Hard times have come to the forest, but Calpurnia wants to turn them back into soft times. With her dog Buggy Horse and a tip from old Mother Albirtha, the wisest person in the forest, Calpurnia finds a secret river and catches enough catfish to feed the whole swamp land and even have some left over for Daddy to sell. When she tries to come back, she has to learn the lesson that Sometimes a thing happens once, and does not ever happen anymore ' This story is about living in a time of want, yet it is overflowing with riches.'