Annie was lonely. Taffy, her golden-haired cat, had disappeared. Life in the woods was empty, and Annie could not find anyone to be her friend. Outside, the snow was deep and the winter seemed endless.
A moose and a bear and even a wildcat are not as friendly or as soft or as cuddlesome as Taffy. A story within a story forms as the intricate borders subtly foreshadow the main plot of Taffy’s return at the end of the winter.