The poor little old man doesn't understand why nobody likes him. He ends up being great friends with a dog. The dog moves right into his heart. Jealousy takes over when a little girl visits with the dog at the little old man's house. His old feelings of nobody liking him, now not even a dog, take over. After some pouting, the little old man comes back and realizes the dog loves him and he's made a friend of the little girl also.

I think the little old man is adorable. He does get picked on, tripped and ignored. The relationship with the dog makes him so happy and you can really feel it and the sting of jealousy in the story. ( )