(WARNING: 1. Don\'t listen to this if you\'re easily upset by stories where children are involved in bad situations, and;

2. I belong to a message board where we have one convicted pedophile/ephebophile who served time in a Wisconsin prison and, since release, has founded a ministry to work with others who have his condition. He wasn\'t born that way, but even though he didn\'t choose his attractions he realizes acting on them was both wrong and illegal.

From his testimony and other stories I believe that was, unfortunately, a theme of this episode.)


Imagine the old TV sitcom Green Acres\' Fred Ziffle as a man who is both fascinated by the power of hypnosis and who has the ability to do so, except 1.) This man doesn\'t own a pig who shares his dinner table, and; 2.) he\'s a key player in a program that isn\'t a comedy.

Daniel Ferris (played in an excellent RMT performance by Fred Gwynne) and his wife Betsy are a 52-year-old couple who own a truck farm. They\'re also childless, and want to adopt. Ferris goes to the \"Foundling Home\" orphanage in search of a child to take in. In fact, he seems to have his eye on one, an older child around 16 years of age (he says it\'s his understanding that older ones are harder to place) who\'s been a lifelong ward of the home. She\'s partially crippled, having a hip condition of some sort, is described as unattractive and seems to be of at best average intelligence. She also seems to have a relationship with the older man, asking him \"have you come to take me home with you, Mr Ferris?\" He seems kindly enough, telling the orphanage acting director that a family home would be better for the girl (named \"Edna\") than the orphanage. The director agrees to let the Ferrises take Edna for a trial period.

He takes her home. On the way, Edna becomes fascinated with Mr. Ferris\' ring, which features a star sapphire set in pure gold. Ferris says it\'s his most prized possession, but that Edna may inherit it someday. Taking her in to meet his wife and a couple (Paul and Mary) who live across the road and are close family friends, Edna is quiet. She\'s got a bad headache. Ferris takes her in a different room and, when she starts staring at his ring, asks her to stare at it intently. He\'s hypnotizing her...he tells her the headache\'s gone. After clapping his hands, she doesn\'t remember what he\'s done but her pain is indeed gone.

Later, Edna\'s startled by a rifle shot outside as Mr. Ferris is hunting rabbit for their meals. (This takes place at a time when the Ferrises travel by horse-drawn wagon). Still later, Mrs. Ferris (who\'s confined to a wheelchair) is amazed to see Edna shooting jars with pinpoint accuracy. Asking Mr. Ferris about it, he tells her he hypnotized Edna into doing the shooting with the aid of his star sapphire ring. Mrs. Ferris is incredulous, but says if it\'s the truth she wants him to hypnotize her into walking out of her wheelchair. She later confides what he told her to Paul.

Paul and Mary join the Ferrises for dinner later on, and Paul asks Mr. Ferris if what he said was true. Ferris says it was and brings Edna (who seems to respond to his beck and call) into the room for a demonstration. Hypnotizing her, he asks the girl in front of his stunned guests to take off all of her clothes... &nbsp;<br>