Sheriff Andy Taylor invites Aunt Bee to stay and help raise his 6-year-old son Opie when his housekeeper, Rose, leaves to get married. Opie objects to the change.
A state police captain errs in not utilizing Sheriff Taylor's intimate knowledge of the area and its people when conducting a dragnet for an escaped criminal.
A problem with ethics soon puts a lovely new lady pharmacist on the town's black list over withholding pills from a senior citizen simply because she has no prescription for her regular medication.
Andy overthinks his asking Ellie to the church dance (prompted by her uncle Fred) into believing they've tricked him aboard the fast track to matrimony, for which he takes steps to derail.
Andy lectures Opie on the value of keeping one's promise then later asks him to break it to reveal the identity of the runaway kid he just met and befriended, leaving Opie confused.
To boost his dejected deputy's confidence, Sheriff Taylor concocts a phony robbery, only to have Deputy Fife arrest a man for a crime that never happened.
Pride in what other people think presents itself to Andy two-fold when he hears that Opie gave only a measly three cents to a school charity fund, and when a two-years-dead husband walks up to say hello.
Crotchety old businessman Ben Weaver wants moonshiner Sam Muggins locked up for Christmas but, after seeing the holiday spirit in Andy's jail, he tries to be arrested himself.
Andy's admonishment to Opie about dealing fairly with others "snafus" when he subsequently trumps up a fanciful story to sell a worthless cannon to an out-of-area antiques dealer.
Nice as they can be to others, Fred and Jennie Boone snap at each other violently at home. Andy intervenes on behalf of the general peace but learns that others can express their happiness differently.
Barney becomes a laughing stock after being left in charge during Andy's absence and arresting upstanding townsfolk over petty violations. Andy must step in and make the town appreciate Barney before he quits.
With Barney tongue-tied around potential sweetheart Thelma Lou, Andy sticks his big nose in on their behalf only to find himself and Ellie pulled into romantic duplicities.
Ellie crosses the line when she insists on a farm girl wearing make-up and perfume against her hard-pressed father's wishes, leading Barney to commit an abduction.
When the Scobey family misses a mortgage payment, Ben Weaver insists Andy serve them a foreclosure notice immediately, but Andy aims to save the Scobeys their home.
Barney grows increasingly wary of a reticent new farmer in town, calling up a posse during a thunderstorm when it seems Andy has walked straight into the man's nefarious trap.
After he handcuffs a classmate to a flagpole, Aunt Bee insists the jail is no place for Opie to hang out, but denying him contact with his pa puts him at greater risk.
