In the story, "Stray" Doris finds a cold, shivering puppy that wandered onto the property of Mr. Lacey and his wife, Mamie. They had a daughter named Doris. Icicles hung three feet or more from the overhang of houses, snowdrifts gobbled up autos, and the feathered creatures were so cushioned up they looked comic. They didn't know where it came from, but they did know where it was going. Mr. Lacey wanted to take it out to the pound in the city right away but, the roads were too bad to travel, for many days. However, Doris thought that it was a good dog. Four days passed, and the puppy still didn't complain. Doris knew her parents wouldn't let her keep the puppy because her father was earning so little money. She knew that the puppy was surely going to go to the pound when the weather got better. She did talk to her parents about the dog at dinner once, but they didn't say anything as if they were ignoring her. Doris said, "She's not much trouble" and "I like her" but, Mrs. Lacey just shook her head. Eventually, the time came to bring the puppy to the pound. It was on Saturday when the dog had to leave Doris. She begged to her mom, then her dad, to let her keep the dog. Her mom just told her, "You know we can’t afford a dog, Doris. You try to act more grown-up about this." She was so tragic, everything she could do was cry herself to bed and dream about seeking for something she lost. It was nearly night when she woke up, hungry, but didn't want to face her parents or go through the basement door. When she went down to the kitchen, her parents were almost done with dinner drinking coffee. She made herself a glass of powdered milk and drank it all down. Then, as soon as she started to head out the door, Mr. Lacey asked her if she was going to feed the mutt. Doris was confused and surprised at the same time. She asked Mr. Lacey what he was talking about, and Mr. Lacey told her that the pound was the worst looking place he's ever seen. He couldn't leave an animal there. Not even an ant. Therefore, he brought it back home.
