A group of boys are walking in the countryside when they're caught by the rain and forced to take shelter. They're all restless, and want something to do. In the good-natured ribbing that follows, one of them realizes that they aren't really equals. Junior observes that they always tease him and never Lolly, who, unlike the rest of them, is rich. Lolly has the gift of humor, and the rest of the boys think he's marvellously funny, which makes him the object of Junior's hatred. One day, the boys decide to prank Junior, because none of them really like him. Lolly is out of town, so he is not told about this. The plan is to ask Junior to fetch some rope, but the trick is that pulling the rope will open up a trapdoor. The pit is deep enough that no one could possibly escape by themselves. The boys think of it as a harmless prank, but Junior's fastidiousness saves him from falling into the pit. After this, he is angry and hurt, and he does not come to play with them. In Lolly's absence, the three boys realize that their dynamic is uncomfortable with the added loss of Junior, so they go appeal to his ego in the hopes that he'll forgive them. Junior is still fairly desperate for their approval, so he rejoins them - but then Lolly returns to town, and Junior realizes that none of them really care about him anymore. In a fit of jealousy, he tries convincing each one of them to help him trap Lolly in the pit, but they do not agree. Junior is upset to see that they would easily agree to turn on him but not Lolly. He leaves abruptly and they mock him as he goes. After a while, Junior becomes lonely and goes to their houses only to learn that Lolly has taken them to Maine with him on a vacation and that Junior was the only one left out. He goes to lie down under the shade of the hawthornes and wishes for the next year to come when all this might be forgotten. With the passage of time, he hopes to become everything he is not.