 The neighborhood youngsters include him in their activities, like street football, but when he paints a picture and gives it to a girl he likes, she returns it.Later, his father loses his job and the family faces exceptionally difficult hardships, so Christy devises a plan to help his brothers steal coal to their mother's dismay.Christy's mother, who had been gradually gathering some savings in a tin in the fireplace, finally saves enough to buy him a wheelchair.