Billie holds up one of
her pigtails and gives a
little snip.

Oh yes, they are very
sharp. Billie’s pigtail falls
into the sink! It lies there
looking like a little
furry mouse.

Oh dear. Billie looks
in the mirror. Now she
only has one pigtail.

Billie doesn’t look
beautiful at all. In fact,
she looks silly! She can’t
walk around with just
one pigtail. Everyone
will laugh at her!

So Billie snips off the
other pigtail. Now both
sides look the same.

Two little pigtails lie
in the sink.

Billie is amazed at how
easily they came off.
She wishes she could
stick them back on again.
Billie liked her two pigtails.
Now she has none!

Billie looks in the mirror.
Tears roll down her
cheeks. She wishes she
had never found those
horrible sharp scissors!

She wishes she had her
two little pigtails back!
She stares at her funny
haircut and tries to
stop crying.

Just then, Billie sees
someone else in the
mirror. It’s Jack!

‘Billie! What have you
done?’ says Jack.

His eyes are as big as
tennis balls. ‘You cut off
your pigtails!’

Billie covers her hair
with her hands. ‘Don’t
tell Mum!’ she pleads.
‘I’m going to be in so
much trouble!’

‘But what are you
going to do?’ asks Jack.
‘You can’t hide your
hair forever!’

‘I’ll wear a hat!’ says Billie.
‘Until it grows back.’

‘Don’t be silly,’ Jack says.
‘You have to tell your
mum. She’ll know what
to do.’

Billie hangs her head.
She knows that Jack
is right. She feels very
nervous. But with Jack
beside her, it’s not so bad.

They walk into the
kitchen to find Billie’s
mum.

Chapter
Four

Billie’s mum is sitting at
the table reading the paper.
She looks up as Billie and
Jack come into the room.
‘Oh, Billie!’ she gasps.
‘What have you done?’

Billie scrunches up
her face. She covers her
eyes with her hands.
Then she starts to cry.

‘I was playing
hairdressers,’ she sobs.

Billie’s mum stands
up and pulls Billie into
a hug. ‘My silly Billie,’
she sighs. She ruffles
Billie’s funny hair.

‘You’re not cross?’ Billie
asks. She looks up at her
mum with wet eyes.

‘Well, yes, a little bit,’
Billie’s mum frowns.
‘You know you’re not
allowed to play with
scissors!’

‘I know,’ says Billie glumly.
‘I’m sorry.’

But then Billie’s mum
gives a small smile. ‘Do you
know what?’ she says.

‘When I was a little
girl I did exactly the
same thing.’ She gives
Billie a squeeze.

‘Really?’ Billie asks,
amazed. ‘You cut off
your pigtails?’

‘Yep. Except I looked
much worse than you,’
Billie’s mum laughs.

‘My hair was sticking
up everywhere! You’ve
still got plenty of hair left.
But it looks like we’ll
have to take you to a real
hairdresser, hey?’