At Smedestræde 4 in Copenhagen, a young orphan girl named Elsebeth Jacobsen lives next door to Carl Thomsen, a somewhat dubious character. Elsebeth, who works in a small greengrocer's shop, has only two real friends. One is a young bicycle courier, Poul Andersen. The other is a small Icelandic horse that brings fresh vegetables to the shop every morning. She and Poul Andersen spend a lot of time at the youth center.