The other animals hurt Henry the hippopotamus by telling him that he is too fat to play hide-and-seek with them, but they change their minds when he shows them how good he is at hiding.

A little boy's quest for Henry takes him all the way into the universe.

For more than fifty years families have enjoyed reading aloud the adventures of a young boy, Henry, and his dog Angus. On the night of the blizzard Henry and Laird Angus McAngus (Angus for short) read an exciting book about exploring. And the next morning Henry assembled his equipment for the trip: lunch and flags for claiming all that he planned to discover. "Don't be late coming home," said Henry's mother. "All right-if a bear doesn't catch us," said Henry. Exploring is hard work. It makes one hungry. It can be a little alarming if one does seem to see a bear. And sometimes, although explorers do not get lost, they are not quite sure which way to go. All of which makes exploring what it is and makes Henry's exploring worth reading about.

When Henry cannot sleep, he takes the night jar and tries to capture the song of the night bird.

Without Henry, wildflowers would go unwatered in dry weather and rivers would have no crossing stones. Without him, who would bring news of coming storms? Henry works, but no one seems to notice. “You’re not doing anything today,” his friend says. “Come fishing with me.” “Not today,” says Henry as he digs up a healing plant for a neighbor. Though he never gets paid, Henry works for more than money. In this fourth book about Henry David Thoreau, D. B. Johnson’s quiet story flows through morning’s mist to evening’s glow, when, at last, Henry’s most important work is revealed!