On a particularly hot morning, a young boy named Bruce gets up at seven to decorate his mother’s chair for her birthday. As he collects grape leaves from the arbor in the garden, the gardener, Tosh, stops by to give Bruce a basket and comment that it is going to be a very hot day. Tosh then leaves, and Bruce reaches into his pocket in search of his mother’s pruning knife but loses his balance. A mosquito bites him, and he realizes that his pocket is torn and he has lost his mother’s special knife. Frustrated, he begins to cry. Tosh returns to offer Bruce another knife and assure the boy that he will find his mother’s knife eventually.  Bruce returns home with his basket and begins to decorate his mother’s chair with his grape leaves. He continues to think about the knife he lost, which originally belonged to his grandmother, who died from being thrown off her horse. Later that day, as Bruce’s mother, Mrs. Larcom, opens presents, she asks for a knife to help her slice through the paper. Bruce’s sister, Bets, goes to get her mother’s pruning knife but announces that she can’t find it. Bruce offers Tosh’s knife, which he kept from the garden. The family spends the rest of the day horseback riding, picnicking, and then going to their grandfather’s for dinner, and Bets asks Bruce if he lost their mother’s knife. They wonder whether their mother will be mad and decide to look for it later.  After watching a play, Bruce thinks to himself that it is too dark outside for him to search for his mother’s knife like he planned and thinks that his day has been spoiled. On the way home in their station wagon, however, Bruce’s mother says that it doesn’t matter that he lost her knife, and he asks how she knew. He begins to cry as his mother promises she had a lovely birthday. As they arrive home, Bruce’s mother sees Tosh is waiting for them and tells Bruce that Tosh has something for him.