Candy was only a little dog, and once he had had a happy home. But his owners had taken him to the country one day, and left him, and now his long search for a new home begins. Poor Candy hates his new life as a stray. Used to the careless laughter and play of his old home, he is cold, and miserable, and hungry. He misses the children, and the warmth of the little nest he'd made for himself by the stove, and the fun he and the children had together. There's only one thing he doesn't miss, and that's his old mistress, who was always threatening him with her broom if he misbehaved; and the broom was hard, and frightening and painful. Now Candy lives in the woods during the day, and scrounges food from the nearby houses at night. He never gets very close, because most houses have a broom beside their door, ready to sweep away the leaves -- and Candy is afraid of brooms, and the people who wield them. Through one whole year Candy lives his life as a stray, until the day he meets the pig-woman. Through her he finds himself in a dogs' home, which is where the captain finds him, and gradually Candy comes to find trust and affection once more.