 Your coca-cola bottler presents Claudia Claudia based on the play and novels by Rose Franken brought to you transcribed Monday through Friday by your friendly neighbor who bottles coca-cola Relax and while you're listening refresh yourself. Have a coke and now Claudia Walnuts come from a walnut tree. What do you suppose walnuts come from a chestnut tree? Could be don't you know the difference between walnuts and chestnuts? Oh sure. I was only wondering if Mr. Tucker's walnut tree was the kind of walnut tree that walnuts come from or if they just called it that. I don't doubt for a minute that this is a real walnut tree with real walnuts. Then I don't think Mr. Tucker was very fair to make you give it back to him. But darling you said last night you didn't like walnuts anyway. Well I don't much. You don't much. Last night you said you didn't like them at all. That was last night. Besides you never said you didn't like them. Well it isn't exactly the sort of thing I go around making speeches about Claudia. You expect me to put up a soap box on the corner and stand there every night yelling ladies and gentlemen down with them. I say off with their heads down with them down with Walnuts. I think you've just started disliking walnut since Mr. Tucker took them away from us. Mr. Tucker did not take them away from us. He said we could have the house if we didn't. Well he didn't exactly say that either. We thought he was going to but he didn't. But he did say we couldn't have the walnut tree. I think we shouldn't be so nice to Mr. Tucker. We ought to demand that he give us back our walnut tree. We aren't in a position to demand anything from Mr. Tucker except that we hope he will let us buy his house and you let me do the talking. I'm sure he's going to sell it to us. I wish I were sure. I know he's going to sell it to us. You seem to be getting a little bit sure of yourself every mind. You don't mind if I hurry a little before it starts going the other way. I mean before you start getting a little less sure of ourselves with every mind. Oh sure you can go fast but if you get stopped I'm not going to talk to the policeman and talk him out of giving you a ticket. That's a fine loyal wife. I'm saving my arguments for Mr. Tucker. Darling I'm doing the talking. You can start but if you don't fight I will walnut trees and nine acres. If you aren't just like a Claudia. I bet you never even noticed the walnuts until you heard we can't have them. We go straight to Tucker's house. I want to find him while he's still in the mood he was in yesterday. I hope you aren't. You'll buy the farm without the house and just to be nice you'll give him the land. The important thing is to buy the house and argue that it entails later. David please please just don't give him back to Brooke. From here it doesn't look to throw anyone's home at our house. The place looks haunted. I don't think any self-respecting ghost would dare poke his nose around the Lila Tucker. She stood down to earth she frightened them away. See any ghosts? Not a ghost. Not even a gremlin. See any Tucker's? Not even the shadow of one. Guff says to hurry up. I'm hurrying. They aren't here. I don't see them any place. They are chopping down walnut trees before they sell us the house. You think they might be over there? Of course they are. They're taking a long last look before they tell us it's ours. Just so they can see what else they won't include. Now you're not being very fair to Mr. Tucker. I don't understand men at all. I thought men always went out and fought for things. But you hardly even argued with Mr. Tucker last night. You just agreed with everything he said. You agreed over my shoulder. But you know I've been thinking about it and I think we ought to be firm. I've been thinking about it too. I can't decide which it is you really want, the farm or the fight. Look at it. I feel about the house just the way I feel about you. The more I know about it, the more I'm going to be attracted. Dad, how you feel about me? Yes. And the more I'm attracted, the more I wonder why I didn't have the sense to know all about you before. But a sweet way to feel about me. And about the house. Don't forget about the house. And the house can't ask questions. Is that Mr. Tucker's car over there? Where? Over there. It certainly is. Is the other car Mr. Tucker's car too? I didn't notice the other car. No, that certainly isn't Jared Tucker's car. Unless he's just struck oil in his backyard. What car do you think it is? David, there's a chauffeur. Yeah, I know. I saw him too. People around here have chauffeurs. I thought this was farmland. It has a New York license. That car doesn't belong here. Not yet anyway. Better see who it is. No, no, no. If you stay out of the house, why would you do some plaster fell down on your head? I don't think you've got brains enough to duck. If he hasn't got enough brains to duck, then the plaster won't hurt him. That goes for you too. Who do I duck? Well, dear you, you'd better come here and beard Mr. Tucker in his house before it's too late. Beard him in all house you mean. I hope that's what I mean. Where is he? The door's closed. Well, knock. What are you waiting for? Look at it. Isn't it a magnificent door? We haven't got time for that now. Mr. Tucker probably isn't even going to include it anyway. He'll probably put in a revolving door he has stored in the attic. Where is he? Not locked. Mr. Tucker. Oh, Mr. Tucker. How? Oh, Mr. Tucker, it's I. It's me. Mr. Tucker, it's I, David Norton. Huh? He's on the stairs. There's that squeaky spot. Oh, hello, Mr. Tucker. My wife and I decided to come up today and see if we couldn't get this whole business settled. You're not trying to hurry me, are you, young fella? You and Delilah, you're all trying to hurry me. It's a good thing you can't do it, I say. Mr. Tucker. Oh, she's calling me too. Oh, Mr. Tucker, you left me all alone up here. No harm in it, Mrs. Reed. I'm talking to a couple of other city folks. Mr. Tucker, who is Mrs. Reed? She's town folks