A New Home for Socks

(Written by Antoinette Moses)

Chapter 2: Goodbye to the Village

But something terrible happens. The factory closes. There is no work in the village or the little town near
the village. Penny’s mother and father decide to sell their white house. They have to go to the city to look
for work. ‘The city is great,’ they tell Penny. ‘The city is fun. Young people love the city. There are lots of
shops. There are lots of things to do.’
Penny’s mother smiles at her. ‘And lots of new friends for you,’ she says.
Penny doesn’t want new friends. She likes her old friends. Penny looks
at her mother. The smile is not there now. Her mother looks sad. ‘I’m
sorry, Penny,’ she says.
‘Why are you sorry?’ asks Penny.
‘I’m sorry because things are difficult now. The apartment in the city is
very small. And you can’t have dogs in the apartment.’
‘I don’t understand,’ says Penny.
‘Holly is happy here in the village,’ says her mother.
‘I’m happy here in the village,’ cries Penny. ‘I can’t live without Holly.’
She cries and her mother cries with her.
Penny. ‘I can’t live without Holly.’ She cries and her mother cries with
her.
Penny says goodbye to Holly. She cries for a week. She hates the city.
She hates the apartment and she does not have any friends in the city. In
the new school there are hundreds of boys and girls. They see Penny, but
they do not talk to her. She goes to school and works. She sits in her
classes and she comes home, but Penny does not talk to anyone. She
thinks about Holly and her old friends and she is very sad.
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cries: shouts; has tears in her eyes because she is hates: dislikes very much; detests
sad.

Chapter 3: In the Park

Penny eats her bread and jam and washes the plate and the knife. Then she leaves the apartment and walks
to the park. Penny likes the park because there are always lots of dogs. Penny sits and watches the dogs.
She thinks about Holly. Penny really misses Holly.
Today the park is cold. She looks around and sees a dog she knows in the park. His name is Bruce. He runs
over to Penny when she arrives. Penny feels happier now. She throws a stick for Bruce and he brings it
back to her. Bruce’s owner is a lady called Jane. Jane lives close to the park in a big house with a garden.
She is friendly and she talks to Penny. Penny tells her about Holly.
‘That’s very sad,’ says Jane. ‘You can play with Bruce here in the park. I come here every day.’
‘Thank you,’ says Penny. She likes Bruce, but he is not her dog. He
is not the same as Holly.
When Penny arrives, Jane is talking on her mobile phone. She talks
on her phone for ages and then she gets up and calls Bruce. They go
home and Penny is alone again. She walks round the park. There are
no dogs or people now. And it is very cold. Then Penny hears a
noise.
‘Rrrrr! Rrrrr!’ It sounds like a small dog, a small frightened dog. Penny looks around but she can’t see a
dog. She calls gently and then she hears the noise again. ‘Rrrrr!’ It is coming from a bin at the entrance to
the park.
‘There can’t be a dog in the bin!’ Penny thinks and she walks over. Penny lifts the lid. Inside the bin is dark
and the smell is very bad. There is something moving under all the rubbish. Penny sees a very small
puppy. The puppy is very dirty and it smells very bad. Penny lifts it out. The puppy is frightened.
‘Oh you poor, poor little thing,’ cries Penny. She wipes some of the dirt off the puppy. ‘You need food and
a bath,’ says Penny.
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misses: is sad because Holly is not there. lifts: takes.
owner: proprietor; person who has a thing. lid: cover (of a container).
for ages: for a long time. rubbish: things one throws away.
alone: without any friends. puppy: baby dog.
noise: sound. wipes: removes; takes away
bin: large container for rubbish.

Chapter 4: Do You Have a Home?

