Matty is fifteen and is leaving school in a few weeks' time. He wants to work with animals, and would like to get a job on a farm. But his parents say he's too young to leave home - he must stay in the town and get a job in ship-building, like his father. They also say he can't go on a camping holiday with his friends. And they say he can't keep his dog, Nelson, because Nelson barks all day and eats his father's shoes. But it is because of Nelson that Matty finds a new life.
馬帝今年十五歲，再幾個禮拜他就要離校了，他喜歡動物想要在農場找個工作，但他父母覺得他還太小不適合離開家，他應該要留在城市像他爸爸造船為生。他父母也說他不能和她朋友一起去假日露營，並且必須把寵物狗尼爾森送走，因為他整天吵鬧還咬爸爸的鞋子，但正是狗狗尼爾森讓馬帝重拾新生活。