like yourselves. She's got a hankering for this place. Just listen to her. Well, I must say, Mr. Tucker, it's rather a strange way to show a house, walking off and leaving the prospective purchaser alone in the attic. I must say your behavior is not only rather strange, but you have a very peculiar way of talking. A sense of humor, shall we say? Shall we say? Shall we say? Now see here, Mrs. Reed. You come here to talk about buying the house. I'm ready to talk, and let's leave all these others, as shall we say, out of it. Buying the house? Mr. Tucker, I don't feel that these people... This is the proper circumstances. I mean your friends. No, don't give that a thought, Mrs. Reed. These are city folks like yourself. Maybe you know each other. This is Mr. Norton, New York, and this is his wife here. How do you do, Mrs. Reed? Hello, Mrs. Reed. Good morning. Well, isn't this cozy? No. You aren't by any chance related to Julia Norton? Well, it just so happens that we are. She's my brother's wife. Really? Isn't that nice? Well, my dears, shall we say this is the most outrageous house you ever saw? I suppose you're on your way to Nancy Riddle's house party and got lost. Shall we say? Shall we say? Well, I got no time for these shenanigans. I'm going to see if we let the kitchen door open. You can call me when you're through, shall we say? You know, that ridiculous man thinks someone might want to live in this house. We think it's a very nice house. Yes, it's a real salt box. It was built in 1760. Certainly looks it, doesn't it? Of course. I do think something rather charming could be made of it. Do you? My dear, it's a question of the imagination you use. Now, take the front door. It's hideous, isn't it? The front door? You don't like it? The first thing I'd do would be to take that old relic down and put up something white and attractive. And then the door frame. Well, it was nice once. What about inside? Would you replace all that? I'd start with the stairs. Well, I tell you how I feel about it. The stairs are the single most remarkable thing about the whole house. I'd put them in new from top to bottom and then I'd clean out the whole cellar and make room for a playroom. Oh, no. And you know that barn? The red barn, the big one. It's quite well situated, but I... I should move it about 50 yards nearer the house. Then I'd make it a guest house. You know, good plumbing and the second floor of studio. I'm very fond of watercolors, you know. I show every year at the Junior League. Mrs. Reed, now, what else would you do? Well, naturally, I wouldn't leave this dining room the way it is. I'd build a petition here and I'd make that over there into a very cute bar. Right over there. You can guess the treatment. Pine paneling. Rather like a colonial inn, shall we say. Well, I think it's going to be a very big job, Mrs. Reed. You certainly wouldn't want to live here while it's going on, Mrs. Reed. And you know, it might take years. Yes, it would take years. Thank you, Claudia. Oh, my dears. Do you really think I'd live in a place like this myself? Oh, how cunning of you. Oh, where's that Tucker? And Mr. Tucker? Mr. Tucker? Shall we say, shall we say, I'm coming, Mrs. Reed? Well, have you made up your mind? I certainly have. Then you're not going to live here, you're not going to buy it? Of course I'm not going to live here. I've just bought a perfectly adequate place down the road. Perhaps you know it. It's that rather large white house on the hill. The leech place. Oh, yes, the leech place. That's a very nice house. I think you've made a very wise decision, Mrs. Reed. My dears, you're so right. But this is just the place I've been looking for for my daughter to live in. Oh, you mean it's for your daughter, not for you. For your daughter? Well, Mrs. Reed, have you finished talking and thinking? Have you made up your mind? Indeed I have, Mr. Tucker. I give you $12,000, and you give me this house two acres and the barn. The rest of it, the hill and the rock and fields and those silly trees on top. Chestnuts, are they? I mean, you don't want the land. Do I get the house, Mr. Tucker? Well, maybe you do, Mrs. Reed, and then maybe you don't. I got to think the whole thing over, and I don't like being hurried now. No, no, I'll let you know tomorrow. Well, I'll wait 24 hours to hear from you. Goodbye, Mr. Tucker. Goodbye, Mr. and Mrs. Norton. Goodbye, Mrs. Reed. Now, what can I do for you, Mr. Norton? I beg your pardon? What can I do for you? Well, since that's 78 acres less than we want at the same price, I guess there's nothing you can do for me. Come on, Claudius. Hey, wait, I ain't made up my mind yet, Mr. Norton. No, but I can see you're making it up now, aren't you? Goodbye, Mr. Tucker. Well, goodbye, you silly folks. Sure do like to do things in a hurry, all right? It's bad enough to think of her getting the house, but when I think of what she's going to do with it... She can't even tell walnuts from chestnuts. Help me, somebody. Let me take it away. It's bluff. He's growling at her. Growling that clumsy old dog? Why doesn't he eat her? This broadcast of Claudia was supervised and directed by William Brown Maloney. When you order a case of Coca-Cola, just think what those 24 bottles can do. They can provide the youngsters with treats for the crowd after school or after a game. They can give your guests a pleasing welcome at any hour. They can turn a simple snack into a festive party. And since Coca-Cola still costs only five cents, you can extend its friendly hospitality to yourself. Reach for an ice-cold Coke during busy hours and know what it is to work refreshed. Every day, Monday through Friday, Claudia comes to you transcribed with the best wishes of your friendly neighbor who bottles Coca-Cola. So listen again tomorrow at the same time. And now this is Joe King saying au revoir. And remember, whoever you are, whatever you do, wherever you may be, when you think of refreshment, think of Coca-Cola. For ice-cold Coca-Cola makes any pause. The pause that refreshes.