She lifts up the puppy and takes him back to the apartment. She goes into the bathroom and puts the puppy
into the bath. He is cold and very dirty. Penny washes him with warm water. Then she dries him in a big
towel. ‘Now you are warm and clean,’ she says. ‘Are you thirsty?’ she asks. She gets some milk and the
puppy drinks it. He licks Penny’s hand. Penny laughs.
The puppy walks round the room; Penny’s coat is on the floor and the puppy chews it.
‘Are you hungry?’ asks Penny. She puts on her coat and puts the puppy inside. She goes to a shop near the

apartment. She buys a tin of dog food and comes home. The puppy eats the dog food. Penny washes the tin
and puts it in the bin outside the apartment building.
The bathroom is very dirty after the bath and she cleans it but the towel still smells of dog. Penny puts it
into the washing machine and turns the machine on.
Do you have a home?’ says Penny. She looks at the puppy. He does not have a collar. She does not know if
he has a home. He is dark brown but his feet are white. The white feet look like socks. ‘Hey, you can be
Socks,’ Penny says. Socks licks her hand and she laughs again.
‘You can’t stay here,’ says Penny. ‘This apartment is very small. And Mum and Dad don’t want pets.’
Socks looks at Penny. She picks him up and he goes to sleep in her arms.
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licks: touches with his tongue. turns the machine on: starts the electricity.
chews: bites something into small pieces. socks: things one wears on one’s feet (inside
tin: metal container for food and drink. shoes).
washing machine: electric machine for washing
clothes.

Chapter 5: A Problem
Penny looks at the little puppy and thinks about the bin. She can’t put Socks back into the bin. She can’t
take him to the park because it is too cold. Socks needs her. He’s very small and it’s cold outside. She walks
round the apartment. She thinks about her old home. In her old home there are cupboards and there are
sheds in the garden. And there are big wardrobes for their clothes in all the rooms. Here there are
cupboards in the kitchen but her clothes are still in suitcases.
‘That’s it!’
Penny has an idea. She takes the clothes out of one suitcase and puts a towel inside. It is soft and warm
now. Then she puts Socks into the suitcase and she puts the suitcase under her bed. Socks jumps out. He
runs round the room and begins to bark: ‘Woof! Woof! Woof!’
‘Shush!’ says Penny. ‘We don’t want my parents to find you. You have to be quiet,’ she tells the puppy.
She picks up Socks and he licks her nose. Penny laughs.
‘Oh, you’re a problem, Socks,’ she sighs. ‘But you are my problem,’ she tells him. ‘You are my puppy and
I am keeping you.’ Penny looks out of the window. She sees shops and offices and other apartments. There
is no place for a puppy here. The suitcase under the bed is not a good idea.
Penny thinks about her mother. In her mind she sees her mother come into the room.
‘What’s that noise?’ says her mother. ‘What is under your bed? Is that a puppy? You can’t have a puppy in
this apartment, Penny.’ Penny knows her mother very well. Her mother sees everything.
Penny thinks about her mother and father. Her mother works very long hours and her father is out all day.
He goes from place to place to look for work. Penny knows that her mother is unhappy in the new
apartment. Sometimes, she hears her crying at night.
In her imagination, Penny hears their voices.
‘I’m sorry,’ says her father. ‘I want to work.’
‘It’s not your fault,’ says Mrs. Cooper. ‘Many factories are closing. There is no work. The city is so
expensive. We have money from my job and from the house. But I’m worried.’
‘Don’t worry,’ says Mr. Cooper. He kisses his wife.
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cupboards: pieces of furniture to put food, bark: (of dogs) make a sound.
dishes, clothes etc. in. shush: sound used to tell somebody to be quiet.
sheds: small buildings of wood or metal to keep imagination: (here) head.
things in. expensive: dear; that costs a lot of money.
wardrobes: where one hangs one’s clothes. worry: think about a problem.
suitcases: bags for travel or holidays.

