Karen and Roger disagree about how much or how little help people really need, and Pete just doesn't know one way or the other. Roger insists that "people should do things for themselves, not always look for help," but Karen believes that "everyone has to help everyone else. To prove his point, Roger sets out to collect materials so that he can build a doghouse. He refuses all offers of help and muddles through in his very own way, spilling nails, stumbling about with boards, and groping with tools. Karen busies herself by attending to everyone she can: she takes over a friend's bicycle to show her how to ride it "properly"; she helps a boy with his arithmetic problems by doing all the work for him; she rushes up to carry in grocery bags for a neighbor. All the while his friends are occupied, Pete goes about his job of delivering papers and, as he does so, gives directions to a truck driver, rescues a girl's cat caught in a tree, and runs an errand as a favor to a storekeeper. After Pete and Karen have finished their own rounds, they check to see how Roger is making out with his doghouse. His masterwork won't win any priz.es, but, as Roger insists, he's done it himself.