Weasel While You Work is a 1958 Merrie Melodies

Merrie Melodies

Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...

animated short starring Foghorn Leghorn, Barnyard Dawg

Barnyard Dawg

Barnyard Dawg is a Looney Tunes character. An adult anthropomorphic basset hound, he is the archenemy of Foghorn Leghorn. He was created by Robert McKimson, who also created Foghorn and was voiced by Mel Blanc...

, and the weasel from earlier shorts like Plop Goes the Weasel

Plop Goes the Weasel

Plop Goes the Weasel is a 1952 Foghorn Leghorn cartoon, directed by Robert McKimson and released by Warner Bros. in 1953.-Plot:The story begins with a sign stating with a picture of a weasel and a caption that reads "WEASEL ." The Dawg is seen guarding the henhouse by marching back and forth...

and Weasel Stop

Weasel Stop

Weasel Stop is a 1955 Foghorn Leghorn animated short film from Warner Bros. released in 1956 and directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon is unusual in that a different dog is used as Foghorn's nemesis....

. Unlike many Foghorn shorts, this one takes place during the winter

Winter

Winter is the coldest season of the year in temperate climates, between autumn and spring. At the winter solstice, the days are shortest and the nights are longest, with days lengthening as the season progresses after the solstice.-Meteorology:...

; as such, many of the gags involve snow and ice.

Summary

At wintertime, Foghorn grabs Barnyard Dawg from his doghouse, coats him in snow, and puts snowman decorations on him. Dawg emerges from the snowman and says he'll "murder da bum". His plan is to sharpen Foghorn's ice skates so much that Foghorn will fall through the ice. Sure enough, this occurs after Foghorn makes a circle. Foghorn's plan to get back at Dawg is to roll a snowball down the hill, which gets bigger as it rolls. Dawg notices just in time and gets out of the way. The now giant snowball hits a curve and flies right back at Foghorn, burying him. After Foghorn emerges, the weasel from "Plop Goes the Weasel" and "Weasel Stop" approaches and gnaws Foghorn's leg. Foghorn tells the weasel that he'll get him some venison. In the next scene, Foghorn bowls a snowball at Barnyard Dawg's doghouse. When Dawg chases Foghorn, Foghorn places antlers on Dawg's head, then tells the weasel to go after the venison, so the weasel gnaws on Dawg's leg. Dawg notices he's wearing antlers and removes them, telling the weasel he's been tricked and that he'll get him some real food. Later, Foghorn goes sledding and hits a tree log that Dawg put down to block his path. While Foghorn is down, Dawg covers him in water, which freezes him. Dawg tells weasel to eat hearty, so the weasel hits the frozen Foghorn with an axe. Foghorn says he's got a splitting headache and falls in half. To get revenge, Foghorn uses a pool cue to poke Dawg out of his doghouse and into a bag, which causes Dawg to flop around like a seal. The weasel grabs Dawg and takes him to be cooked. While shaking pepper on him, Dawg sneezes, which causes an avalanche of snow to fall on him. A furious Dawg tells the weasel that he's a dog and that he should get a chicken instead. Later, Foghorn is skiing and accidentally hits a tall pole. Foghorn slides down the pole and into a cooking pot, where the weasel is hungrily waiting. Foghorn bolts; Dawg gives the weasel a club, who proceeds to chase Foghorn. He stops when he notices a huge Foghorn ice statue, and proceeds to gnaw on it. The real Foghorn, watching from behind a tree, thinks his troubles are over until at least the fourth of July. In the final setpiece, Foghorn pulls on what he thinks is Barnyard Dawg's tail from his doghouse, but it's revealed to be a lit rocket that shoots Foghorn into the sky. Dawg remarks: "The fourth of July came a little early this year! Heh heh heh...", and the cartoon ends.