Once there was a pair of socks that belonged to a little boy. The socks liked the little boy, but one of them was not happy. This sock was tired of its same old routine and longed for adventure. It wanted to see what life was like on the other side of the world. Little did this poor sock know what its future would soon hold. It all started on a cold winter day. The little boy’s mother was doing her laundry as usual. She had just finished washing the clothes and was hanging them out on the clothesline in the backyard.
Unfortunately, this family was poor and could not afford a dryer. The woman had just finished putting the last sock on the line when a stiff wind blew up and took the sock away. Instead of being upset by this, the sock was thrilled! It was finally free! The sock blew onward until it landed in a corn field. It lay there not knowing what else to do, when it heard a noise. A mother mouse had found the sock and was investigating it. She soon began dragging it slowly to her mouse hole where she had seven tiny babies. The sock had now become a nest for the infants.
The sock did not mind too much because it enjoyed feeling useful. Several days passed by before something terrible happened to destroy the sock’s contentment. One night, the mouse babies were all huddled closely together in the sock. Mother mouse had gone to find food, and so the babies were all alone. A slithering sound could soon be heard inside the mouse hole. A large black snake had entered the hole looking for a scrumptious meal. The sock was horrified at the sight, but could do nothing to protect the children.
Luckily, the mother mouse returned just in time. She distracted the giant snake while the babies scattered. She bit a huge chunk out of the snake’s tail, tearing the tip off. As the snake writhed in agony, the mother mouse escaped with her offspring. Now the unfortunate snake was left with no tail and no dinner. He happened to look down and see the lonely sock. He suddenly had an idea to use the sock as a new tail. He put it on, and it fit quite nicely. Still sore and miserable, the snake slithered out of the mouse hole and made his way to the edge of a forest.
Now the sock was distressed. This was not the adventure it had imagined. There must be some way to escape this horrible situation! Suddenly, before them was a clearing. In this clearing was a dilapidated house that was barely able to stand. In front of this hovel was a witch. She was stirring a big, black cauldron and cackling to herself. The snake slithered up to the witch to get a better look. She was quite a spectacle to behold! She had a round body that was rather lumpy. She also had pale green skin the color of old peas.
The worst part about her, however, was her nose. It was long and curved downward, so that it was in the shape of a water faucet. Even more horrifying was the fact that this nose was covered in warts with tiny hairs sticking out of them. The snake was not impressed and was about to move on when the witch spied him. She had always wanted a pet and this snake, with his sock tail, was just what she had always dreamed of. She reached out her bony fingers to grab him. Unfortunately for her, the snake was quick. He glided away before the witch could snatch him.
Unfortunately for the sock, it was left behind with the witch. The witch picked up the dirty sock and stared at it with her yellow eye. She was sad she no longer had a pet, but surely she could find a use for this sock. She thought about hanging it over the fireplace to keep her newts warm. She thought about putting it on her large hairy foot. Eventually, she decided it would be a more beneficial nose warmer. That very night she decided to try it out. It was a very cold winter night, but the witch liked to keep the window open in case a bat might fly in.
She put the sock on the end of her nose and fell into a deep sleep. The sock was miserable! He missed his boring life on the end of a foot. He had to find a way to escape. Miraculously, the sock had an idea! There was a loose string inside of the sock that was just perfect for this plan. The sock began to tickle the witch’s nose with the string. She wiggled a little, so he tickled harder. Suddenly, the witch sneezed with such force that the sock blew off her nose, flew out the window, and was blown away in a gigantic snowstorm.
The frightened sock flew carelessly through the wind, until it landed in a twisted mass on a wire. It was still dark outside, so the sock had no idea where it was. It wished with all its might that it was home. When daylight finally came, the sock was surprised to see that it had returned home. It was safe on its very own clothesline, in its very own yard. The little boy eventually came out to play in the snow and saw his sock. He was so excited that it had returned home. Since he had already lost the other one, he used this sock to create a puppet, and the boy and the sock were happy.
