The Saturdays

Father breaks some bad news to the kids: the house needs so many repairs that they cannot afford their usual summer rental in the Hudson Valley. The days get hotter, and the kids begin to miss going to the valley, where they usually escape the heat of the city and enjoy nature. The kids mope around the house until Randy excitedly tells them that their neighbor Mrs. Oliphant has invited them all to get ice cream at the zoo. Randy changes in the storeroom, absentmindedly hanging her old dress on the lightbulb as she does, and then leaves for the zoo.

The children are glad to be out of the house and eating ice cream by the sea lions at the zoo. They tell Mrs. Oliphant about their furnace mishaps. Meanwhile at home, Randy’s clothes are smoking on the hot lightbulb, and a small flame ignites, which grows and catches more clothing hanging nearby. Mrs. Oliphant amazes the kids by regaling them with stories about their deceased mother’s childhood. She reveals that she owns a lighthouse and invites the children to spend the summer in it. After they say goodbye, Randy and Rush are eager to ask father if they can go to