Mark befriends shoeless Jenny Maddox at school. However, when Tom drops her off at her father's dock in the airboat, he discovers that Jenny's father is the alligator poacher he has been looking for. Before he goes back to arrest him, Jenny's father saves Mark from an alligator. Tom thanks him for saving Mark but still has to run him in, although he offers to help him in any way he can.

Ben gets restless when wild bears come near the Wedloe home during mating season. Tom explains to Mark Ben's natural instincts and Mark agrees Ben should be allowed to wander off to have a family. Missing Ben has left Mark sick and unable to eat but he returns to normal when Ben returns.

Mark leads some thieves to Boomhauer's honey farm and overhears them saying they will kill the game warden if he catches on. They notice Mark has heard them and tell him that if he says anything to his father they will shoot Tom. When the hives get damaged Ben is blamed but Mark doesn't want to say anything so that he can protect his father. When it comes down to Ben being punished, Mark tells his father what is going on. After a fight and Ben's intervention the thieves are apprehended.

While on a shopping trip, Ben climbs into a delivery truck and gets separated from the Mark and Ellen. Subsequently Ben has a number of solo adventures including licking the shaving cream off of a man's face in a barber shop, ending up at a garbage dump after looking for food in a dumpster, and jumping off a railway bridge as a train heads towards him. Part one of two.

An injured Ben wanders into the camp of a couple of old carneys whose own bear is too old to perform anymore. They are going to keep Ben and train him but an announcement on the radio encourages them to return him to Mark.