Our narrator, a grown man, tells us about his memories of Doodle, his younger brother. We jump into the past as the narrator begins his story about his brother.
The narrator is six years old when Doodle is born. Doodle is a sickly child, and everyone but Aunt Nicey thinks he will die. Daddy even buys Doodle a coffin. When Doodle has lived for two months, Mama and Daddy name him William Armstrong. The narrator doesn't think the name suits him, so he nicknames him Doodle.
This is a tragic short story following the narrator as he tries to teach his weak younger brother to walk and play like a normal boy. It was first published in The Atlantic Monthly and won the "Atlantic First" award.