A Thankstaking Story

On Thanksgiving morning, an ice storm strands Connie, Whit, Eugene, and Wooton at Whit's End - no power, no fresh food, and nothing to eat but ice cream. With family dinners and football games slipping away, everyone starts feeling mighty sorry for themselves. So Whit gets the group spinning a tale about Muglueville, where the scheming Scrunch and his League of Self-Seekers plot to turn Thanksgiving into Thankstaking. They steal the feast, freeze the roads, outlaw prayers, even order the Muglues to complain... but glad songs rise from every house anyway. One by one the villains' hearts thaw, until only the Scrunch is left to be carried off for reforming. Back in the real world, Harlow Doyle roars up on a snowmobile to carry everyone home - though by then they've discovered that gratefulness to God is one blessing no storm can take away.

Found on Cause and Effect Album 52 · 12 episodes

The run See every episode

0669 Wooton's Broken Pencil Show When Connie steps away from her Kids' Radio show to deal with a blaring car alarm, Wooton takes the microphone and improvises his way toward answering whether entertainment really needs a point.

0670 Stage Fright When an eerie voice haunts the theater during rehearsals for their middle school musical, Emily and Matthew must unmask the phantom before fear shuts down the show.

0671 Fast As I Can When Whit explains the spiritual discipline of fasting, the Whit's End gang each give up something they love for a week - and discover their sacrifices are far harder, and stranger, than expected.

0672 Opposite Day On school Spirit Week's Opposite Day, Olivia's game of doing everything backward lands her in a friendship she never meant to start - while Barrett discovers his five hundred online friends may not add up to much.

0673 The Owlnapping When the Odyssey Owls' beloved mascot vanishes before a critical stretch of games, team captain Ryan must decide whether to chase a ransom-demanding kidnapper or convince his superstitious teammates that their luck was never in a stuffed bird.

0674 Square One When Matthew is invited into a secret club of boys who take machines apart to see how they work, one broken promise puts his new friendships - and a rare pinball machine - on the line.

0675 A Thankstaking Story When an ice storm strands Whit and his friends at Whit's End on Thanksgiving, they pass the time by inventing a tale about villains scheming to steal the holiday from a cheerful town.

0676 An Agreeable Nanny A polished new babysitter seems to agree with everything the Parker kids want - which turns out to be exactly the problem.

0677 The Malted Milkball Falcon A church fundraiser turns into an all-night mystery when the candy prize at the center of a rock-a-thon vanishes without a trace.

0678 Grandma's Christmas Visit A grandmother's holiday visit turns a hoped-for quiet Christmas into Odyssey's biggest, messiest celebration yet.

1 of 12 0679 The Green Ring Conspiracy A plane crash outside Odyssey scatters a fortune in cash, a dangerous smartphone, and a fugitive with a gun - and the town's young detectives are already picking up the pieces.

2 of 12 0680 The Green Ring Conspiracy When a suspicious phone call and a hospital X-ray reveal hidden identities, the kids of Odyssey find themselves holding the one device a dangerous conspiracy will do anything to recover.

3 of 12 0681 The Green Ring Conspiracy When a graphic-design class reveals Connie's hidden talent, a wounded man's disappearance from the hospital pulls Whit deeper into a counterfeit-money mystery with millions at stake.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 7 more roles

7 supporting roles

Wally Haggler Jim Ward Scrunch Jim Ward Arctic Blast Jess Harnell Burger Blitzer Blitzer Burger Whit Hertford Katie Muglue Katie Leigh Papa Muglue Andre Stojka Abominable Turkey Will Ryan

Made by

Chris Anthony Host Dave Arnold Writer · Director · Executive Producer Nathan Jones Sound Designer Bob Hoose Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 2 min

On Thanksgiving morning, Connie returns to Whit's End searching for her missing telephone. Whit, Eugene, and Wooton have also stopped by for forgotten belongings or unfinished work. Connie finds that Eugene accidentally took her phone, but before everyone can leave, Wally Haggler and Jay enter after sliding their car into a ditch.

A sudden ice storm closes the roads. Connie cannot reach her mother, Eugene cannot join Katrina, Wooton misses a hotel dinner, and Wally and Jay lose their football games. Whit has donated the shop's fresh food, and the electricity fails before the damaged generator can take over. Cold, disappointed, and left with only ice cream, the group begins feeling very sorry for itself.

Whit suggests that everyone improvise a Thanksgiving tale. In Muglueville, the joyful Muglues prepare to celebrate until the Scrunch decides to turn Thanksgiving into Thankstaking. He recruits the League of Self-Seekers: Burger Blitzer, an unelected mayor who bans holiday food and traditions; the Abominable Turkey; Arctic Blast, who freezes the roads; and the absent Great Bumpkin, who is supposed to bring ingratitude.

The villains remove the feast, prevent relatives from visiting, outlaw prayers, and even command the Muglues to complain. They expect the holiday to vanish once its food and customs are gone. Instead, glad songs rise from every house.

Katie Pumaglue explains that losing their familiar celebration has taught the Muglues what Thanksgiving truly means. Five kernels of corn remind them to thank God for autumn's beauty, grace and forgiveness, family, friendship, and freedom. Their gratefulness does not depend on a feast, good weather, or a government decree.

The villains begin remembering their own blessings. Arctic Blast wants to help the stranded Great Bumpkin, and the Abominable Turkey is relieved to learn the Muglues eat ham. Burger Blitzer realizes he has cheated himself out of a pleasant holiday. The Scrunch alone refuses to soften, so his fellow villains carry him away to reform him while Muglueville celebrates with fasting, prayer, and song.

The invented tale restores the stranded friends' spirits. Then Harlow Doyle arrives on a snowmobile, convinced that he has discovered the missing Thanksgiving. He offers rides home, allowing everyone to rejoin their families.

Whit recognizes that even if no rescue had come, they would not have missed the heart of the holiday. Sharing friendship and gratefulness to God is itself a Thanksgiving blessing, and no storm can take it away.