The little boy is very alone sitting on his hill. One by one, the animals arrive and want to know what is wrong: 'Sorry,' said the cat. 'Your sadness makes my whiskers wilt, I think we need to chat.' And in further rhyming couplets, a fly, a frog, a rabbit, a robin, a cow, a magpie, and a pig try to discover the problem. The lad's only reply is, 'Leave me alone.' As the little boy finally explains, the 'problem' arrives - a truly menacing bully, huge and red-eyed. He is terrified, but his newly-acquired friends all shout together, 'Leave him alone!' and the bully does just that, disappearing down the hill in a huff. The theme is plain: there is safety in numbers and friendship can help. This story will be invaluable not only for children who are being bullied by contemporaries, but also by those with a menacing older person in their lives. There is real violence in the pictures of the bully. Text and illustration both are outstanding.