The Royals go home from grocery shopping and the Princess (after playing with some carrots) expresses the desire to have her own shop. The narrator asks what she'd sell and the Princess doesn't know, so she goes off to search for things.
She looks through her toy box but is too attached to the toys to sell them, so she goes off into the hallway. She takes a jack-in-the-box and the narrator suggests asking permission, but the Princess rationalises that nobody is using it. She then takes three flowerpots (that she describes as "lovely"), a colander, and a train set, which she knows belongs to the King but she rationalises that he's "too big" for it.
Finally, she takes the General's pinwheel (rationalising that he never uses it) and sets up her shop (which is more like a stand) in the hallway. She has Scruff stand outside with a sign tied to his back depicting an arrow pointing indoors, to attract shoppers.
This manages to pique the interest of the General, but then Scruff turns sideways due to being distracted by a rabbit, so the Admiral walks off sideways, mistaking it for a treasure hunt.
The Princess sells the colander to the General, advertising it as a "horsey hat" for Nessie. When he asks what the price is, the Princess hasn't thought of it but decides to barter instead of having him pay by asking him to let her ride Nessie later.
Then, the King arrives, and the Princess sells him the flowerpots, along with a marble, advertised as a variation on the shell game, in return for the promise of a long story. The Chef then shows up and is none too pleased at the idea of buying the train, but does an about face when the Princess shows him that it can transport small objects. This time, he thinks of the price— cakes.
Scruff leads the Gardener into the castle, and he asks for something to scare the rabbits off his vegetables. The Princess sells him the jack-in-the-box and, again, the Princess doesn't come up with the price— the Gardener does, and it's strawberries. The Prime Minister cycles in and the Princess convinces him he'd "look faster" with the pinwheel and, again, he comes up with the price— towing her along later.
The King and Gardener start arguing over whose property is whose, which escalates when the Prime Minister identifies the jack-in-the-box as his. Then, the General and Chef show up and contribute to the argument. They reach the Princess and tell her that permission is required regardless of how often they use the things.
Everybody swaps back, but the Princess sulks because she believes the men won't give her the things they promised. However, they start to miss the items they "bought", causing them to trade back. Then, they go to the Princess and give her the things she promised. Finally, she sells the excess strawberries and cake in her shop.
This episode provides examples of
- An Aesop: This is one of the few Little Princess episodes with a concrete moral. In this instance, the moral is "don't take things without permission".
- Artistic License – Biology: Puss is seen wanting some strawberries and cupcakes. In reality, cats are pretty strict carnivores, so generally if it's not meat, they're not interested.
- Batman Gambit: The Princess deliberately advertises several of the things based on what the customer likes:
- She calls the colander a "horsey hat" for Nessie.
- She points out to the Chef that the train set can carry objects.
- When the Gardener wants a thing to scare rabbits, the Princess claims that's what the jack-in-the-box is for.
- She claims the pinwheel will make the Prime Minister "look faster" on his cycle.
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Broken Aesop: The moral is not to take things without permission, but then everyone swaps back because they preferred having the items the Princess stole. - Buffy Speak: The Princess calls the pinwheel a "whirly thing".
- Catch Your Death of Cold: A particularly ridiculous example: The General worries that Nessie, his hobby horse, will "catch a chill" from not wearing her colander hat.
- Comically Missing the Point: When 80% of the grown-ups are arguing over whose property is whose, the Princess thinks they've come to buy things at her shop.
- Denied Food as Punishment: Subverted. The Princess thinks the guys won't give her what they promised as punishment for her not asking for their permission, which includes cake and strawberries. However, they do give her the things.
- Giant Food: In the King's story, a child turns into a giant sprout.
- Happy Dance: The Princess jumps and waves her arms when the adults "pay" her.
- Idiot Ball: The General doesn't know what a colander is.
- Transflormation: In the King's "long story", a child turns into a giant sprout.
