Corduroy lived in the toy department of a big store. Corduroy was wearing green overalls. There were other animals and dolls on the shelf with Corduroy. Corduroy waited with all the other animals and dolls for somebody to buy him. No one seemed to want a bear in green overalls.

"Oh, Mommy!" Lisa said. "That's the bear I've always wanted." Lisa's mommy told her that the bear didn't look new. Corduroy was missing a button from his overalls. Corduroy didn't know he had lost a button. Corduroy watched sadly as Lisa and her mother walked away.

Quite by accident, Corduroy had stepped onto an escalator. Suddenly the floor was moving under him. Upstairs there were rows and rows of beds. Corduroy yanked and yanked at the button on the mattress. Corduroy toppled off the mattress when he was pulling on the button.

Corduroy didn't know that the night watchman was also in the store. The night watchman heard the crash and came dashing down the escalator. "Who in the world did that!" exclaimed the night watchman. The night watchman saw two fuzzy brown ears sticking up from under the cover. "Hello!" said the night watchman. "How didyou get upstairs?"

Corduroy was just waking up when he saw the same little girl he had seen the day before looking straight at him. Lisa used the money from her piggy bank to buy Corduroy. Lisa carried Corduroy home in her arms. Lisa ran up into her family's apartment and straight to her room. Corduroy said to Lisa, "I've always wanted a friend." Lisa gave Corduroy a big hug.