[3] Fed up with his bratty family, Ralph the mouse hops onto his toy motorcycle and speeds down the road away from the Mountain View Inn toward Happy Acres Camp, where he encounters Sam, a nosy watchdog, and is captured by a boy named Garfield (or Garf) and kept as a pet.

Separated from his motorcycle, Ralph must endure life in a cage with an annoying hamster named Chum.

Ralph's adventures at Happy Acres Camp include escapades with an evil cat, the return of a missing watch, the escape from his cage, and being reunited with his beloved motorcycle.

Eventually, the watch is returned, and Garf reassures Ralph that he will go back home the next day.

Churchill Films produced an adaptation of Runaway Ralph directed by Ron Underwood in 1988, starring Fred Savage as Garf and featured Ray Walston reprising his role as Matt from the adaptation of The Mouse and the Motorcycle, airing as a two-part special on the ABC Weekend Special.