In this poignant entry from LITB's Fourth Season, Beaver buys Ward a self-help book about becoming a millionaire. With all the naivete of a twelve-year-old, Beaver really believes that Ward will become a millionaire after reading the book. Ward warns Beaver that things aren't so simple, but he promises to read the book and do his best. After breakfast the next day, June has one her not-so-bright moments and absent-mindedly places the book in the cookie drawer, where it gets "all crumbed up." This triggers the climax of the episode, in which Ward must explain life to Beaver in his usual wise way.
This is one of those episodes that almost ends in tears, but not before Ward brings his firm hand of comfort and wisdom upon Beaver's shoulders. Many episodes are about Ward's love for his sons; this episode is also about Beaver's love for Ward. Beaver is concerned about Ward paying the bills and genuinely wants to help him become rich. Here we have Beaver the dreamer, always building castles in the clouds which are then unceremoniously knocked over by Wally.
I would hazard a guess that wildly implausible self-help books were coming into vogue in those days, and this episode taps into that trend. On another note, Whitey Whitney is Beaver's pal in this episode, and he does an amusing job. It's a shame he wasn't used more in the series. For my money, Beaver had much more chemistry with Whitey than with Gilbert, who became Beaver's main pal later on.
While this episode doesn't offer any hilarious shenanigans, it does offer a measure of warmth and wisdom.