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The circus is coming to Summerfield, and the biggest kid of all, Throckmorton P Gildersleeve, is rushing home with tickets for the family. He got the complimentary tickets after a favor when the female circus owner approached him to arrange cooperation to get enough water for the animals. At home, Gildy passes out the tickets as he tells Birdie and the family about the circus.
Leroy is out back, playing stunts to impress his little girlfriend, while Marjorie and Gildy spy on them from the bushes. To impress her, Leroy claims to be planning to run away and join the circus. Later, Judge Hooker stops by to borrow gardening supplies, and is told what Gildersleeve discovered about Leroy’s plans. Rather than forbidding Leroy from the circus, the judge advises that Leroy take on a job at the circus and get all the fill he cares to have of the grunt work that goes on behind the scenes.
The job is arranged, and Gildy comes down to see how Leroy’s first day on the job is going. Little does he know the circus is having a little slump with the sales, and the female owner, who is also the lion tamer, sees the water commissioner as just the hook to spark interest. The circus manager, and lovely lion tamer sweet talk to his ego to become the guest ringmaster. He tries out his new duties with a little practice on the public address system.
Meanwhile, Leroy has already had enough of the hard work, and plans on quitting the circus, and rejoining his position in his nice comfy town. Birdie helps with the commercial.
Gildy stops in to share his news of being ringmaster with Peavey. Peavey tells how he once had aspirations of joining the circus, and about a friend of his who helps in the circus. At home, Gildy revels in his new position. The family stroke his ego, although Leroy and Marjorie point out that they know he was talked into it by a pretty face.
Time for the circus. Gildersleeve is looking forward to traveling with the circus, and the evening gets off to a grand start. The acts are introduced, but when the beautiful lion tamer needs help, she has ringmaster Gildersleeve lend a hand. Though terrified, all his friends congratulate him, then Gildersleeve visits the lion tamer, and circus owner in her trailer for a talk. Whether she’s serious or not, she takes the touching moment as a proposal, and wants to get married. If the lions didn’t scare Gildy away, the threat of marriage did, and he walks off the circus job to settle back into his usual life.
