Nicolas and his mouse brothers and sisters cannot find any juicy red berries; the birds have eaten them all. Declaring "Down with the birds!" Nicolas sets out across the meadow to find ripe berries. First, he is scooped up in the talons of a big hungry bird, only to be dropped as he wiggles and squiggles. When he lands in a nest with three baby birds, he is fed (ripe red berries) and cared for by them and the mother bird. Upon his return to his home, the full story of his travels shows that experience of individuals within a group always reveals "One bad bird does not a flock make." Stylized collages add appeal to this picture book allegory.

Caldecott Honor winner Leo Lionni's beloved fable about the benefits of being open minded.

When the young mouse Nicolas sets out across the great meadow alone in search of ripe red berries, he is grabbed up by the claws of a huge bird and carried high into the sky. But that is only the beginning of Nicolas's adventure. How he gets the berries he was hoping to find, and learns to trust the very creatures he thought were his enemies, makes this Leo Lionni fable one that young children will want to hear again and again.