Exaggerated Business

Released
March 2, 1924

Starring

 * Ernie
 * Farina
 * Jackie
 * Andy
 * Joe
 * Mary
 * Mickey
 * Sing Joy

Story
The gang decides to make some money to buy new clothes by opening a business. The boys’ parents never bought them new clothes after their last adventure, so they are still in their grass skirts. They hit upon the idea of opening a barbershop. Unfortunately, very few kids needed haircuts, and none needed shaves.

“We need to expand our business,” declares Micky. “Any ideas?”

“How about giving haircuts to pets? Dogs and cats,” suggests Ernie.

The gang agrees to the idea, and the next few days neighborhood kids bring in their pets for haircuts. But after a few days business is slow once more. Jackie and Farina get frustrated because the bigger kids take all the business for themselves, leaving the smaller ones with nothing to do.

Then one day there is a big fight outside where someone is complaining of a bad haircut. The bigger kids tell Jackie and Farina to find some other business while the argument is going on, so they find some animals. Unfortunately, what they think is a family of cats and kittens turns out to be a family of skunks. Jackie and Farina are sprayed copiously, and everyone else runs far away from the barbershop.

The smell does not come off with all the soap and cleaning stuff in the shop, so Jackie and Farina are forced to go to vacant landfill and bury their grass skirts. Then they have to dig another big hole, jump in, collapse the sides enough to bury themselves up to their necks. Pete the Pup, who isn’t bothered by the smell so much, is trained to deliver them food in front of their faces so they can eat. After three days, Pete digs up the hole enough for the boys to dig themselves out the rest of the way. Then they have to go into the nearby woods and fashion new grass skirts.

Meanwhile the rest of the gang is exiled to the woods, and play games like Cowboys and Indians until and after Jackie and Farina join them. The barbershop is condemned and torn down, but the gang figures they may have some other sue for the space sometime in the future.