Mike Mulligan was sure that his steam shovel, Mary Anne, could dig more in one day than 100 men could dig in a week, until one day Mike lost his job. Desperate for work, Mike offers to dig the cellar for Popperville's town hall for free, unless he & Mary Ann can do the job in a day. Word traveled around town that Mike was attempting to perform the near impossible. As the day grew to an end, Mike's job was nowhere near finished, & the whole town was watching him.