Gena the Crocodile works as a zoo animal at an urban zoo. Every evening, he returns home to his lonely apartment. Gena gets very tired of playing chess against himself and decides to find some friends to play with.

Cheburashka wishes Crocodile Gena a happy birthday and gives him a toy helicopter as a gift. After meeting some pioneers, they decide to be pioneers themselves. They build a playground for the local children and collect scrap metal, after which they become pioneers.

Gena finds out that Cheburashka cannot read and and is happy to send him to school