George P. Hanley, a down-on-his-luck office worker, is given an antique lamp at an antique store. Upon being unable to give the secretary Miss Ann Lawson his gift for her birthday, George heads home where he is greeted by his pet dog Attila. When George rubs the lamp while cleaning it, he is offered one wish by a genie summoned from the antique lamp. The genie (dressed in modern garb except for his old-fashioned shoes) explains that the traditional three wishes have been discontinued due to misuse by wishers. Rather than make a rash wish, George carefully considers the three most popular options.

He wonders what it would be like to wish for love. While he imagines marriage to Ann, transformed into a beautiful, successful actress, he soon discovers that she is obsessed with her acting career, living the very public life of a starlet, and always trying to keep her face and hair in perfect condition. He imagines a dashing lead actor vying for her attention and realizes that he would eventually lose a wife like that.

The next day, Hanley sees his friend Roger go into E.T. Watson's office. While Roger is in E.T. Watson's office, Hanley decides whether or not wealth is a proper wish. Hanley imagines life as bored tycoon with excessive amounts of money and chooses not to make this wish. After that imagining, Roger comes out and tells Hanley that he has been promoted to Head Bookkeeper.

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