The miller Elmo and his son Mort have a problem—instead of standing up for what they know is right, they follow everyone else’s opinions. When a farmer complains that Elmo is overworking the donkey, Elmo and Mort mill the grain. When others complain that his prices are too high, Elmo reduces the price, even if he’s losing money. When a friend suggests Mort steal apples with him, Mort goes along with the plan.

The proud emperor loves to parade before his people with beautiful clothes. When a court official suggests paying the soldiers more money so they don’t have to beg for food, the furious emperor is ready to throw him in jail.

Tombo the tadpole declares himself King of the Pond. He brags that he’s the biggest, the fastest, and the strongest tadpole, and he teases and chases all the other tadpoles. But one day while showing off doing a triple flip, Tombo’s life takes a major turn. He’s captured by a boy and taken from his lush pond to a fish tank. There Tombo is fed dry fish flakes, a food he despises.

Even though Randy is much loved at home, he has a serious problem—everything he has is old! His rich neighbor Mike, who often teases him, has a new bike, new toys, and never does chores. Randy, however, rides an old bike, has old toys, and has to do all kinds of work around the house. Though Randy is often reminded that “things don’t bring happiness,” he desperately wishes he could be rich so he could buy everything new.