The Tangled Web

Connie Kendall has concert tickets, a cover story about spending the night at Debbie's house, and a mother who knows nothing about any of it. Before Whit gives her the afternoon off, he hands her one of his own stories to read - a far-out little tale about a boy named Jeremy Forsithe. Sent to buy flour, Jeremy sneaks off to Whit's End instead, loses his mother's money, and panics... so he invents a teenage attacker who stole it. The fib races from his frightened parents to his teacher to the police, until the whole town is hunting a criminal who never existed and the mayor hands a queasy Jeremy an award for bravery. Everyone forgets the affair except Jeremy, who carries the secret for the rest of his life. Connie realizes Whit has guessed everything, and though he promises not to call her mother, he reminds her that even a lie no one discovers is known by one person - you. She sits with the choice for a while, then picks up the phone and says hello to her mom.

Found on The Adventure Begins Album 01 · 12 episodes

The run See every episode

0006 The Day After Christmas A bored girl with a pile of unwanted Christmas presents tags along on a charity trip to the poor side of town, where a forbidden detour teaches her what real riches look like.

0007 Promises, Promises New in town and new to her job at Whit's End, teenage Connie Kendall bets her boss Whit that sheer willpower is enough to make a person better - and puts it in writing.

0008 Dental Dilemma A little girl's fearless first trip to the dentist takes a dark turn when her big brother whispers a terrifying "secret" about what really happens in the chair.

0009 Doing Unto Others Determined to live out the Golden Rule, a well-meaning boy discovers that even his kindest gestures keep backfiring in ways he never expected.

0010 Nothing to Fear A girl who's afraid of everything is lured into a prank that leaves her facing her worst fear in a pitch-black basement.

0011 Addictions Can Be Habit Forming When Joey appoints herself the food police for a struggling friend, she learns that fixing what someone does means nothing until you understand why they do it.

0012 The Tangled Web When Connie asks for the afternoon off while hiding her real plans, Whit hands her one of his old stories to read aloud - a tale about a boy whose one small lie spirals wildly out of control.

0013 Bobby's Valentine When a classmate showers Bobby Novak with love notes he never asked for, everyone's advice on how to make it stop only makes things more complicated.

0014 Missed it by that Much A chronically late girl gets a nightmarish glimpse of where her tardiness could lead - and one morning to prove she can change.

0015 My Brother's Keeper Fed up with his pesky six-year-old brother, Phillip asks Whit for help getting rid of Dean - and learns to be careful what you wish for.

0016 No Stupid Questions A curious ten-year-old girl with endless questions and nowhere to go after school finds a welcome at Whit's End - and crosses paths with a bitter man who wants to be left alone.

1 of 2 0017 A Member of the Family When his pampered nine-year-old grandson arrives in Odyssey for the summer, Whit discovers that love sometimes means holding the leash tight.

2 of 2 0018 A Member of the Family When Whit's estranged daughter arrives furious over how he disciplined her son, a family crisis forces three generations to confront the hurts they've never spoken aloud.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 7 more roles

7 supporting roles

Humphrey Brian Burns Woman (a) Actor Unknown Woman (b) Actor Unknown Jane Forsithe Jill Gerber Jeremy Forsithe David Griffin Roger Forsithe Phil Lollar Harry Snoopnagle Bob Luttrell

Made by

Chris Anthony Host Phil Lollar Writer · Director Bob Luttrell Sound Designer · Producer Steve Harris Producer Chuck Bolte Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 3 min

It is a quiet afternoon at Whit's End, and Connie Kendall is on the phone with her friend Debbie, thrilled about the concert tickets they have managed to get. There is only one problem: Connie's mother knows nothing about the concert and almost certainly would not let her go. So when Whit comes downstairs with a box of papers, Connie asks for the afternoon off and explains only that she is going to spend the night at Debbie's house.

Whit agrees, as long as they first catalog the box he is carrying - nearly fifty stories he wrote himself, most of them after his wife died. One of them catches his eye, a far-out little tale called The Tangled Web, and he hands it to Connie to read.

The story is about an eleven-year-old boy named Jeremy Forsithe, who is not a bad kid at all, just one who has begun to want a little more freedom than he has. Over a bowl of oatmeal he cannot stand, his mother asks him to stop by Gentry's Market after school for a two-pound bag of flour. His father has to work late, the family has only one car, and Jeremy's baby brother is too much to carry to the store on foot. The errand ruins Jeremy's plans, because that afternoon was supposed to be his afternoon at Whit's End.

He stews about it all day. On the way to the market his friend Humphrey runs up with news of free ice cream from Mr. Whittaker's new machine and a brand-new display showing how a movie camera works - the very display Jeremy has been waiting for. Surely a few minutes will not hurt. Jeremy sees the display, eats a small dish of ice cream, and hurries back toward Gentry's, only to discover that his mother's money has slipped out of his pocket somewhere along the way.

At home, cornered by his mother's questions and certain he will be restricted if he admits where he went, Jeremy blurts out the first thing that comes into his head: someone took the money from him. In seconds the fib grows a whole life of its own. He describes a teenager who shoved him into an alley, and his frightened mother telephones his father, who rushes home and calls Jeremy's teacher, who calls the head of the school board, who calls the owner of Gentry's Market, who at last calls the police. An all-points bulletin goes out. The nosy neighbor Harry Snoopnagle turns up first, waving the lessons of his private detective school and his famous five W's and an H, and reports that the story of the brave boy who fought off an attacker is already all over town - including at the mayor's office.

The next day, on the steps of City Hall, the mayor and the chief of police make speeches promising to catch a criminal who never existed, and Jeremy walks to the podium on wobbly legs, his stomach churning, to accept a beautifully framed citation and thank everyone for the wonderful award. In time the excitement fades. The citation hangs on his wall until a stray basketball shatters the glass, and then it is folded into a scrapbook and stuffed in a closet. Everyone forgets the whole affair - everyone except Jeremy, who remembers it for the rest of his life.

Connie is indignant. It looks to her as though Jeremy got away with it completely. Whit asks her to read that last sentence again. One happy memory, he explains, always drags others along behind it, and Jeremy's citation is chained to the memory of the half-truth he told, the lie he never corrected, and the fear of being found out that he carried ever after. A lie sits in your mind and eats at you until you either make it right or spend your whole life hiding it.

Then Connie understands why Whit chose that particular story. He has guessed about the concert, and about her mother. He promises he will not telephone her mom - part of growing up, he tells her, is making your own decisions and living with the consequences - but he reminds her that a lie is a lie even when the person you told it to never finds out, because there is always one person who knows, and that person is you. He leaves her the rest of the afternoon and goes back to his workshop.

Connie sits with the choice for a while. Then she picks up the telephone and says hello to her mother.