The first segment of a story that replays three times belongs to Homer. One morning, a paperboy lobs a newspaper at the Simpson house. The date is March 21st, the first day of Spring. Homer, Bart and Lisa all enter the kitchen at the same time. The doorbell rings and Bart runs out to meet Milhouse. Shortly thereafter, Lisa shows Homer her entry in the upcoming science fair, a grammar robot named Linguo. Homer deliberately utters ungrammatical sentences, overloading the robot’s circuitry.

Later, Homer attempts to help himself to a brownie as Marge slices them with a large knife. Suddenly, Homer screams as his thumb is severed by the knife. Marge immediately telephones Wiggum, but when he asks for her address, she fears arrest and tells him she resides at 123 Fake Street. Santa’s Little Helper runs off with Homer’s thumb, but Homer eventually retrieves it. As Marge rushes him to the hospital, she collides with Rainier Wolfcastle’s Ferrari. Marge steals the Ferrari and races Homer to Dr. Nick’s.

Needing more ice to preserve his thumb, Homer races into Moe’s bar. Instead of ice, he submerges the thumb in a pickled egg jar. But when Homer steps out of the bar, Marge and the Ferrari are gone. Desperate, Homer hitches a ride with Cletus. But when they arrive at Dr. Nick’s clinic, they discover that it’s on fire. Homer rushes off to Shelbyville Hospital on foot. Suddenly, an explosion erupts in the distance, and Linguo’s robot head lands in front of Homer.

The second story belongs to Lisa. Homer cries out, somewhere off screen, after Marge slices off his thumb. Oblivious, Lisa sets out to enter Linguo in the science project competition, only to realize she missed the bus. Lisa hitches a ride with Krusty, but when she arrives at school, realizes she’s been driven to West Springfield Elementary. Lisa runs through the streets of Springfield, where she encounters Chief Wiggum, who is too involved with trying to catch gangster Fat Tony to be of assistance.

Lisa hooks up with Marge as she waits in the Ferrari outside Moe’s bar. But as Marge races her to school, the car runs out of gas. The pair jumps into the back of Cletus’ truck. Since the vehicle is piled high with crates, they do not see Homer, nor does he see them. The truck stops at Dr. Nick’s clinic and Homer and Cletus rush inside. Marge steals the truck and races Lisa to school. But during the drive, Bart’s head pops out of a manhole in front of the truck. Marge slams on the brakes.

The third story belongs to Bart. As in the previous stories, Bart answers the door and heads off with an excited Milhouse, who, it turns out, has discovered a cave in the woods filled with fireworks. After playing numerous practical jokes, the boys attach bottle rockets to the front wheel of Lisa’s bike. The wheel spins fast and shoots forward, crashing into Dr. Nick’s clinic and starting a fire. Upon seeing Wiggum’s cruiser, Bart and Milhouse take refuge inside an abandoned building…which turns out to be 123 Fake Street. Wiggum detains the boys and instructs them to find the smugglers and trick them into saying something incriminating on a hidden tape recorder.

The boys return to the cave, where they encounter Fat Tony, Louie and Legs. Wiggum inadvertently blows Bart and Milhouse’s cover. Thinking quickly, Bart ignites the firecrackers and chaos ensues. Bart climbs a ladder and pushes up a manhole cover…causing Marge to slam on her brakes. As the gangsters pursue the boys, Lisa sets Linguo to work. When the robot hears the gangsters’ fractured English, it explodes, knocking them unconscious. When Fat Tony is placed under arrest, he arranges for Legs to reattach Homer’s thumb.