Lemon of Troy

"Lemon of Troy" is the twenty-fourth episode of Season 6.
==Synopsis==
The children of Springfield wage war on Shelbyville after their beloved lemon tree is stolen. The parents of the Springfield children take Ned's RV to search for their boys, and when they find them, the children convince them to help recover the stolen tree from an impound lot.
==Full Story==
Marge catches Bart writing his name in wet cement and lectures him on town pride. Her method of repeating herself during the speech causes her words to stick in Bart's mind and he soon begins to learn more about the City of Springfield. Bart soon comes across Milhouse, who is selling lemonade. When the supply runs out, Milhouse takes Bart to the town's beloved lemon tree. As Bart remarks how great Springfield is, they encounter some kids from Shelbyville, Springfield's neighboring town. After a brief verbal bout, the kids from Shelbyville leave. The Springfield kids then notice Grandpa Simpson, who tells them the story about the lemon tree. The land the lemon tree was planted on was where town founders Jebediah Springfield and Shelbyville Manhattan first settled. However, Shelbyville was adamant that he live in a town that gave a person the right to marry their cousins. This did not sit well with Jebediah and each man took settlers and formed their own respective towns. 
The citizens of Springfield planted the lemon tree, since lemons were the sweetest fruit available at that time. Sometime afterwards, the boys return to the lemon tree, only to find it has been stolen, with some tracks leading right into Shelbyville. Bart, Milhouse, Nelson, Martin, Todd, and Database head to Shelbyville to get the tree back. When Marge finds out what Bart is up to, she gets Homer and several other parents to go to Shelbyville and find them with Homer insisting Ned Flanders drive them in his RV. Throughout the journey, neither party knows that the other is there.
The boys eventually find the tree, but it's in the car-impound lot being guarded by the Shelbyvillian boys. When the parents eventually find the kids, Bart tells them what happened and Homer demands Shelby's Father, the owner of the impound lot return the tree. His request is laughingly refuted and everyone begins to return to Springfield. Bart soon hatches a plot. Bart tells Flanders to illegally park his RV, which then gets impounded. After a close call, they take the lemon tree back to Springfield. In the aftermath, old men in both Springfield and Shelbyville provide their own endings to the tale. 
In Springfield, Grandpa tells of the triumphant return of the tree by the 'heroes of Springfield', to which Bart and Milhouse celebrate with a glass of lemonade (from a few drops of lemon juice, and a whole lot of sugar). In Shelbyville, an old man claims a triumphant banishment of the old lemon tree by 'the heroes of Shelbyville', claiming the old lemon tree was banished because it was haunted. He and several other children then drink some turnip juice, which has a sour taste.
==Behind the Laughter==
===Reception===
Lemon of Troy finished 55th in the ratings for May 11 to May 17, 1995, with a Nielsen rating of 8.1. It received mostly positive reviews from TV critics.
===Meme===
The infamous "Lemon Face" meme was originally from this episode, after Shelby's father eats a raw lemon, which is commonly photoshopped onto other characters in memes. It originated in the Facebook group Simpsons Shitposting and remains popular material within the group.https://www.facebook.com/groups/SimpsonsShitpostingGold/
This episode is a strong example of Springfield's rivalry with Shelbyville.
==Gallery==
Turnjuice.jpg
Bandicam 2020-01-27 19-38-28-405.png|thumb|The face meme.
Lemon_02b.png|Shelby Martin's trying to punch Springfield Martin
==References==
fr:Le Citron de la discorde
pl:Lemon of Troy
pt:O limoeiro de tróia
Category:U-rated episodes
Category:Bart episodes
Category:Milhouse episodes
Category:Food-themed Episodes
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Category:Directed by Jim Reardon
Category:Jebediah Springfield episodes
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Category:Database episodes