Tick-Tock was a very important clock. He lived on the mantelpiece in a cozy little bedroom and told everyone when it was time to wake up, time to play, and most importantly, time for bed! But Tick-Tock had a secret. He *loved* socks. Not to wear, of course – clocks don’t have feet! – but to collect. He had a special drawer just for socks, all sorts of colors and patterns.
One morning, Tick-Tock went to admire his sock collection and… oh dear! The drawer was almost empty! Where had all his socks gone? He remembered playing hide-and-seek with them yesterday, tossing them gently into the air and catching them. He must have dropped them!
Tick-Tock felt a little wobbly. Losing all his socks was a very big problem. He couldn’t possibly enjoy telling time if he was worried about his missing socks. He called out, “Oh dear, oh dear! Has anyone seen my socks?”
Rosie the rocking horse heard him. “What’s wrong, Tick-Tock?” she asked, gently rocking back and forth.
“My socks! They’re all gone!” Tick-Tock explained, his pendulum swinging sadly. “I think I dropped them all over the room while we were playing.”
Rosie immediately said, “Don’t worry, Tick-Tock! We’ll find them! I’m good at spotting things from up high.” And Barnaby Bear, who was napping on the rug, mumbled, “I’m good at sniffing things out!”
So, the three friends began to search. Rosie carefully looked under the bed and behind the curtains. Barnaby sniffed around the toy chest and near the bookshelf. Tick-Tock, even though he couldn’t move, used his loud ‘tick-tock’ to help guide them. “Tick-tock… a little to the left… tick-tock… under the pillow!”
Slowly, one by one, the socks were discovered! A striped sock under the bed, a polka-dot sock behind the curtains, a fuzzy sock near Barnaby’s nose! It took a while, but finally, they found every single sock.
Tick-Tock was overjoyed! “Thank you, Rosie! Thank you, Barnaby!” he chimed. “I was so worried, but you helped me find them all. I learned that it’s important to be responsible with my things, and it’s wonderful to have friends who are always willing to help.”
Rosie smiled. “That’s what friends are for!” she said. Barnaby yawned happily. “Now, if you’ll excuse me,” he said, “all this searching has made me sleepy again.”
Tick-Tock carefully put all his socks back in the drawer, making sure to close it tightly this time. He knew he would still play with his socks, but he would be much more careful. And as he ticked and tocked, he felt warm and happy, knowing he had good friends and a cozy room, and a drawer full of socks. Now, close your eyes, little one, and let Tick-Tock count you off to sleep… tick-tock… one… two… three… sweet dreams.