...with the wisdom of Solomon and a feel for the spirit of the law as well as the letter.
The rich grouchy old man of the town - Ben - insists that Andy throw a moonshiner in jail in spite of Andy's pleas that this matter can wait until after Christmas. That not only ruins the Christmas of the jailed and his family, but of Andy too since he and Barney have to stay near the jail to guard him.
So Andy gets the idea to bring Christmas to the jail. He brings in the jailed guy's family, Aunt Bea and her cooking, Andy's current girlfriend, presents, a Christmas tree, and a very skinny Santa who is big in Christmas Spirit - Barney (Don Knotts).
So Ben comes in and out of the jail all day, at first annoyed that the debtor isn't really being punished by being in jail, but later because he is attracted to all of the family warmth of a real Christmas celebration.
Ben comes and goes as a character during the early years of the Andy Griffith show, and nothing is really ever said about his background, but perhaps he has never seen a real Christmas before or experienced real family? The way he acts you could easily believe he was raised by bankers just like Charles Kane was in "Citizen Kane". So what happens here? Watch and find out.
This used to play every Christmas on syndicated TV in Dallas when I was a child back in the 1960s, and it still sticks out as a warm family TV episode. It is absolutely worth seeking out, especially during the holidays.