All the children are afraid of mean Mr Wintergarten. His garden is grey and sunless and it is guarded, they say, by a dog like a wolf and a saltwater crocodile. By contrast, the garden of his sunny new neighbours, the Summers, is a playground of happiness and flowers. One day Rose's ball goes over the fence into Mr Wintergarten's garden and, prompted by her mother, Rose visits her frosty next-door neighbour, bearing hot fairy cakes and flowers. Mr Wintergarten is very inhospitable and unfriendly. But when Rose has gone, he opens his curtains and then goes and sits on his front step in the sun. Then he kicks Rose's ball back over the fence - and his slipper with it. Now the ice is broken and Rose and Mr Wintergarten are all set to become great friends.