Socks was tired of chasing cotton. He lay on his side panting while Mrs. Bricker pushed at the window.
Charles William did not want the fun to end. He was even willing to sacrifice Brown Bear by throwing him over the crib railing. Socks got to his feet, waggled his rump, and sprang on the bear.
“Socks!” shouted Mrs. Bricker through the closed window. “You stop that!” No matter how hard she pounded on the frame she still could not budge the window, which was too high for her.
Socks saw no need to obey. There was nothing she could do to stop his sparring with Brown Bear.
Charles William threw his blanket out of the crib and looked around for something else to amuse the cat. His sharp eyes saw a tiny tear in the wallpaper beside the doorjamb. He grasped the bit of paper and pulled.
“No, no!” shouted his mother, who had papered that room herself to get it ready for her new baby. “Charles William, no, no!”
Thith-puth-putt. Charles William blew again. He did not have to mind his mother. He pulled off a long, satisfying shred of blue paper printed with yellow daisies. All by himself, he pulled it off! Nobody helped him. Delighted with his skill and cleverness, he dropped the curl of paper through the bars of his crib to share with Socks. He laughed so hard that he began to hiccough.
“Oh dear,” said Mrs. Bricker. “Charles William, be a good boy while I run and get a stepladder.”
Charles William sat hiccoughing while Socks sparred with Brown Bear, and then he noticed the light switch beside the door. Still hiccoughing, he pulled himself to his feet and worked at the switch until he found the secret of flipping it. The ceiling light went on. Charles William actually turned on the light all by himself! He had flipped the switch by the door, and the light had gone on up there. He had turned on the light just like a grown-up. He turned it off. Miraculous! On. Even more miraculous. Off. On. Off. On.
The fun, the laughter and hiccoughs, and the magic were suddenly too much for the baby. Charles William sat down with a thump and lay back with his thumb in his mouth. Gradually his hiccoughs subsided.
Socks, who had been distracted from Brown Bear by the light, lay panting in the midst of the cotton. Only half-sorry that the fun had ended, he was pleased that Charles William was learning to play. He looked up at the baby and, after a moment of hesitation, leaped lightly to the top of the chest of drawers and from there into the crib.
Charles William smiled drowsily around the thumb in his mouth. This had been the best afternoon of his whole life, the most interesting, the most exciting, the most fun. He had found someone to play with.
Socks turned around until he found exactly the right spot beside Charles William. He lay down with his back pressed against the back of the baby whose thumb dropped out of his mouth as he fell asleep.
Socks licked a paw, rubbed an ear, and let his washing go at that. For the first time since he had slept on Mrs. Risley’s lap, he was completely at peace. The crib was comfortable, the room quiet. The rustle of Charles William’s plastic pants inside his corduroy overalls was friendly and soothing. Socks now had a playmate and companion. He rested his chin on his outstretched foreleg, but before he could sleep the stepladder bumping against the house made him raise his head.
Socks heard Tiffy say, “Mrs. Bricker, why are you climbing the ladder?”
“Because Charles William locked me out of the bedroom,” answered Mrs. Bricker.
“I didn’t know he was big enough,” said Tiffy.
“It’s a long story,” said Mrs. Bricker. “I’ll tell you later.”
Socks watched Mrs. Bricker raise the window and throw her leg over the sill. She paused when she saw him so close to her baby. Socks gazed at her with a long, clear look that told her plainly, I have found a friend. This is where I belong.
Socks did not take his eyes from Charles William’s mother, and she did not take her eyes from him as she climbed into the room and slid the crib away from the door. Then they both noticed Tiffy watching through the window.
“Tiffy, go back!” ordered Mrs. Bricker in a loud whisper. “You might fall.”
“Lucky Charles William,” said Tiffy, before she disappeared from the window.
Socks returned his gaze to Mrs. Bricker, who picked up Brown Bear and set him in the crib. With a smile, she reached over to stroke Socks’s fur, giving him permission to stay with Charles William.
Only then did Socks close his eyes.
About the Author
Beverly Cleary is one of America’s most popular authors. Born in McMinnville, Oregon, she lived on a farm in Yamhill until she was six and then moved to Portland. After college, as the children’s librarian in Yakima, Washington, she was challenged to find stories for non-readers. She wrote her first book, HENRY HUGGINS, in response to a boy’s question, “Where are the books about kids like us?”
Mrs. Cleary’s books have earned her many prestigious awards, including the American Library Association’s Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, presented in recognition of her lasting contribution to children’s literature. Her DEAR MR. HENSHAW was awarded the 1984 John Newbery Medal, and both RAMONA QUIMBY, AGE 8 and RAMONA AND HER FATHER have been named Newbery Honor Books. In addition, her books have won more than thirty-five statewide awards based on the votes of her young readers. Her characters, including Henry Huggins, Ellen Tebbits, Otis Spofford, and Beezus and Ramona Quimby, as well as Ribsy, Socks, and Ralph S. Mouse, have delighted children for generations. Mrs. Cleary lives in coastal California.
Visit Beverly Cleary on the World Wide Web at www.beverlycleary.com.
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Enjoy all of
Beverly Cleary’s books
FEATURING RAMONA QUIMBY:
Beezus and Ramona
Ramona the Pest
Ramona the Brave
Ramona and Her Father
Ramona and Her Mother
Ramona Quimby, Age 8
Ramona Forever
Ramona’s World
FEATURING HENRY HUGGINS:
Henry Huggins
Henry and Beezus
Henry and Ribsy
Henry and the Paper Route
Henry and the Clubhouse
Ribsy
FEATURING RALPH MOUSE:
The Mouse and the Motorcycle
Runaway Ralph
Ralph S. Mouse
MORE GREAT FICTION BY BEVERLY CLEARY:
Ellen Tebbits
Otis Spofford
Fifteen
The Luckiest Girl
Jean and Johnny
Emily’s Runaway Imagination
Sister of the Bride
Mitch and Amy
Socks
Dear Mr. Henshaw
Muggie Maggie
Strider
Two Times the Fun
AND DON'T MISS BEVERLY CLEARY'S AUTOBIOGRAPHIES:
A Girl from Yamhill
My Own Two Feet
Credits
Cover art by Tracy Dockray
Jacket design by Amy Ryan
Copyright
SOCKS. Copyright © 1973 by Beverly Cleary. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub © Edition MARCH 2008 ISBN: 9780061972416
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