About the title
The boy Dicky and his father live in a dilapidated house, where the only entertainment is catching cockroaches, and the tastiest delicacy is rotten apples. The father works at a construction site, trying to give his son an education. Poverty haunts Dicky with his classmates' mockery, the teachers' contempt, and worn-out shoes found at a dump. But one day a strange and funny object resembling a ball ends up in their house — it turns out to be an alien creature capable of changing shape and working magic.
