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Needing to borrow the family car for a trip down town, Judy is lectured by her mother on not being absent minded, and things to remember in using the car. It doesn’t take long for her to forget something important, like locking the keys inside. It’s worse than that, as Randolph points out, she left the engine running. Should they break out a window, or try to climb through the machinery of the car to get inside?
As the engine runs, continuing to burn gasoline, the frustrations of Judy and her little brother rise. Riding in Oogie Pringle’s jalopy, they discover their dad isn’t at work. The kids brainstorm ideas on opening the hood of the car to stop the engine, when a police officer steps up. Instead of being helpful, he compounds the problem by warning they are in danger of a parking ticket. Even Oogie is in trouble for double parking.
Phone calls to mother only cause her to worry that Judy has not only missed her appointments, but are making her late for her own. Back on the street, Judy is told how she can stop the engine, but the slow thinking man doesn’t have any idea on moving the car, or dealing with those pesky policemen.
Finally arriving home, Judy gets an earful. During the war years, gas rationing was a huge issue, and with all the gas Judy burned off, she is chewed out by a woman over the phone for irresponsibility. Her mom gets onto her for the inconveniences, but the worst may be yet to come when father phones home. There’s a secret that could have saved her a lot of troubles today, but in the long run, did the ordeal of fines and frustrations actually save Judy any money?.
