A smart little field mouse ventures out from the safety of the nest for the first time on a dare from his older sister. With the help of a baby raccoon and a pink-faced piglet, he learns to watch out for Fritz, the cat and J.J., the mean old goose who rules the farm where they all live. But there is an unforeseen danger that will soon call for all of Rutherford's wits and courage to overcome.Brenda Bennett is treated rudely during a consciousness raising in 1971, but she realizes belatedly that she should have learned to distrust intellectual snobs from that incident. Instead she marries a cruel husband who is without charity toward others.