During a heavy rainstorm causing floods, Uncle Wiggily, a kind rabbit, bravely ventures out to get groceries for his housekeeper, Nurse Jane. On his way back, he gets his feet stuck fast in a tree root hidden beneath a deep puddle and can't get free without losing his boots or dropping the shopping. Just when he despairs, a friendly butcher sails by in a washtub (like in the nursery rhyme, though now travelling solo) and uses his knife to cut the root, freeing the grateful rabbit to continue home safely with the groceries.