To help Lisa get over her insecurities about her looks, Homer enters her into the Little Miss Springfield Pageant. At first, Lisa looks down on the event, but when she becomes first runner-up after Amber Dempsey, Lisa begins to like being a beauty queen. Soon thereafter, Amber is struck by lightning and Lisa is crowned the official Little Miss Springfield, an honor she relishes until she discovers that she must sit atop a parade float sponsored by Laramie cigarettes. Lisa denounces smoking and is stripped of her crown by pageant officials. But in the end, they can't strip Lisa of her newfound confidence.