Huldah Hartz loves to watch the butterflies and grasshoppers. The flowers around her new home are pretty, especially the ones that grow close to the dark woods, where Papa and Mama say she must not play.
When Bessie the cow wanders away, Huldah's mother sends the curious girl to find the cow and bring her home. But Bessie doesn't want to come, and Huldah doesn't know which way to go. As night falls, Huldah crouches by an oak tree. Who will save her from the woodland animals her father warned her about?