Debbie and her brother, George, are outside the local supermarket, trying to sell their cat’s most recent batch of kittens. While most of the kittens are content to stay in their box, Socks, who’s dark with white paws, keeps trying to get out so Debbie will hold him. Debbie keeps pushing Socks to the bottom of the kitten-pile. She wants to keep him but knows her dad won’t let her, so she’s determined to find him a good home because she doesn’t want “just anybody to take Socks” (7). When a family with three loud children shows interest in Socks, Debbie doesn’t want to give him up because she doesn’t think this family will take good care of him.

Before the family can take him, George slips Socks into a nearby mailbox. While Socks enjoys the quiet darkness, he quickly starts to overheat. When the mailman opens the mailbox several minutes later to collect the letters, Debbie snatches up Socks, hugs him, and then shows him off to a young couple—Bill and Marilyn Bricker. When the couple buys Socks for more than the asking price, Debbie sadly hands him over, telling them their satisfaction is guaranteed. Bill asks if satisfaction is guaranteed to them or the kitten, to which Marilyn says, “to the kitten, of course” (22).