Nicholas was angry. Nicholas was boiling. Nicholas was ready to explode! His neighbor, Mr. Robinson, was at it again.

Last Tuesday, when Nicholas was practicing soccer kicks, Mr. Robinson had barked, "Keep that ball out of my roses!"

On Wednesday, when Nicholas's sister, Nina, was doing her dance routine, Mr. Robinson had phoned and said, "Can you turn that noise down a few notches? The bass hurts my ears."

Nicholas said to Nina, "I might as well forget about doing school band next year. I'd never be able to practice with him next door."

But Thursday was the worst. When Nicholas came home after school, his tiny dog dashed out the minute he opened the door. No one had been home since morning, and Bitsy really had to go!

"Oh, no!" Before Nicholas could stop her, Bitsy darted right next door. Nicholas gulped and chased after her. Of course, Mr. Robinson was in his rose garden.

It didn't matter that Nicholas said, "I'm so sorry, Mr. Robinson," or that he cleaned up after Bitsy. Mr. Robinson yelled, "There are leash laws in this town, you know. Next time I'll call the dog warden and have him take that beast to the pound, you hear?"

Nicholas swept Bitsy into his arms and ran back home. He slammed the lid on the trash can and banged the door behind him.

He was still angry when Dad came in.

"Sorry I'm late," Dad said. "Hey, what's wrong, Nicholas?"

Nicholas spilled out the story. Instead of being angry, too, Dad said, "Mr. Robinson has been very lonely since his wife went to live at the nursing home. He's old, and his back bothers him—"

Nicholas interrupted. "So what? He has no right to tell us what to do."

"He sure doesn't," Nina added. "He's just a mean old man."

Dad said, "Kids, sometimes people get grumpy when they're sad or in pain. And Mr. Robinson's wife loved those roses. He just wants peace and quiet."