Chapter 6: Socks and Poppi

‘My parents have other worries,’ Penny thinks. ‘I can’t ask them if I can keep you. The apartment is not a
place for a puppy,’ Penny tells Socks. ‘There is nowhere in the apartment for a puppy.’ Penny puts on her
coat and puts Socks inside. He makes a small happy noise and falls asleep. Penny goes back to the park.
There are two dogs in the park with their owners. Penny does not know them. She puts Socks down on the
ground and the two people come up to her.
‘Oh,’ they say. ‘You are a very sweet puppy.’ And they pet Socks. Penny tells them the story. She shows
them the bin.
‘People are horrible,’ says one owner. She is an old lady. ‘My name is Lucy, and that is my dog, Poppi.’
She points to a very small dog.
‘I can’t keep Socks in my apartment,’ says Penny. ‘Do you have room for him in your apartment?’ she asks
Lucy.
‘That’s a good question,’ says Lucy. ‘I don’t know. I have a big apartment and I am happy with one dog.’
She calls her dog: ‘Poppi, Poppi! Come here!’ The dog comes to Lucy.
‘This is Socks,’ Lucy tells Poppi. ‘Do you like Socks?’ Poppi smells Socks and wags her tail. She likes
Socks.
‘It’s OK,’ says Lucy. ‘Poppi likes Socks. Maybe Poppi wants a friend. Let’s try.’ Poppi wags her tail again.
‘Thank you very, very much,’ says Penny. Poppi comes up to Penny and Penny strokes her head.
‘Poppi likes you, too,’ says Lucy. ‘You’re a kind girl.’
Penny thanks Lucy and she says goodbye to Socks. Then she goes home. At home she opens the windows
and cleans the apartment. There is no smell of dog now.
The next day Penny thinks of Socks when she wakes up. She goes to school and after school she goes to the
park. Lucy is in the park with Socks and Poppi.
‘Hello, Lucy,’ says Penny. ‘Hello, Poppi, hello, Socks. Are you a good dog?’ she asks Socks and pets him.
‘No,’ says Lucy. She is angry. ‘Socks is a very bad dog. He chews everything.’
‘Oh,’ says Penny. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘Poppi and I are old friends. Poppi understands me. I have a nice apartment, Penny. It is full of nice things.
I collect rugs from all over the world. Some of them are very expensive,’ she says. ‘Poppi is a good dog,’
Lucy adds. ‘She doesn’t eat my rugs.’
‘Oh,’ says Penny again. ‘And Socks…?’
‘Socks eats everything,’ says Lucy. ‘Socks chews the rugs. He makes puddles on the rugs. He chews the
curtains. He is very naughty. I’m sorry Penny, I don’t want Socks.’
Penny doesn’t reply. She is worried. What can she do now?
‘Socks is your puppy,’ says Lucy. ‘He is your problem. He can live in your home and eat your rugs.’
Lucy gets up and walks out of the park without Socks.
‘Oh dear,’ says Penny. ‘You’re a bad puppy, Socks.’ Socks wags his tail and licks her hand.
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sweet: nice; kind; attractive. collect: have many examples of something.
pet: touch an animal with one’s hands. rugs: small carpets.
room: space. puddles: small amounts of liquid on the ground.
wags her tail: moves her tail from side to side. naughty: not good; bad.
strokes: moves her hand gently over.

Chapter 7: Socks and Bruce

Penny sits in the park. It is cold, but she is waiting for Jane. She waits and waits and then Jane arrives with
Bruce.
‘Hello, Penny,’ says Jane. She looks at Penny. ‘You are so cold. You are blue.’
Jane sees that there is something inside Penny’s coat. ‘What is that?’ she asks. Penny takes out Socks and
puts him on the ground. He runs around and then comes back to Penny. She strokes him. Jane strokes him,
too.
‘His name is Socks,’ says Penny. She tells Jane about the bin.
‘That is horrible,’ says Jane. ‘That is really horrible. Some people do such terrible things. You poor little
thing,’ she says to Socks. ‘You can’t live in a rubbish bin.’
‘You are a very kind girl,’ she says to Penny.
‘But I have a problem,’ says Penny. ‘I can’t tell my parents about Socks. He can’t live at my home.’ She
tells Jane about Lucy, but she doesn’t say anything about rugs or chewing.
‘So you have a puppy, but no home for the puppy. That is a problem,’ says Jane.
‘Can you give him a home?’ asks Penny.
Jane thinks. ‘Please?’ says Penny.
But Jane is worried. Bruce doesn’t like little dogs. Bruce is nice with people, but he isn’t nice with little
dogs. ‘I can put Socks into the kitchen and shut the door,’ she thinks.
Socks licks her hand.
‘OK’ says Jane. ‘But only for one day. Then we need to find another solution.’ She gives Penny her
telephone number and her address. Then she picks up Socks. Bruce runs up to Jane and Penny. He sees
Socks and growls. ‘Grrrr!’
Bad dog, Bruce,’ says Jane. ‘Socks is very small. He’s a nice puppy.’
Penny takes Socks and walks with Jane to her car. Jane puts Bruce into the boot and shuts it. Bruce is not
happy. There is a shopping bag in the car. Jane puts Socks into the bag and puts him on to the car seat.
‘Bye-bye Socks!’ shouts Penny.
Penny goes home and then, the next day she goes to school. The day is very long. She thinks about Socks.
‘Is he OK?’ she asks herself. She is worried about Bruce. Penny tries to work. It is very hard. The day goes
on and on and on.
After school, Penny goes to the park. Jane is in the park with Socks. Penny can’t see Bruce.
‘Hello, Jane,’ says Penny. ‘Hello, Socks.’ Socks wags his tail.
‘I’m sorry, Penny,’ says Jane, ‘but Socks can’t live in my house.’
‘Oh,’ says Penny.
‘Bruce is my dog,’ says Jane. ‘Bruce and I are old friends. I love my dog, but he doesn’t like Socks.
He’s jealous and he barks and barks. I can’t think and I can’t work. It’s terrible.’
‘I’m sorry,’ says Penny.
‘Oh Socks,’ cries Penny. ‘You can’t live with Lucy and you can’t live with Jane. And you can’t live in my
apartment.’
She thinks and thinks. ‘My apartment is small,’ she thinks, ‘but my school is very big. And there are lots of
rooms and many cupboards.’
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blue: colour of a person who is very cold. car seat: where people sit in a car.
shut: close. hard: difficult.
picks up: takes in her arms. jealous: (here) angry because he thinks Jane loves
growls: makes an angry sound. Socks more than him.
boot: space in the back of the car used for
luggage.

