The Wonderful One-Horse Shay (1912)

Parson Burroughs, who owns the shay, spends much of his time courting widow Hubbard. The parson discovers that he has a dangerous rival: Abe Hobbs; meanwhile, the widow's daughter Ethel falls in love with Harry Smith. The widow's objections to Harry lead to clandestine love meetings between the young people. The parson "puts one over" on Hobbs by escorting the widow to Aunt Dinah's quilting party, but after it breaks up Hobbs hurries outside to invite the widow to ride home in his rig. But the one-horse shay stood right in front of Aunt Dinah's house, and when the parson asked permission to drive the widow home she accepted. Hobbs, not to be outdone, invites the village Justice of the Peace to jump in his rig and drive with him to his office. Here he secures a marriage license and starts back to the widow's home. The parson and the widow arrive ahead of him to discover that Ethel and Harry have just eloped. A farmhand tells them the direction the runaways have taken and the old folks start in hot pursuit. Hobbs, armed with a marriage license and wedding ring, arrives immediately after their departure, and decides to follow them. Ethel and Harry speed down to the Justice of Peace office. The widow and parson are almost upon the elopers when "all at once the horse stood still." The parson and widow find themselves seated in the roadway, the parson half-stunned, holding on stupidly to the horse reins, while the widow, her back to his, is sprawled, half dazed, in the road. The widow staggers to her feet and starts up the road to return on foot to her home. With the widow in this frame of mind, Abe Hobbs overtakes her in his buggy. He proposes, is accepted on the spot, and he persuades the widow to go to the parson at once. They retrace their steps in the buggy to where the parson, surrounded by the villagers stands gazing foolishly at the little heap on the ground. He nearly drops dead when Hobbs and the widow drive up, display ring and license, and ask to be married. But the old lovers insist, and the Parson digs down into the wreckage to find his Bible. Then with the widow and Hobbs standing in their buggy, he marries them. As he pronounces them man and wife, Harry and Ethel enter, with the announcement that they have been to the Justice of Peace and have been married. It is up to the old folks to forgive them, which they do.

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Summary Details
GenresDrama Short