Little elephant's parent can't quite remember the name of the thing they've lost, but they need it back! While on the hunt for the misplaced thingamajig, little elephant discovers other animals are missing things as well. Snail's hoo-pull-dee-pewp for staying safe from the sun has disappeared. So has squirrel's shis-moo for carrying acorns. And all the ladybugs are missing the ha-bee ja-bee they use for a table.

Is there a thief on the loose--or is there a simpler explanation for where all these different doohickeys have gone? Backmatter pages explain the around-the-world origins of each nonsense word appearing in the story.