Helping Grandma

An elderly woman, Mrs. Margaret Mack, owns a small grocery store and the gang helps by waiting on customers, delivering groceries, and keeping her company. They affectionately call her Grandma, and she returns their loyalty with affection. The setup establishes the warm, family-like dynamic that drives the story.

A chain store company and a swindler both want to buy the store. The chain store offers more than market value while the swindler offers next to nothing.

The swindler visits and offers to buy immediately for $1,500. Mrs. Mack balks at the price, so she heads downtown to run errands and tells the gang to tell anyone who calls to call back later.

When the chain store officials stop by, Jackie, Farina and Chubby try deterring them with lines like 'You couldn't sell many chains in this town anyhow' and 'Even the banks close on Saturday afternoon.' The officials are amused by the kids and leave papers for Mrs. Mack to study.

The swindler returns, sees it is a $3,500 contract of sale, and swipes it. He believes he's secured Grandma's signature and hurries away. The gang remains unaware of the theft until later.

Stymie is supposed to get ten cents worth of 'it' but can't remember what 'it' is. He has a note naming it, but neither he nor Wheezer can read it, so they have Stymie sample a potato, Peet Bros. soap, shoe polish, gasoline, moth balls, glue, Limburger cheese, and finally fish-meal fertilizer, to identify 'it'. Stymie declares, 'Yep, that's it.'

Dorothy is doling out candy to Wheezer when the phone rings; the chain store reps want to raise their offer. Wheezer shouts 'T'aint enough!' into the room and then says, 'Call later!' into the phone. The gag repeats as the price climbs to a final offer of $5,000.

Grandma returns with the swindler, who is in a rush to have her sign away her store. The swindler presses for signing, while Grandma resists and the kids are caught in the crossfire. He calls the kids hoodlums and tries to eject them from the store, but Grandma objects.

The officials arrive and the swindler states that the store now belongs to him. He shows them the paper Grandma signed, but it is blank. The real contract was not signed, so the swindler's claim falls apart.

The officials repeat their phone bid, offering $1,500 more than the original. Grandma realizes that the swindler had imitated her over the phone, manipulating the bid and trying to seal the deal.

The swindler threatens Grandma, and Wheezer acts to defend her, landing a blow with a hammer to protect her. The kids stand up to protect their friend and Grandma's livelihood.

With the swindler defeated, the gang and Grandma secure the store from being stolen and ensure the community's trust remains intact. The gang's loyalty proves crucial to keeping Grandma's shop safe.

The film closes with Grandma keeping ownership of the store and the gang continuing to lend their support. The neighborhood celebrates the win and the bond between Grandma and the kids endures.