Mysterious noises keep waking up the Wimbledon family. 'That's very odd,' says Mr. Wimbledon each time, but when he returns from checking on the sounds, he's always reassuring: 'It's only Stanley; he's fixing the oil tank.' 'It's only Stanley; he's clearing the bathtub drain.' But what Stanley the dog is actually doing while his oblivious family goes back to bed is deliciously absurd: he's preparing for an interplanetary trip! And guess who s going along for the ride!