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“What should I do?” asked Coraline

“Read a book,” said her mother “Watch a video Play with your toys Go and pester Miss Spink or Miss Forcible, or the crazy old man upstairs”

“No,” said Coraline “I don’t want to do those things I want to explore”

“I don’t reallyas you don’t make a mess”

Coraline went over to theand watched the rain coo out in—it was the other kind, the kind that threw itself down from the sky and splashed where it landed It was rain that arden into a muddy, wet soup

Coraline had watched all the videos She was bored with her toys, and she’d read all her books

She turned on the television She went fro on butabout the stockto watch: it was the last half of a natural history progra called protective coloration She watched aniuised thes or other anis that could hurt them She enjoyed it, but it ended too soon and was followed by a program about a cake factory

It was time to talk to her father

Coraline’s father was hos on computers, which meant that they were home a lot of the time Each of them had their own study

“Hello Coraline,” he said when she ca round

“M”

“Yup,” said her father “It’s bucketing down”

“No,” said Coraline “It’s just raining Can I go outside?”

“What does your mother say?”

“She says you’re not going out in weather like that, Coraline Jones”

“Then, no”

“But I want to carry on exploring”

“Then explore the flat,” suggested her father “Look—here’s a piece of paper and a pen Count all the doors and s List everything blue Mount an expedition to discover the hot water tank And leave me alone to work”

“Can I go into the drawing roo room here the Joneses kept the expensive (and uncorandmother had left them when she died Coraline wasn’t allowed in there Nobody went in there It was only for best

“If you don’t ”

Coraline considered this carefully, then she took the paper and pen and went off to explore the inside of the flat