Chapter 8: In the School

Penny goes back into her apartment and gets some food and a bowl and a torch. ‘The school is dark now,’
she says to Socks. ‘There are no students in the school; they are all at home.’
‘Perhaps you can live in the school,’ she tells the puppy. ‘I’m there every day. And we can play in the park
together some days, too.’
She gets on the bus and goes back to her school. The big door is locked. Penny walks round the school;
there are doors at the back. They are all locked. Then she sees a window. It is open. She climbs inside. It is
dark. Penny puts her torch on. She walks along the corridors between the classrooms. She can’t put Socks
inside a classroom.
There are store rooms underneath the classrooms. Penny finds the door to the stairs. It is locked, too. She
doesn’t have a key. Penny puts Socks on the ground and he runs along the corridor. Penny runs after him.
‘Come here,’ she says. Socks is not listening. He runs into a small room. It is the girls’ changing room.
There is a basin in the room. Penny takes the bowl from her bag. She fills it with water. Socks drinks the
water. Penny takes out the dog food and she gives it to Socks. Socks is very hungry and he eats it all. He
runs around Penny and he barks.
Penny takes a towel and she puts it on the floor. Socks lies on the towel. He is tired now and he falls asleep.
‘OK,’ says Penny. ‘You can stay here in the changing room.’ She shuts the door quietly and she goes back
out of the window. She takes the bus home.
Penny goes home and waits for her parents. When they come home, Penny’s father is happy. ‘There is a
new company,’ he tells Penny’s mother. ‘They like me. They don’t need me now, but maybe in a few
weeks.’
‘That’s great,’ says Mrs Cooper. Penny’s parents open a bottle of wine. They are happy. Penny is happy
because they are happy. She thinks that this is not a good time to talk about Socks. She says nothing about
the puppy. She goes to her room and does her homework. Then she goes to bed.
In the morning, she gets up very early and she goes to the school. She goes to the changing room. Socks is
sitting on the floor. He is chewing a trainer. The floor is covered with chewed trainers. The towel is in
small pieces. And there are puddles on the floor. There is a very bad smell.
‘Oh Socks!’ cries Penny. ‘This is really bad. You are a bad dog.’ Socks wags his tail and licks her hand.
Penny looks round the changing room. She doesn’t know what to do. It is terrible.
In her head Penny imagines the scene.
A teacher and the headteacher come in. They look at the room and they look at Socks.
‘Why is this dog in the changing room?’ they ask.
‘It’s because it’s cold outside,’ says Penny in her head. They look very angry. ‘The school is locked at
night,’ says the headteacher. ‘All the doors are locked…’ Penny tells them about the window. They are not
happy about this.
‘I am calling the police and your mother and father,’ says the headteacher. ‘We
don’t allow bad behaviour at our school.’
Penny is thinking about the police. In her imagination she sees the police arrive at the school. They take
Socks away. And they take her to a police station. Her parents are crying.

