Plot
During a church service, Bart tricks the congregation by distributing the lyrics to a hymn titled "In the Garden of Eden" by "I. Ron Butterfly", which is actually the psychedelic rock song "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly, that the unwitting parishioners and organist proceed to perform for 17 minutes. Reverend Lovejoy demands that the perpetrator step forward, with threats of fire and brimstone, at which Milhouse snitches on Bart. As punishment, Lovejoy assigns them both (Milhouse for snitching) to clean the organ pipes. Bart is indignant with Milhouse, who claims he feared damnation of his soul. Bart proclaims that there is no such thing as a soul and for $5 agrees to sell his to Milhouse in the form of a piece of paper saying "Bart Simpson's soul". Lisa warns Bart that he will regret selling his soul, but he dismisses her fears. However, Bart soon finds that Santa's Little Helper and Snowball II seem hostile towards him, automatic doors fail to open for him, when he breathes on the freezer doors at the Kwik-E-Mart no condensation forms, and he can no longer laugh at Itchy & Scratchy cartoons. Suspecting he really did lose his soul, he sets out to retrieve it.
Bart attempts to get his soul back from Milhouse, who refuses to return it for less than $50. That night, Bart has a nightmare about being the only child in Springfield who does not have a soul. Lisa taunts Bart with a dinnertime prayer leading him to make a desperate, all-out attempt to get the piece of paper back. Bart crosses town to where Milhouse and his parents are staying with his grandmother while their house is being fumigated. The visit turns out to be fruitless; Milhouse had traded the paper to Comic Book Guy at the Android's Dungeon. A frustrated Bart spends the rest of the night camped out in front of the Android's Dungeon in order to be at the shop when it opens.
The following morning, an annoyed Comic Book Guy tells Bart that he no longer has the piece of paper but refuses to reveal to whom he sold it. Bart walks home in the rain, then in his room he prays to God for his soul. Suddenly, a piece of paper with the words "Bart Simpson's soul" floats down from above. Bart discovers that Lisa had purchased the piece of paper. While she explains philosophers' opinions on the human soul, Bart happily eats up the piece of paper.
In the subplot, Moe wants to expand his customer base by turning his tavern into a family restaurant called "Uncle Moe's Family Feedbag". The stress of running a family restaurant by himself ultimately unnerves him, and he finally snaps at a little girl. The restaurant is a failure, forcing Moe to revert the restaurant back to a run-down tavern.
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