Chapter 1: A Bite of a Biscuitchapter 1 A Bite of a Biscuit
Sophie Mouse rolled over in bed and opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was her newest acorn, sitting on her bedside table.

Sophie smiled. The acorn was smooth, shiny, and orange-red. She had found it the day before.

Sophie got up and peered underneath her bed. She pulled out a box. It held her acorn collection. There were brown ones and green ones. There were round ones and pointy ones. Some had acorn caps and some did not. No two were exactly alike. Sophie placed her new acorn inside the box.



But then Sophie had a thought. No, a vision: all of her acorns, lined up neatly on a shelf. An acorn display!

As an artist, Sophie loved the idea.

Sophie looked at the shelves on her wall. The lowest one was cluttered with paint tins, library books, and papers.

Sophie went to work. She cleaned out the empty paint tins. She organized the rest in her art box. She put the library books in her backpack so she'd remember to return them. She sorted papers.



Soon Sophie had a clean, empty shelf. A blank canvas! Onto it, she emptied her acorn collection.

Sophie arranged and rearranged. First by color, then by size. Then she tried mixing the acorns up a bit. Yes, she liked that arrangement best.



Now Sophie could look at her acorns all the time!

"Sophie!" Mrs. Mouse called from downstairs. "Breakfast!"

"Okay!" Sophie called.

She took one last look at her acorn display and smiled. Then she ran downstairs. Her little brother, Winston, was already at the table.

Sophie's whiskers twitched. "Something smells yummy!" Sophie exclaimed.

Mrs. Mouse was pulling a baking sheet out of the oven. "I'm trying a new biscuit recipe," she explained. "Will you and Winston tell me what you think?"



Sophie and Winston nodded excitedly. Their mom was the best baker in Pine Needle Grove. Muffins, pies, cakes, breads--Lily Mouse made them all at her bakery in town. But first, they had to pass the taste test at home.

Mrs. Mouse put a plate of biscuits on the table. "I may have overcooked them a bit," she warned them. "Try to imagine they're softer."



Sophie reached for a biscuit. Before she tasted it, her nose picked up a scent. Some kind of berry. Sophie took a bite. Oh, it was a little hard. But so good! Buttery and with a mild, nutty flavor.



"I taste raspberry!" said Winston.



"And oats?" Sophie added.

Mrs. Mouse laughed. "Impressive!" she cried. "Yes! They are raspberry-oat biscuits!"

Sophie took another big bite.

Ow!



This time she felt a weird pain in her mouth. Sophie spit out the biscuit.

Lily Mouse frowned. "Oh no," she said. "Is it that bad?"

Sophie shook her head. The biscuits were delicious. Sophie wanted to tell her mom so. But first she had to see what was going on in her mouth.

Sophie got up and ran to the bathroom. She leaned close to the mirror and opened her mouth.

Sophie's top front tooth was crooked. She touched it gently. The tooth moved! Sophie could wiggle it back and forth.

Oh no! Sophie thought. My tooth is loose!

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Excerpted from The Missing Tooth Fairy by Poppy Green
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