Only a Poor Old Man facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids "Only a Poor Old Man"

Story code	W OS 386-02
Story	Carl Barks
Ink	Carl Barks
Date	September 27, 1951
Hero	Scrooge McDuck
Pages	32
Layout	4 rows per page
Appearances	Scrooge McDuck Donald Duck Huey, Dewey and Louie Beagle Boys
First publication	March 1952

"Only a Poor Old Man" is a famous 32-page Disney comics story. It was created by Carl Barks, who wrote, drew, and even lettered it. This comic was first published in March 1952 in Four Color #386. It was a very special comic because it was the first issue of the Uncle Scrooge comic book series!

Even though Scrooge McDuck had appeared before in other comics, like the 1947 Donald Duck story "Christmas on Bear Mountain", this was his first time as the main character. In "Only a Poor Old Man," Carl Barks showed Scrooge in a new way. He made Scrooge seem more caring about his money, not just a mean old miser. Many people, like comic expert Michael Barrier, think this story is a masterpiece.

What Happens in the Story?
How the Story Was Made
Different Comic Book Editions
TV Show Adaptation
See Also

What Happens in the Story?

The story starts with Scrooge McDuck doing something he loves: swimming in his giant money bin. He says his famous line, "I love to dive around in it like a porpoise, and burrow through it like a gopher, and toss it up and let it hit me on the head!" His nephew Donald watches him, and they talk about having so much money.

Scrooge's Money Worries

Suddenly, Scrooge sees the Beagle Boys have bought the land next to his money bin. He realizes they plan to build a house there. Their secret goal is to drain his money out of the bin! Scrooge is so shocked that he faints.

His three grandnephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, ask Scrooge why his money is so important to him. Scrooge explains that his fortune is more than just coins. It's a reminder of his hard work and cleverness. Every coin tells a story of an adventure. He tells them he got his money by "thinking a little harder than the other guy, by jumping a little quicker." He also says he made his fortune by being "tougher than the toughies and smarter than the smarties! And I made it square!"

The Money Moves to the Lake

After he calms down, Scrooge comes up with a plan. With help from his nephews, he builds a chute to slowly empty his money bin. They notice that the Beagle Boys' trucks are dumping dirt into a nearby lake. Scrooge quickly buys the lake. Then, every time a Beagle Boys' truck drives by, Scrooge empties some money into the lake.

When the Beagle Boys finish their building, they are excited to start their robbery. But they are shocked to find Scrooge's money bin completely empty!

Protecting the Money in the Lake

Scrooge is still worried. He fears the mud at the bottom of the lake will ruin his paper money. So, he has the money brought up in loads. The banknotes are placed in glass jars before being sunk back down. He learned this trick from exploring a sunken Spanish galleon where old documents were still readable.

Even with his money safe in the lake, Scrooge misses his daily swims in the coins. To feel better, he decides to build a temporary money island in the lake. Meanwhile, the Beagle Boys are very frustrated. They have searched everywhere but cannot find the money. One of them decides to go fishing to relax. When he sees the heavily fenced lake and Scrooge playing on a money island, he realizes he has found the money!

Battles at the Dam

Feeling safe, Donald and the nephews ask for their payment. Scrooge tries to pay them by letting them fish for coins. But then they hear the Beagle Boys shout, "Can we go fishing too?" Scrooge quickly rehires his nephews to help guard the lake. The Beagle Boys buy land downstream from the lake. Their new plan is to destroy a dam at the end of the lake, making the water and money flow onto their property.

Scrooge and his nephews must defend the dam from the Beagle Boys' attacks:

Attack 1: Burning the Dam

The Beagle Boys use a giant magnifying glass hanging from a weather balloon. They try to focus sunlight on the dam to burn it. Donald shatters the glass with a shot from an old-fashioned cannon.

Attack 2: Bombing the Dam

Next, they force a bomb down a fish's gullet and send it swimming toward the dam. Luckily, Dewey is fishing and pulls out the bomb. He throws it away before it explodes. Scrooge tells him to chase all other fish downstream and put up a net.

Attack 3: Cormorant Attack

Third, the Beagle Boys use trained cormorants. These birds first steal coins from the lake. Then they carry napalm bombs toward the dam. Scrooge, who learned cormorant language while trading pearls in Asia, orders the birds to turn around. They drop their bombs on the Beagle Boys instead!

Attack 4: Lightning Strike

Fourth, the Beagle Boys seed the clouds to cause a thunderstorm. They hope a lightning bolt will hit the metal in the lake and set the dam on fire. Scrooge installs a large lightning rod on top of the dam. It is wired to a cannonball that fires into the Beagle Boys' backyard.

The Final Trick

The Beagle Boys try Plan Five: breeding super-termites. They publish a newspaper story saying termites nest in wooden dams. This scares Scrooge. He tells Donald to go to town and find a way to stop this. Donald buys the "super termites" from the disguised Beagle Boys. He thinks they are insects that eat termites. But these termites chew through the dam!

They cannot repair the dam fast enough, and it breaks. All of Scrooge's money flows down onto the Beagle Boys' land. To his nephews' surprise, Scrooge decides to give up. He invites them to come along to congratulate the winners. The Beagle Boys celebrate. As Scrooge looks at his money, he says he will miss swimming in it the most. The Beagle Boys are curious, especially when Scrooge shows them how he does it. They decide to try diving in themselves. But they bash their heads on the hard coins and pass out. They will be unconscious for months! This gives Scrooge plenty of time to move his money back to his own land. When his nephews ask how he could dive through the money but the Beagle Boys couldn't, he admits, "it's a trick."

Scrooge pays his nephews. As they leave, Donald says Scrooge's money is nothing but trouble because it takes so much work to guard. Scrooge disagrees. He says, "No man is poor who can do what he likes to do once in a while!" Then he happily goes back to swimming in his money.

How the Story Was Made

In an interview from 1975, Carl Barks explained how he came up with "Only a Poor Old Man." The Disney office asked him to create a 32-page Uncle Scrooge comic book. Barks realized that Scrooge didn't have a clear background yet. No one knew where he came from or how he got his money.

So, Barks decided to add details about Scrooge's past. He wanted to show how Scrooge became rich and how he protects his wealth. Barks had already created the Beagle Boys by then, so he included them. He used all his ideas to help develop Scrooge's character in this important story.

Different Comic Book Editions

This story has been printed many times over the years. Here are some of the main editions in the United States:

Dell Comics

* One Shots 386 - Uncle Scrooge #1 (March 1952)

Western/Gold Key Comics

* Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck #1 (September 1965) * The Best of Walt Disney Comics #72 (1974)

Whitman Publishing

* Uncle Scrooge #195 (March 1982)

Another Rainbow/Gladstone Publishing

* Carl Barks Library (hardcover, black and white) #3 (December 1984) * Gladstone Comic Album #20 (April 1989) * Uncle Scrooge Adventures #33 (July 1995) * The Adventures of Uncle Scrooge McDuck in Color #1 (February 1996) * Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge - The Best And Firsts #1 (1996) * The Biggest Big Walt Disney's Comics #1 (1998)

Gemstone Publishing

* Free Comic Book Day (Gemstone) #3 - Uncle Scrooge (May 2005)

Fantagraphics Books

* The Complete Carl Barks Disney Library #12 (2012)

TV Show Adaptation

Some parts of "Only a Poor Old Man" were used in an episode of the DuckTales television series. The episode was called "Liquid Assets."