The Engagement Ring

"**The Engagement Ring 💍**" is the 9th episode of the first season of *The Flintstones*. It aired on November 25, 1960.

## Synopsis

When Barney buys an engagement ring for Betty, and asks Fred to hold it for him for safekeeping, Wilma finds it and assumes it's for her. Fred decides to then buy Wilma her own ring, but doesn't have the money, so he forces Barney to enter a boxing match to win 500 dollars.

## Plot

Fred agrees to do a favor for Barney by hiding the belated diamond engagement ring that Barney has purchased for Betty on a 420-payment credit plan from the Buddy-Buddy Broker Jewelers, until the appropriate time comes for Barney to surprise Betty with the ring. Fred strives to keep the ring secret from Wilma.

Concealing the ring in a flour jar, on the belief that, because of the ease of buying frozen confections, Wilma never bakes anything anymore, Fred is staggered to discover that Wilma has decided to make a cake and is unable to retrieve the ring from the cake batter without being caught in the act by Wilma. After opening the oven door and ruining the baking cake, Fred races to "hijack" the garbage truck, when the garbage man is far too prompt in collecting the Flintstones' can of trash containing the discarded cake and the ring therein.

Fred places the retrieved ring in one of the finger holes of his bowling ball, which later rolls off of a closet shelf. Wilma lifts the bowling ball, the ring falls out of it, and Wilma naturally believes that the ring was bought for her by Fred. Fred is unable to tell to Wilma that the ring is not hers, because Wilma has wanted one ever since she and
Fred were courting, and Fred and Barney must raise money to buy another ring for Barney to give to Betty. Fred pressures Barney to attempt to withstand three minutes in a boxing fight with the Champ, the prize for which being 500 dollars.

Betty and Wilma learn from a friend about Barney really being the buyer of the first ring and are told by the Buddy-Buddy jeweler about Fred and Barney's desperate plan to obtain money for the second ring. Not telling Barney and Fred that they know about this situation, the wives pay the champion boxer 500 dollars of Betty's savings not to hit the agile Barney and let Barney win the same 500 dollars, but they are double-crossed by the star boxer and the boxer's manager, when the Champ strikes Barney unconscious.

After Fred carries the prone body of his friend out of the boxing fight building, Wilma angrily punches the Champ and wins $500! The Champ's manager is forced by an equally fiery Betty to return Betty's 500 dollars, and the clever ladies cajole the Champ's manager into giving 500 of the total 1,000 dollars to Barney on the premise that Barney finished his allotted three minutes with the Champ before he was hit. Barney buys the second engagement ring to give to Betty, and Betty and Wilma both feign complete surprise.

## Characters

* Fred Flintstone
* Wilma Flintstone
* Barney Rubble
* Garbage man (only appearance)
* Betty Rubble
* Jeweler (only appearance)
* Mr. Slate (only appearance)
* Mr. Slate's son (only appearance)
* Mr. Slate's daughter (only appearance)
* Mrs. Slate (only time mentioned)
* Edna Boulder
* Egbert Boulder (mentioned only)
* The Champ (only appearance)
* The Champ's manager (only appearance)

## Locations

* Bedrock
	+ Flintstone home
	+ Buddy Buddy Credit Jewelers (only appearance)
	+ Supermarket (first appearance)

## Objects

* News-slab
* Betty's (later Wilma's) engagement ring 💍 (only appearance)
* Betty's new engagement ring 💍 (only appearance)

## Animals

* Dodo Bird (as an egg)
* Pterodactyl (as a drumstick)

## Notes/Trivia

* The only Mr. Slate in this episode is not the same character as Fred's boss; for one thing, the latter could easily afford a toaster.
* Fred's middle initial is "F."