Story
Little Orphan Annie displays literary kinship with the picaresque novel in its seemingly endless string of episodic and unrelated adventures in the life of a character who wanders vagabondlike through a corrupt world. In Annie's first year, the picaresque pattern that will characterize her story is set, with the major players – Annie, Sandy, and "Daddy" Warbucks – introduced within the strip's first several weeks.
The story opens in a dreary, Dickensian orphanage where Annie is routinely abused by the cold, sarcastic matron. One day, the wealthy but mean-spirited Mrs. Warbucks takes Annie into her home "on trial". Her husband develops an instant paternal affection for Annie and instructs her to address him as "Daddy". Unfortunately, his business takes him far from home for long periods of time and he is unable to protect Annie from his spiteful, jealous wife who eventually returns Annie to the orphanage.
The matron sends Annie out to work as a drudge in Mrs. Bottle's grocery store. She did not like this job. One day Annie saves a puppy called Sandy from a gang of cruel boys, but the day comes when Annie can no longer endure Mrs. Bottle's torments and she runs away. She wanders into the countryside and finds a warm and loving home on the farm of Mr. and Mrs. Silo. When "Daddy" Warbucks offers a large reward for Annie's recovery, an evil mortgage holder threatens not only the Silo farm but Annie's happiness and security. Moral order and good triumph however when the motoring Warbucks descends on the farm one day looking for a refreshing glass of water and fortuitously discovers Annie. Warbucks upgrades the farm structures and returns to the city with Annie and Sandy after promising the Silos to return for future visits.
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