‘We are in big trouble,’ she tells Socks. Penny lifts up the puppy. ‘We can’t stay here,’ she says to Socks.
‘I need a friend,’ she thinks. She thinks about her friends in the village. She makes a decision. ‘I have my
birthday money,’ she thinks. ‘I can buy a ticket to the village.’ She goes home and takes the money from
her desk. Then she and Socks take a bus to the railway station. Penny buys a ticket to the town near the
village.
‘We are going home,’ she says to Socks.
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torch: small electric lamp one holds in one’s quietly: silently.
hand. trainer: sports shoe.
locked: closed with a key. allow: let; permit.
climbs: goes up. behaviour: how one acts.
puts her torch on: starts the light in her torch. We are in big trouble: we have got lots of
store rooms: rooms where one keeps things. problems.
underneath: under; on the floor below. desk: table with drawers for writing.
stairs: steps to go from one floor to another.

Chapter 9: Where is Our Daughter?

It is evening in the city but Penny is not home. Mr. and Mrs. Cooper come home, and the apartment is
empty.
‘Where’s Penny?’ asks Penny’s father.
‘I don’t know,’ says her mother. ‘She isn’t answering her phone.’
‘Is she with her friends?’ asks Mr. Cooper. ‘Do you have her friends’ numbers?’ he asks his wife.
‘I don’t think she has any friends here in the city,’ says Mrs. Cooper. ‘Penny never talks about any friends.
Does she talk to you about anyone?’ she asks her husband.
‘No,’ says Mr. Cooper. ‘But I don’t ask Penny about her friends.’ He thinks about this. ‘I don’t talk to her
these days. I come home tired and I eat and watch television.’
Mrs. Cooper says, ‘I also come home tired. I make supper. Penny does her homework and goes to sleep. In
the city we worry about money and work, but we don’t think about our daughter.’
‘We don’t know anything about her life here,’ says Mr. Cooper. ‘Penny doesn’t say anything to us, so we
don’t ask her any questions. Is our daughter unhappy?’ he asks his wife.
Mrs. Cooper is crying now. ‘I don’t know,’ she says. ‘And it’s late and it’s cold and dark. Where is our
daughter? Why isn’t she home from school?’
Mrs. Cooper rings the school. The headteacher is working late. She answers the phone. Mrs. Cooper tells
her about Penny.
‘And she doesn’t have any friends and she always goes straight home. I understand.’
‘Maybe she is in the hospital,’ says Mrs. Cooper.
‘No, no one from the school is in hospital,’ says the headteacher.
‘Wait, please,’ she says to Mrs. Cooper. She is thinking. ‘Does Penny have a dog?’ the headteacher asks
Penny’s mum.
‘A dog?’ says Mrs. Cooper. ‘No, Penny doesn’t have a dog. Why are you asking me about a dog?’
‘Because there is a dog in the school eating my students’ trainers and now one of my students is missing.
I wonder if there is a connection. But Penny doesn’t have a dog, so maybe there is no connection.’
‘Penny loves dogs,’ says Mrs. Cooper. She tells the headteacher about Penny’s dog in the village.
‘Ah,’ says the headteacher. ‘But she doesn’t have a dog here. I see. OK,’ she says, ‘I am in Penny’s class
now and I’m looking at the register. Oh dear,’ she says. ‘We have a serious problem. Penny’s name isn’t in
the register today.’
‘What?’ says Mrs. Cooper.
‘Penny’s name has a tick against her name every day except for one day. There is no tick against her name
today,’ the headteacher tells Mrs. Cooper.
‘No!’ says Mrs. Cooper.’ She begins to cry.
Mr. Cooper takes out his phone. ‘I’m ringing the police,’ he says.
‘My husband is ringing the police,’ says Mrs. Cooper.
‘OK,’ says the headteacher. ‘This is my personal phone number,’ she says to Mrs. Cooper. She gives her
the number. ‘Don’t worry! Penny is not a silly girl,’ she tells Penny’s mother. ‘She probably has a new
friend and she is at her house.’
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missing: can’t be found; isn’t there. tick: a small mark.
wonder: ask myself. ringing: phoning.
connection: relation between two things.

