Lucy Cries Wolf – I Love Lucy season 4, episode 98, originally aired October 18, 1954
Lucy Cries Wolf begins in an ordinary enough way, with Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz) and his wife Lucy (Lucille Ball) at the breakfast table. There, Lucy points out to Ricky an article about a burglary in a nearby apartment building, and soon gets herself worked up over the fear that they may be burglarized. But Ricky tries to reassure her that he would dash home from performing at the club if she was threatened, but that’s not good enough for Lucy. So, she puts it to the test.
Crying wolf for the first two times
So, pretending that there’s a strange man lurking outside of the apartment, Lucy calls Ricky home from rehearsal. Arriving, however, there is no prowler. After trying this again, Ricky is quite upset. Now he’s determined not to come running home the next time she cries wolf … Or as he puts it, “yelling tiger”. Finally, she ransacks her own apartment, screaming for help and hides out on the window ledge.
Third time’s the charm
When their friends and landlords Fred (William Frawley) and Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance) come to investigate, after a few (funny) moments of decision, they call Ricky home from practice. Now all three are worried sick, until a neighbor lady calls to let them know that “Mrs. Ricardo is on the window ledge.” Armed with this knowledge, they get their revenge on the eavesdropping Lucy. They talk about how Ethel can have her things, and how Ricky will have to get remarried after a suitable mourning period – 10 days.
All three are worried sick, until a neighbor lady calls to let them know that “Mrs. Ricardo is on the window ledge.” Armed with this knowledge, they get their revenge on the eavesdropping Lucy. They’re talking about how Ethel can have her things, and how Ricky will have to get remarried after a suitable mourning period – 10 days.
Eventually, Lucy comes in from the ledge, angry at how her friends are treating her “dead” body, and all is seemingly resolved – until that night. The foursome play cards at the Ricardos, with Ricky, Fred and Ethel still teasing Lucy about crying wolf. So, Lucy takes a break, and goes out into the hall, where she encounters actual burglars. Then, in a very funny scene, she fights with the burglars, who tie her up. Later, she makes her way into the apartment bound and gagged. But nobody believes her story!
Lucy Cries Wolf is a wonderful episode, well worth watching, and is available as part of the I Love Lucy season 4 DVD collection.
Funny quotes from Lucy Cries Wolf – I Love Lucy
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): Why is it that the news always looks grinner on the other side of the breakfast table?
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): I don’t know, it just looks grinner.
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): Isn’t that terrible.
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): Horrible.
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): Unforgivable.
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): Absolutely. Imagine being uninsured.
[later in the conversation]
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): If I called you at work about burglars, would you come home?
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): What for? We’re insured.
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): What if you were doing a number? Would you leave in the middle of it?
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): Right between the “Baba” and the “Loo”.
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): I don’t know if something’s happened to her or if she’s just yelling tiger!
Fred Mertz (William Frawley): Yelling tiger?
Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance): Oh! Crying wolf!
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): [giving away Lucy’s items now that she’s ‘gone’] What about her lynx stole?
Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance): No, I don’t think so.
Fred Mertz (William Frawley): Aw, go ahead. We can always use it as a bath mat.