The Hayseed

Plot

Buster is the manager of a post office and general store in a provincial town where Fatty works as the mailman. While delivering his letters for the day, Fatty stops to see his girlfriend Fanny (Mahone) on her farm. There they play a game of hide-and-seek. While Fanny searches for Fatty he falls asleep; meanwhile, the town's constable arrives at the house and begins flirting with her.

Later in the day Fatty is busy sending out deliveries to the townsfolk when the constable sneaks into the building and steals a letter hidden by Fatty after hearing it is insured for $300. The constable presents Fanny with a ring bought with the money gained from Fatty's insured letter but is outraged when Fatty presents her with an even more expensive one.

That night the store becomes a dance hall, Fatty and Fanny dance while Buster entertains the crowd with magic tricks. Fatty is due to sing to the crowd but his voice gives out so Buster suggests eating onions and while this does strengthen his voice it affects his breath to the point that it makes the entire audience cry.

The constable tries to frame Fatty by insinuating it was he who stole the money from the insured letter. As Fatty tries to deny the charges to his friends (including his dog), they all turn their backs on him in disgust, Fatty believes this is due to their not believing him, but it is in fact due to his repugnant onion breath. Keaton eventually reveals that he saw the constable swipe the money, and the crooked official is chased out of town by Fatty's dog. Fatty and Fanny prepare to celebrate with a kiss but when Fanny refuses due to Fatty's breath, he suggests that she eat some onions too in order to cancel out the effect.

Cast