Chapter 10: Looking for Penny

The police come to the apartment and talk to Mr and Mrs Cooper and then they go to the school and talk to
the headteacher and Penny’s teacher, who is now at the school. The teachers phone all the students in
Penny’s class. All the students say the same thing: ‘Penny doesn’t have any friends.’
One of the students, Sara, says: ‘I like Penny. She seems like a nice girl, but I don’t really know her. I don’t
talk to her. Nobody talks to her outside the classroom.’
‘Nobody?’ asks the teacher.
‘Nobody,’ says Sara.
Sara puts down the phone. She is crying.
‘What’s the matter?’ asks Sara’s mother. Sara tells her about Penny.
‘Why don’t you talk to her?’ asks her mother.
‘I don’t know,’ says Sara. ‘Penny’s new and she’s different. She comes from a village and she is always
sad. Nobody talks to her, so she sits and reads her books.’
‘And now she’s missing,’ says Sara’s mother.
‘Yes,’ sniffs Sara. ‘She isn’t at school today and she isn’t at home either.’
Sara’s mother is very quiet. She is thinking about Penny’s mother. ‘That poor mother,’ she thinks. ‘Her
daughter is missing. That is terrible.’
The police ask the same question again and again. They get the same answer.
‘What about Penny’s friends?’ they ask.
‘Penny doesn’t have any friends’ is the answer.
The police are worried. They think that it is a serious situation. They call a press conference and tell the
journalists about Penny.
‘We have a girl,’ says the police officer ‘who comes to live here from the country. She goes to school every
day and nobody talks to her. She is new to the city and she feels lonely. She’s clearly unhappy, but she
doesn’t want her parents to worry. So she doesn’t say anything. Everyone says she’s a nice quiet girl, but
that she seems sad. Then one day she isn’t at school and she isn’t at home either. Her parents are worried.
Well, I’m worried.’
‘She is only missing for one day. It isn’t a story for the newspapers.’
‘Maybe you are right,’ says the police officer. ‘But maybe you are wrong. I want Penny on the news. This
is a photograph of Penny.’
He gives all the journalists a picture of Penny.
‘OK,’ says another journalist, ‘so the story is: Penny is new to the city, and she is lost. Where is Penny?’
‘That’s the story,’ says the police officer:
‘Where’s Penny?’
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sniffs: cries while she is talking.
either: used in negative sentences to mean ‘also’.
serious: bad and dangerous.
press conference: meeting where the police tell the public and the journalists about a situation.
the news: television and radio programmes about recent events.

Chapter 11: The TV News

Two hours later and it’s time for the local evening news. The first story is short. A girl is missing. ‘Where is
Penny?’ asks the newsreader.
Jane is watching the news. She sees Penny’s picture and she immediately phones the police. Lucy is also
watching the news. She phones the police, too. They both tell the police about Penny and Socks.
The police tell the headteacher and Penny’s parents about Socks.
‘So, there is a connection,’ says the headteacher. ‘Penny finds Socks. She doesn’t know what to do with
him. Then she puts Socks in the changing room and he eats the trainers.’
‘Yes,’ says the police officer. ‘Then Penny is worried because she thinks she is in trouble.’
‘This is terrible,’ says Mr Cooper. ‘Penny is our daughter and we don’t know anything about her. We don’t
know about the puppy and we don’t talk to her.’
‘Maybe it is not so bad,’ says the police officer. ‘We now know that there is a reason. Penny is missing
because of Socks. She needs a home for her puppy. She can’t find a home in the city. So she goes
somewhere else. Where do you think she is?’
‘The village,’ says Penny’s mother.
‘Yes,’ says Mr Cooper. ‘The village is still home for Penny. The village is where she is happy. Her old dog
is still in the village.’ He tells the police about Penny’s dog Holly.
‘But she doesn’t have a home in the village now,’ says Mrs Cooper. ‘And it’s January. There is snow on the
hills.’ In her head she sees her daughter beside the lake. She is holding a puppy. ‘People die outside in the
snow,’ she cries.

