The simple term Cheating is usually (and correctly) thought of as something negative, but cheating can be a good thing as well. Just think of the numerous times Scrooge has fooled his primary nemeses Magica de Spell and the Beagle Boys by outwitting and cheating them in the end! This page presents you to a few examples of how Donald, the nephews, and Scrooge have cheated both their friends and enemies in a variety of ways.
But Carl Barks' vast duck universe is teeming with other cheaters;
your can see a series of examples of cheaters among Barks' multiple secondary characters HERE.

 

 

 

  FC0386 Only a Poor Old Man - 1952

Synopsis:
Scrooge tries to hide his money in a far-away lake so the Beagle Boys cannot find it. But it is not that easy...

Comments:
Scrooge outwitted the Boys in all their joint stories, often as a result of cheating them in a variety of clever ways. In this story Scrooge is really in great shape cheating them on three major occasions! First he lets the Boys move all his money without them even realizing it, then he hides the money beneath the surface of a lake, and finally he lures the Boys into believing that they can perform a genuine Scroogean money dive, thus regaining his otherwise lost fortune...

 

  WDCS185 'New Year's Resolutions' - 1955

Synopsis:
Time for New Year's resolutions. Donald resolves to cook only the kind of food his nephews like. The nephews resolve to eat only the kind of food their uncle likes. Collision course...

Comments:
But Donald schemes recklessly to solve the Gordian knot; he simply cheats and reads his nephews' secret vows thereby giving him the edge!
In WDCS173 'Temper, Temper!' Donald again cheats with his New Year's resolutions. This time he vows that he will not lose his temper for a month, and the nephews vow that they will not be late for school again. This is too much for Donald; he decides to cheat in order to win the bet!

 

  WDCS202 'The Rainmaker' - 1957

Synopsis:
Donald disguises himself as a rainmaker in order to cheat some money out of Scrooge. And the rain starts pouring...

Comments:
...and pouring. In fact, Donald's little plan works so well that Scrooge is flushed away and Donald becomes unmasked.
This was also the case in WDCS148 'Petrolio de Vaselino', in which Donald has paid his Christmas bills when he discovers that he has no money left for a turkey. He then tries to lure Scrooge into paying for a meal by disguising himself as a rich oil magnate.

 

  FC0256 Luck of the North - 1949

Synopsis:
Donald gets tired of Gladstone's never-ending luck so he sends him up north with a fake treasure map. But Donald's conscience will not let him alone...

Comments:
...so he goes after his cousin in order to make things right. But with Gladstone's luck he needn't have bothered...
In WDCS136 'The Thanksgiving Raffle' Donald is once again irritated by Gladstone's unbelievable luck and he decides to hold a raffle to turn things around. He keeps all the tickets except for one which he gives to Gladstone. Now Donald has the upper hand - not...

 

  WDCS127 'April Fools' Day' - 1951

Synopsis:
The nephews are trying their best to make a sucker out of Donald on April Fools' Day but they are not very successful.

Comments:
Although the tireless nephews manage to come up with several fine cheating situations, all their plans fall flat to the ground - Donald hasn't a clue throughout the story...

 

  WDCS280 Double Masquerade - 1964

Synopsis:
Donald dresses up as Scrooge to avoid an appointment. Scrooge dresses up as Donald to avoid a donation. The game is afoot...

Comments:
The two ducks are both cheating but not each other. And although they have no idea that they have indeed disguised themselves as the other person, none of them have any clue. This is double-cheating on a high level...

 

WDCS071 'Cheating Swimmers' - 1946

Synopsis:
Donald and the nephews are racing each other swimming - with Donald as the constant winner. The nephews are not amused...

Comments:
They then decide to scheme against their uncle but he listens in - and schemes back...
Barks wrote quite a number of stories in which Donald and the nephews cheated each other. Often they were competing following a quarrel about who was the best at a certain sport. This time it is swimming, and in WDCS054 'Cheating Skater' Donald and the nephews decide to race to Pumpkinburg on skates. And Donald stoops to cheating...

 

WDCS098 'Foxy Hunt' - 1948

Synopsis:
Scrooge persuades Donald to participate in a fox hunt but the fox is rather sly...

Comments:
Donald and the nephews decide to cheat in catching a fox so that Scrooge can win a business contract. The nephews lease one at a fox farm, but Donald reaches the finishing line with no less than 300! When the ducks cheat they really cheat!!!
The plot was basically the same in U$30 Yoicks! The Fox!, in which Donald helped Scrooge cheat using a tame fox.

 

WDCS105 'Dubious Echoes' - 1949

Synopsis:
Donald figures out that his nephews are responsible for the dubious echoes in Thrushwhistle Glen and he decides to put them to the test...

Comments:
Donald is quite right, because his nephews cheat by staging false, duck-made echoes in order to collect money for a ball game, but Donald matches the cheaters by repeatedly failing to pay for their services!
Barks recycled the plot in WDCS215 'Echo Ridge' with the difference that all four Ducks tried to cheat both Gladstone and Scrooge.

 

WDCS112 'Rip van Winkle' - 1950

Synopsis:
The nephews want to skate but Donald makes them go down south with him. There they pull a trick on their uncle making him believe that he has slept for 20 years!

Comments:
This would constitute the ultimate in cheating if Donald had really slept for 20 years. Still, making him believe that his short nap really lasted for that period of time is an achievement in itself. Furthermore, during their car trip back, the nephews succeed in making Donald believe that the world has changed considerably during his long 'absence'. The nephews' clever actions work to perfection despite several close encounters along the way. In fact, Donald never even sees through the nephews' cheating!

 

 


http://www.cbarks.dk/THECHEATINGSTORIES.htm   Date 2010-11-24