This is the third book in a five-book series. The first two books introduce Ted and describe his leaving home and moving in with Grandpa and Grandma. The second book is about Ted becoming a musician and how his best friend, Woody, helped him with their street corner act.Ted's dog, Spot, starts to help them with their show by doing headstands and backflips for fun and profit. With hunger always at the door, Ted learns to check the trash cans in town for things people throw away. Grandpa teaches Ted to plow behind their mules, and he makes money plowing gardens for people in town. Plowing and entertainment have relieved the poverty at Grandpa's house, and in the third book, he buys an ice box so that Grandma can make Jell-O. Later, he buys a Model A roadster that comes with a trailer full of lawn-mowing equipment. With Ted's mowing equipment, he can fulfill one of his mother's wishes: mowing the family cemetery.