On a quiet Sunday afternoon on Klickitat Street, Henry Huggins enviously watches his neighbor Scooter as he rides his bike down the street. While Henry desperately wants a bike, his parents cannot afford to buy him one. Henry and his friend Robert agree that Scooter is showing off, and they stop watching him ride and go to play in Henry’s backyard instead. While his dog, Ribsy, naps, Henry and Robert watch in fascination as the neighbor Mr. Grumbie begins to barbecue, all the while arguing with his wife about the quality of his cooking.

Henry’s neighbor Beezus Quimby and her little sister, Ramona, come by to say hi. Beezus is proud to show off her new baton, which she is learning to use for an upcoming parade. She accidentally hits herself in the head with it and is hurt when Henry and Robert laugh. Beezus quickly decides to go home and fetches Ramona, who was waking up Ribsy. Now awake, Ribsy sniffs the air and quickly dashes through the rose bushes to the Grumbies’ barbeque. Henry desperately calls for Ribsy and struggles through the rose bushes himself as Ribsy grabs a piece of raw meat on the side of the barbeque and runs off with it down Klickitat Street.