A poor man and his wife have a hard struggle to make ends meet. They have seven children and frequently find it a hard task to get food for them all. The poor man has a wealthy brother who has no children. He and his wife are very anxious to adopt one of the poor brother's children. He offers his brother a house, land and money if he will consent to give up one of the children. The poor man and his wife go through the children's rooms at night to see which one they will give up, but at each bed they decide that one cannot be spared. In the morning when they see all seven at the breakfast table they rejoice that they had not given any of them up. They decide that is their compensation for poverty.