When Galen hurts his leg and can't travel, Virdon and Burke seek refuge in a farm till their friend recovers. The farm is operated by a gruff but decent ape named Polar, his wife Zantes, and their three children: older son Anto, younger son Remus, and daughter Jillia. Polar puts to work the two strangers who teach him about contour farming, windmill building, seed selection, etc. Polar soon accepts these changes but Anto resents the strangers, fearing they will hex a cow about to give birth. (Until the cow delivers a bull calf, Anto can't start a farm of his own.) When Virdon helps deliver not one but two bull calves, Anto is won over and names the calves Virdon and Burke.