Late in the afternoon a young boy is lazily sitting at his lessons in a fit of laziness. He can only think of things that he is not allowed to do. His mother brings him tea and is vexed to see that he has done nothing. His punishment is dry bread and tea without sugar, as well as being left alone until supper.

The boy flies into a fury. He pulls the cat’s tail, tears the wallpaper, smashes the grandfather clock and pokes at the fire. Exhausted after his orgy of destruction, he begins to sink into an armchair, but it walks away from him, bows gravely to a small boudoir chair and leads her in a grotesque dance. The clock, bemoaning its broken pendulum, and all of the other battered objects in the room, give vent to their anger.

The Chinese cup and the Wedgewood teapot threaten the boy. As the sun sets, the terrified child approaches the warm fire. The flames leap out. and the fire chases the boy about the room until it is overcome by ashes. The shepherds and shepherdesses of the torn wallpaper leave the room to seek new pastures. The Fairy Princess rises from the torn pages of the story book. The child had never finished reading the Princess’ story and now will never know how it ends. As the Princess is pulled back into the torn pages, the boy searches vainly for the conclusion to the tale, but he finds only Father Arithmetic, a little old man who confuses him with fantastic sums.

The moon rises and the boy’s black tom cat is joined by a white pussy cat and they sing an amorous duet.

The cats lead the boy into the garden. He listens to the music of the frogs, insects, nightingales, and trees. As he leans against a tree, it moans and complains of the wound the boy inflicted with his knife yesterday. A dragonfly calls for its lost mate who is pinned to the wall in the child’s room. A bat laments the lost mother of its little ones. Frogs emerge from the pool.

The child feels lonely amid the nocturnal love in the garden and calls for his mother. Several animals spring at their tormentor. In the confusion a squirrel is injured and limps toward the child. As the child bandages the injured squirrel’s foot, the. other animals look on in silent astonishment. Their animosity turns to friendliness when they perceive the good in the child. The animals try to call for his mother, as he has called to her, thinking they are helping him. As the, animals lead him towards his house, they sing that he is really a good and a kind child.