Dick a young boy hears wondrous tales of London where the streets are paced with gold At night he dreams of the capital The next day he leaves his country home to see his fortune in London He fails to find work at first and is almost starving when a wealthy seamerchant takes him in as a cooks help The cook takes an instant dislike to him and tortures him mercilessly His garret is full of rats and he often goes without food One day a man on the street takes him for a beer and gives him a coin which he uses to buy a cat