Nicholas knows that guarding the family’s sheep is important, but he also thinks it’s one of the most boring jobs in the world. He decides to make his day more exciting by shouting “Wolf!” so the townspeople will run to help. His practical joke is a huge success from his point of view, but the townspeople are furious.

Even though Randy is much loved at home, he has a serious problem—everything he has is old! His rich neighbor Mike, who often teases him, has a new bike, new toys, and never does chores. Randy, however, rides an old bike, has old toys, and has to do all kinds of work around the house. Though Randy is often reminded that “things don’t bring happiness,” he desperately wishes he could be rich so he could buy everything new.

Tombo the tadpole declares himself King of the Pond. He brags that he’s the biggest, the fastest, and the strongest tadpole, and he teases and chases all the other tadpoles. But one day while showing off doing a triple flip, Tombo’s life takes a major turn. He’s captured by a boy and taken from his lush pond to a fish tank. There Tombo is fed dry fish flakes, a food he despises.

Proud Rooster, always ignoring everyone’s advice, gets into all sorts of trouble. Filling his tummy with green strawberries, falling off a tree while showing off, and skating on thin ice after being repeatedly warned, nearly do him in.