In a classic Simpsons episode, Homer Loves Flanders (s5 e16), Homer actually befriends, for one time only, his long-hated, extremely-nice neighbor Ned Flanders. Most of the jokes revolve around how, in this situation, Homer is too much for even Ned to handle, and he has to deal with what becomes hatred of the obnoxious man who won't leave him or his family alone. It has one of my favorite all time lines, something I think about nearly every time I'm in a church sanctuary.
There's another super quick gag in the episode that I think should be called out, mostly because I just recently understand it. One of the scenes where Homer follows and annoys Flanders shows them go to a homeless shelter, where Ned serves from time to time. Not only does Homer get undue credit due to his own impatience, getting a newspaper headline, but we get a quick shot of Moe Szyslak (owner of Homer's favorite dive bar) reading to some of the needy people there. Emotional and with a tear falling from his eye, Moe reads:
'And then they realized, they were no longer little girls: they were Little Women.'
I'll be honest, I've never read Little Women. Considering the number of times I've watched these old Simpsons episodes this short clip was probably my only frame of reference for its ending. I'm not sure who it was that pointed it out, maybe Josh Weinstein (former writer for the show who I follow on Twitter), but the joke here is more complicated than it seems. Not only does Moe have a soft side, something very funny on its own, but, here's the best part, this is not how the book ends at all. They entirely made it up.
I was fooled. Many Simpsons fans were fooled. Why would they do this?
Its genius, that's why. What a hilarious bit that's completely downplayed.
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