This story features a sickly boy named Donald, whose little pet white worm becomes a housefly. The anti-climatic ending to this story pokes gentle fun at the childhood encounter with butterfly metamorphosis.

While Donald's mother takes a splinter out of his leg, Donald tries to think of other things, such as battles, markets, and string, in a humorous tale highlighted by the quirky, frequently macabre illustrations of Edward Gorey.