Chapter 12: In the Village

The village looks just the same. ‘There’s the lake,’ Penny tells Socks. She points to the white house. ‘And
that’s our old house.’ Socks is not listening. He loves the village. He loves all the new smells. He runs
down the path and he barks happily.
But it is January and it is cold outside. And Penny is hungry and tired. ‘We need food and a bed,’ she tells
Socks. There is a food shop in the village, but the woman in the shop knows Penny. Her daughter and
Penny are old friends. Penny wants to see all her old friends, but now she is here in the village she knows
she can’t see them.
‘We must be very quiet, Socks,’ says Penny. ‘People here know me and they know my parents.’
In her head Penny sees the people on the phone.
They see Penny and they phone her parents or the police.
‘We are running away from the police,’ Penny tells the puppy.
Socks licks Penny’s hand. She holds him. He is warm under her coat. Penny walks through the village. She
sees a new café.
‘They don’t know me in that café,’ she tells Socks. ‘We can go in there and get something to eat.’
It is warm inside the café. Penny eats a burger and she gives some of it to Socks. The man in the café likes
Socks. He says that he has a dog himself. He gets some dog biscuits for Socks. Socks is very happy.
‘My parents are working late,’ Penny says. She pays for the burger.
‘I don’t have any food for Socks at home,’ she tells the man in the café. ‘Can I buy some of your dog
biscuits?’
The man gives her some dog biscuits for Socks and he also gives her a piece of cake and an apple. He puts
them in a bag. He’s very kind.
‘Now we have food,’ she tells Socks. But Socks is asleep. Penny is very tired but she can’t sleep outside. It
is very cold now and there is snow on the ground.
‘We don’t have a home here,’ she tells Socks. ‘But we can go to the school. The school is always warm.’

Chapter 13: This is Home

The school in the village is not like the school in the city. It is very small. Penny goes to the back of the
school. There is a little garden there; the students grow vegetables and fruit. Today, the garden is white
with snow. But Penny knows that there is a door from the garden into the school. And there is a key on a
hook beside the door. She goes through the garden to the back door of the school. The key is there.
Penny takes the key from the hook and opens the back door. She goes inside and locks the door behind her.
It is warm inside the school. Penny feels very happy here.
‘We have a new home,’ she tells Socks. ‘Today is Friday, so there are no classes tomorrow or Sunday. We
are safe here.’
In one classroom there are cushions on the floor. This is the reading corner. The students sit on the
cushions and read books. Penny likes reading here, but now she is very tired. She lies on the cushions with
Socks and they both sleep.
The next morning Penny wakes up. ‘Where am I?’ she thinks. Then she remembers. She and Socks explore
the school. She goes into the school kitchen. There is food in the fridge. Penny makes herself some
breakfast. She gives Socks some water and some dog biscuits. Socks is hungry. He eats it all up quickly.
He runs in the school garden and then he comes back inside the school. Penny sits on the cushions and she
reads a book about animals in a forest. Socks runs around and then he sits down, too.
Penny thinks about her parents. She knows that they are worried. She feels sad. She looks at her phone. It is
off. ‘I can’t ring my parents,’ she tells Socks. ‘They like the city, but I’m not happy in the city. I like this
village. This is my home.’
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grow: cultivate; plant food to eat. eats it all up: eats everything.
cushions: soft things to rest on. off: not operating.

