Squirrel and Grandfather Squirrel live peacefully in an old tree near an abandoned lot. One day, Rat moves into the lot, creating a new home for its entire rat family. Squirrel greets Rat, but Rat smirks and says nothing. When Squirrel tells Grandfather Squirrel about the Rat, Grandfather Squirrel explains that Rat has moved because a new stadium the humans are building downtown is scattering them. He predicts Rat won’t stay for long, since the squirrels' area of town has never been good enough for the rats.

Squirrel and the rest of the neighborhood animals observe Rat, who mistreats the area, refuses to meet the other animals, and makes lots of noise with the other rats who have moved in. Come winter, the squirrels celebrate a holiday together, where they talk about confronting Rat. They hope the humans get rid of the rats in the spring. But despite the humans’ effort, by spring the rats are still mistreating the land and their neighbors are growing in number instead of shrinking. Grandfather Squirrel decides to confront them. The small animals gather together. Grandfather Squirrel asks Rat to stop its misbehavior, but Rat refuses, telling the other animals it cannot tell Rat how to live, that it is the Rat’s right to be there. Disgruntled, the animals hope the humans step in.

The next day, humans from the government come to clear the abandoned yard, poisoning the rats in the process. The small animals do not celebrate the rats’ demise, but mourn that Rat could not listen.