has recently gone blind, is sent to a blind school in Iowa, where she meets Adam Kendall. Mary refuses to accept Adam's help at first, but he eventually helps her learn to deal with her blindness and a relationship blossoms between the two.

Sentence(s)

In the episode titled The Rivals, Petersen played Jimmy Hill, who Laura falls in love with.

final_sentence: In the episode titled The Rivals, Petersen played Jimmy Hill, who Laura falls in love with.