Prout is an old man from a small village who collects clams near a small body of water. The trail that he walks tramples the grass, but by ridding that soil of the fast-growing grass, the slower-growing primroses are able to thrive. The primroses attract moths and other pollinators, allowing those animals to thrive as well. Seasons change, the moths pollinate the flowers and plant their own eggs on the petals. When the eggs hatch, some of the caterpillars eat the roses away, while others die off. This symbiotic relationship is perpetuated, with some caterpillars killing the roses, while others die off, thereby sparing the plants. One day, Prout wakes to a bell ringing, alarming the village to a fire. In such a small village where the infrastructure is largely made of wood, fires spell disaster for the townspeople. In haste, Prout tried to retrieve his small boat from the water, but the water was tumultuous because of constant rain, and it knocked Prout against the rocks nearby. The townspeople buried him soon after, and a small group gathered to mourn him, though no one was very close to him. Since Prout's route to the water went unused, the previously trampled grass grew back, suffocating the primroses, until at last, like Prout, they too withered away.