Chapter 14: Footprints in the Snow

Back in the city, Sara and her mother are talking about Penny. Her mother is thinking about Mrs. Cooper.
Maybe she needs a friend, too.
Sara’s mother rings the headteacher and talks to her.
Then the headteacher rings Mrs. Cooper.
‘Yes,’ Mrs. Cooper says. ‘That’s fine. Sara and her mother can come here. Maybe Sara knows something
about Penny. Maybe she can help us find her.’
‘Come on,’ says Sara’s mother.
‘Where are we going?’ asks Sara.
‘To Penny’s house. Her mum is also new to the city,’ says Sara’s mother. And together they go to visit Mrs.
Cooper.
When they get there, Jane is there, too. She is telling Mrs. Cooper about Penny and Socks.
‘Your daughter is a very kind girl,’ Jane tells Mrs. Cooper.
‘I know,’ sniffs Penny’s mother. ‘She’s a lovely girl.’
‘So it’s all about this puppy,’ says Sara’s mother.
‘Yes,’ says Mrs Cooper. ‘We can’t have dogs in this apartment.’
‘Poor Penny,’ says Sara. ‘She loses one dog and then she finds a new dog but she can’t keep him.’
The telephone rings. It’s the police. ‘The local police are in the village,’ they say. ‘And Penny is in the
village. We have a sighting of Penny in a local café.’ He tells Mr Cooper about Penny and Socks and their
supper on Friday night.
‘So she is not hungry,’ says the police officer. ‘And she is well. And she is alone with the puppy.’
‘So where is she now?’ asks Mr Cooper.
‘The police and the people in the village are all looking for her,’ says the police officer.
Ten minutes go by. Then the phone rings again.
‘We have Penny and the puppy,’ says the police officer. ‘She is safe and well.’
He tells Mr Cooper how the villagers find footprints in the snow. The footprints are small and there are
also prints of a small dog. They go to the school.
The village teacher goes to the school and finds Penny and Socks. Penny is now with a family she knows
and they are bringing her to the city.
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sighting: when somebody sees a missing person. footprints: marks of a person’s feet or shoes.

Chapter 15: Safe and Happy

Back in the Cooper’s apartment, everyone is crying. They are all happy. Penny is safe.
‘What about Socks?’ asks Sara.
‘Yes,’ says her mother. ‘Socks is still a problem.’
‘I think I have an answer,’ says Sara.
She talks to her mother and her mother nods her head.
‘Yes,’ she says. ‘Yes.’ Sara and her mother talk to Mr and Mrs Cooper and they both nod their heads.
‘Yes,’ they say. ‘That is a really good idea.’
Everyone goes home. Mr and Mrs Cooper wait for Penny in their apartment. After a while they hear a car.
It is their old friends from the village. Penny is with them and Socks is asleep in her arms. Penny sees the
police cars and she is frightened
.
‘It’s OK,’ says her mother. ‘The police are here because you are missing. You are not in trouble.’
‘I’m so sorry,’ cries Penny. She understands now how worried her parents are.
‘Don’t go off on your own again!’ says her father. ‘And always keep your phone on. We were very
worried.’
‘I’m very sorry,’ says Penny. And they all hug each other.
‘We are a family,’ says her mother. ‘We must talk about everything together as a family. We love you,’ she
tells her daughter. ‘And we worry about you.’
‘I love you, too,’ says Penny.
‘And we’re so sorry,’ say her parents.
‘Why are you sorry?’ Penny asks them.
‘Because you feel lonely and you don’t want to tell us. And you find a puppy and you can’t tell us,’ they
say. ‘Is this Socks?’ asks her mother. Socks opens his eyes and licks Mrs. Cooper’s hand.
‘He’s very sweet,’ says her mother.
‘Yes,’ says Penny. ‘I love him, but he chews things.’
Mrs. Cooper laughs. ‘We know all about Socks,’ she says.
‘Jane and Lucy are very upset. They like you very much.’
‘What about the school?’ asks Penny. ‘What about all those trainers?’
‘Don’t worry. The headteacher says that you are not in trouble,’ says Mr. Cooper. ‘You can thank Sara’s
mother for that.’
‘Sara from my class?’ asks Penny. ‘She never speaks to me, but she seems nice.’
‘She is nice,’ says Mrs. Cooper. ‘She likes you. She wants to be your friend.’
‘But what about her mother and the trainers?’ asks Penny.
‘Sara’s mother thinks it is very bad that there is a new girl in the school and nobody talks to her. And she
doesn’t want this to happen again. The other parents think this, too. So now they want to set up a welcome
programme for new students and they want you to help them.’
Penny nods. ‘But …’ she begins. She still has a big problem, she thinks. Her apartment is still very small
and Socks needs a home.
‘Are you thinking about Socks?’ asks her father.
Penny nods.
‘Well,’ says her father. ‘Sara’s mother says Socks can live with them. And you and Sara can play with him
every day.’
‘So now Socks has a new home,’ says Penny. ‘And I have a new friend.’
Socks jumps down and wags his tail.
‘Socks is happy,’ says Penny. ‘And so am I.’
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nods: moves her head up and down to say ‘yes’.
while: short period of time.
frightened: scared or afraid.
go off: (here) go away.
upset: sad.