The story in one page
Pee-wee Harris arrives at a struggling roadside rest stop owned by Pepsy and her family. Faced with an empty parlor and aggressive competition, the scout attempts to modernize their advertising efforts through a local employee named Licorice Stick. When the marketing strategy collapses into comedy and the business remains sluggish, Pepsy approaches a neighbor, Mr. Jensen, to collect on a promised good turn. Through a series of misadventures involving lemonade, detour traffic, and accidental marketing, they eventually draw in customers. The operation finds its footing, though the protagonist concludes his management tenure by getting his head wedged inside the shop's oversized lemonade cooler.
Who's who
- Pee-wee Harris
A small, curly-haired scout with a propensity for accidental entrapment.
- Pepsy
The nervous proprietor of a failing roadside refreshment stand.
- Licorice Stick
An advertising employee easily frightened by carnival clowns.
- Mr. Jensen
A local neighbor who owes Pepsy a good turn.
What it's really about
- Good Turns
- Scout ideology applied to lemonade sales.
- Marketing Blunders
- The comedic peril of improperly placed advertisements.
Why it's memorable
- Licorice Stick getting his head stuck in a canvas hole.
- Pee-wee wearing a large lemonade cooler as a helmet.
The ending, explained
Spoilers — show the ending
Pee-wee attempts to drain the last drops of lemonade from the cooler but succeeds only in getting his head trapped inside the vessel. He remains stuck as the story closes.
For your book club
- The strategic application of lemonade to detour traffic.
- Whether scouting virtues survive encounter with lemon rinds.