The Sock with the Orange Star

At Willow Bend Campground, Nessa found a green-and-white striped sock beside her family's tent. A wooden clothespin clung to its cuff, the stretchy band at the top. She held it up with two fingers. "Who's missing a sock?" she asked.

"Probably me," said her brother, Ivo. "I packed striped socks." He reached for it, but Nessa paused. Yesterday, everyone had hung wet socks on the same clothesline. Stripes alone might not settle the question.

Nessa opened her notebook and wrote the heading "Sock Clues." Under it, she listed what she could see: green stripes, gray toe, wooden clothespin. "Let's look for evidence," she said. "We need details that help us know, not just guess."

Ivo pulled up his pant legs. His socks had green stripes, too, but their toes were purple. He checked his bag and found his other pair rolled together. Grandpa showed Nessa his plain gray socks. Neither person's socks matched the one she held.

"Turn it over," Grandpa suggested. Nessa spread the sock across her knee to inspect it closely. On the heel, orange stitches formed a crooked star. Someone had mended a hole there instead of throwing the sock away.

Mom came back from filling the water jug. Before Nessa could ask anything, Mom laughed. "There's my missing sock! I fixed both heels with orange thread last winter." She fetched its partner from her bag. Its heel had another crooked orange star.

Nessa placed the socks side by side. The stripes, gray toes, and orange repairs matched. Now she had more than a color to support her answer. "It belongs to Mom," she announced, writing the final clue in her notebook.

"I washed that one yesterday," Mom explained. "I used one clothespin to hang it up. The pin must have slipped off the line when the wind picked up." She pointed to an empty spot above the tent.

Nessa hung the sock back on the line, using two clothespins to make it secure. "Case closed," she said. Ivo grinned. "Until somebody loses a mitten." Nessa tucked her notebook away. For now, she was ready for breakfast.