Sarah Jane was wearing her glitter jeans with her white princess t-shirt, and she knew she looked good.  With  a pair of white socks and her new tennis shoes, the outfit would be perfect.

“Get those shoes, Sarah Jane!” called her mother from the kitchen.  “We leave in five minutes.”

Sarah Jane opened her sock drawer and searched around for white socks.  There was one right on top, but she couldn’t find the other one anywhere.  She dug through every pair of socks.  She opened all the other drawers and hunted through those, too.  She went back to the sock drawer for another thorough search.

“Mom!  Have you seen my other white sock?” she yelled.

“They should be in the sock drawer, sweetie.”

“One of them is, but the other one is missing!”

“Well, I only put them into the sock drawer in pairs, honey, so I don’t know what happened,” said her mother, coming to stand in her bedroom doorway.    Ellen, Sarah Jane’s baby sister peeked her head around her mom’s legs.

“Sawah Jane, come wook!” said Ellen excitedly.

“Not now, Ellen.  I have to get ready for school,” said Sarah Jane, tearing apart the sock drawer again. The other white sock was no where to be found.

“You’d better get a different pair of socks, Sarah Jane,” said her mother.

“I can’t!  They’re all different colors.  Only white socks go with this outfit!”

“I think pink will be just fine,” said her mother.

Sarah Jane shuddered.  Pink would never do.  “I’ll just have to change my clothes.”

“There’s really no time, Sarah Jane.”

“I’ll be super fast,” promised Sarah Jane.  And she was.  She had just gotten a whole new outfit on and was putting on her pink socks and shoes when Ellen came back.

“Sawah Jane!  Come see what I made!”

“I can’t, Ellen.  I’m going to be late for school!”

“Pwease, Sawah Jane!”  Ellen followed her to the door while Sarah Jane put on her coat.  Her mom was already waiting in the car.

“I’ll look later, Ellen.  Bye!”

That night, Sarah Jane laid out her outfit for the next day.  When she opened her sock drawer, there were both white socks sitting right there on top!

“Mom!  Where did you find my white sock?” she called.

Her mom came to the door, carrying the bedtime snacks.  “I didn’t find it,” she said.

“Well, look,” said Sarah Jane, holding up the sock.  “Now it’s here.”

“Hmm,” said her mom.  “Maybe some elves borrowed it and then put it back.”

Sarah Jane rolled her eyes as she followed her mom to the table for snack time.  Her big brother was already eating.

“James, have you been messing around in my sock drawer?”

“Nope,” he said, not even looking up.

“Are you sure?”

Now he looked up and glared.  “What would I want in your sock drawer?  Who wants to touch your smelly socks?”

Sarah Jane thought that was a good point.

The next morning, Sarah Jane happily put on her sparkly jeans and white princess t-shirt again, but when she reached for her socks, she could only find one!  Impossible!  Sarah Jane looked all around.  She opened every drawer.  She was hunting under the bed when Ellen came in.

“Sawah Jane!” said Ellen.  “Come see my puppet show!”

“Not now!” said Sarah Jane form under the bed.  “I have to get to school.”

When she came out, she was all dusty.

“Sarah Jane!” called her mother.  “We’re leaving now or you’ll be late.”

“Mom!” wailed Sarah Jane.  “My sock is missing again!”

“You’ll just have to wear another pair,” answered her mom.

“I can’t!” yelled Sarah Jane.

Her mom appeared in the doorway.  She did not look happy.  “We don’t have time for this again today, Sarah Jane.   Put these on.  Now.”  She held out a pair of purple socks.

Sarah Jane shuddered, but she knew better than to talk back when that look was on her mom’s face.  She put on the socks.  The effect was hideous.

All that day, Sarah Jane slouched at school so that no one would see the ugly purple socks peeking out from between her jeans and her tennis shoes.  When she got home, she ripped them off right away.  She was just flinging them toward the laundry basket when Ellen came in.

“Sawah Jane, Sawah Jane!  Come wook!”  She was pulling on Sarah Jane’s hand.

Sarah Jane sighed and followed her sister.  In Ellen’s room, a blanket was draped over the end of the bed.

“You sit hewe,” said Ellen, pushing Sarah Jane into a chair.  Then Ellen went and crouched behind the blanket.  “Pwesenting….the bestest puppet show on eawth!”  Up came a little hand, holding a doll.  “One day, wittle June was walking in the woods.  Then a vewy scawy monster jumped out!”  Up came a hand covered in a white sock, which grabbed the little doll by the head.

Sarah Jane jumped out of her chair.  “Ellen!”

Ellen’s head popped up.  “Sawah Jane, the puppet show isn’t over!”

“That’s my sock!”  shouted Sarah Jane.  “You are the one who took my sock?!?”

“I needed a monster puppet,” said Ellen.

“I was looking for that everywhere!”

Ellen looked serious.  “Not evewywhewe,” she said.  “You didn’t wook in the puppet show.”

Sarah Jane tried to answer that, but she couldn’t.  After a minute, she gave up and smiled.  “You’re right,” she said.  “Next time I’ll be sure to check there, too.  Now let’s see the end of that puppet show.”