Charles even sells his fiddle to buy Mary a gift. At the party, Mary gives Pa his fiddle back. Laura gives Mary a card. Mary is so proud of Laura writing the letter in braille. Almost everyone is in tears, including Mrs. Oleson, when Mary announces that she has nothing to wish for, since she has everything that she could possibly want.

A blind student feels he is useless. He is reluctant to do anything at the blind school. The student gains self-confidence when he is talked into being the center for the Winoka football team. He is able to throw Albert across the goal line during the game to score the tying touchdown for the Winoka Warriors, keeping the Warriors from losing.

Toby Noe wins a lottery of $5,000 and becomes a man of means. He buys the children a cartload of fireworks, for an annual celebration. Standish dupes Toby into losing all his money using cards and drink at the saloon. Everything comes to a head as the fireworks go off in the saloon. The Ingalls, Olesons, and Garveys get tired of the bustling city life during all this (Nels getting drunk and wins a whole pile of money), and they decide quickly to return to Walnut Grove. The Ingalls take Albert along with them.