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My story begins with a little four-year-old girl running around and playing outside. Her mother tells her that it's time to go inside. When they lay the little girl down to go to sleep the mother tells her, "Molly, your daddy and I are going on a little trip. You are going to stay here with Mrs. Johnston." (Molly calls her Mrs.J.) Molly begs to go along, but her mother tells her that she has to stay. Molly agrees to stay with Mrs. J.

The next day Mrs. J comes over and she and Molly wave goodbye to Molly's parents. The following day Mrs. J takes Molly shopping and to the libary. Molly gets a new toy. The day after that, Molly is in her room coloring when the phone rings. Mrs. J. answers it. On the other end is the New York City Police Department. They tell Mrs. Johnston that Molly's mom and dad died in a train accident on their way home. Mrs. Johnston hangs up the phone and calls one of her friends for advice. The friend tells her that there is a good orphanage on Hudson Street, and that she should take Molly there. She hangs up and calls the Hudson Street Orphanage. The woman on the other end agrees to take Molly. Mrs. Johnston then goes into Molly's room and tells her the bad news.

Mrs. Johnston and Molly then take a cab to the orphanage. When they get to the orphanage Mrs. Johnston rings the doorbell. A woman wearing too much makeup answers the door and identifies herself as Miss Agatha Hannigan. She shows Molly and Mrs. Johnston into her office. As they are walking to the office, Molly sees a little redheaded girl. The girl winks at her, and Molly winks back.

When they enter the office Miss Hannigan hands Mrs. Johnston some papers to sign so that Molly will be released to the state. Mrs. Johnston signs the papers and then leaves. After Mrs. Johnston leaves Miss Hannigan tells Molly to take off the dress she's wearing and hands her a ragged outfit to wear and some ragged socks and shoes to put on. She also hands her some ragged long underwear to wear at night. On top of that she hands Molly some ragged bedsheets. As Molly is walking, she begins to worry that the woman might take away the doll she is holding, so she hides the doll under the sheets.

As they are walking, Miss Hannigan tells Molly the rules of the orphanage. "You are to say 'Yes, Miss Hannigan' and 'No, Miss Hannigan.' There is one other thing all orphans have to say. That is: 'I love you, Miss Hannigan.' Can you say it?" Molly says that she doesn't want to say it. Miss Hannigan threatens to paddle her if she continues to refuse. Molly then says, very softly, "I love you Miss Hannigan." Miss Hannigan demands that she say it louder, which she does.

Miss Hannigan takes Molly to the dormitory where Molly will sleep. She shows Molly her bed and tells her to either make the bed herself or sleep on the floor. Miss Hannigan then leaves the room. Molly tries to make her bed but can't. She then hears footsteps coming toward the dormitory. She tries to hide between her bed and the one next to it. From her hiding place Molly looks to see who is coming in. She sees a little girl with red hair. It is the same little girl who winked at her earlier. As the redheaded girl approaches Molly, she begins to cry. She tries to hide, but can't. The redheaded girl says, "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. My name is Annie.What's yours?" Molly then tells Annie her name. Annie offers to help Molly make her bed.

After the two girls finish making the bed, the other orphans start to file into the room. They introduce themselves to Molly. After Molly gets to know everyone, Annie helps her get ready for bed. Molly sees Annie's locket and asks how it broke. Annie tells Molly the story of how she was left at the orphanage. Annie also tells Molly she might have to go to someone's house from time to time and clean but she promises to always come back to the orphanage. If she doesn't, that means she has found her folks and will come back to adopt Molly.

Two years go by. Annie is now ten years old and Molly is now six. Annie decides to run away. Molly starts to cry and says, "Don't go! Miss Hannigan will put you in the cellar!" Annie tells Molly that she won't get caught. Annie then hides in a basket of dirty laundry and gets taken out by Mr. Bundles. When Molly goes to bed that night she can't sleep. Kate comes over to her and tells her Annie will be back.

The next day, the doorbell rings. Pepper runs to the door and opens it. A police officer with Annie in tow asks for the headmistress of the orphanage. She yells for Miss. Hannigan. Molly follows Miss Hannigan to the door and is overjoyed to see Annie. That night, after Annie helps Molly get ready for bed, Molly sees her leave the dormitory and go downstairs. Molly jumps out of bed, runs after her and asks where she is going. Annie tells Molly to go to bed and she'll see why in the morning.

The next day they are in the sweatshop working. After Annie is sure Miss Hannigan isn't paying attention, she goes downstairs, comes back with a dog, which she has named Sandy, and shows him to the other orphans. Molly is very excited about the dog. But just as they are beginning to have fun with him, Miss Hannigan sneaks up. The orphans hide Sandy between two sewing machines and throw some material on him. But Miss Hannigan sees through this deception and removes the material from the dog. She threatens to put Annie in the cellar and call the pound for Sandy. Molly cries and begs Miss Hannigan not to put Annie in the cellar, but Miss Hannigan doesn't listen.

After Miss Hannigan leaves with Annie and Sandy, the doorbell rings. Nobody answers it, so it rings again. This time Miss Hannigan answers the bell. Molly looks up and sees a woman that looks like a cross between her neighbor Mrs. Johnston and her mother. She tells Kate that the woman she saw looked like her mother. Kate says that she's probably here to get an orphan to clean her house. After a few minutes the woman comes out with Annie and Sandy. Molly starts to cry and tells Annie not to go. Annie says that she'll be back in a week. That night Molly can't sleep and goes up to the window where Annie often sat. Kate tells her to come down, which she does. That night Molly cries herself to sleep.

A week goes by, and all the while Molly looks forward to the day Annie is supposed to come back. When the woman who took Annie away comes back without her, Molly gets really upset. After the woman leaves, Miss Hannigan then tells the orphans that Annie has been adopted. She also tells them that they will have to work harder since Annie is not coming back. She tells Molly to scrub the stairs. Molly says she saw Duffy do them earlier. Miss Hannigan says, "I don't care if Duffy did them earlier or not. You're going to do them anyway. Is that clear?" Molly answers, "Yes, Miss Hannigan."

The next night Miss Hannigan goes to buy some more makeup. After she leaves, the orphans sneak into her office to listen to The Hour of Smiles. As they are listening they hear Annie's voice. They also hear that Annie is going to find her folks. Molly gets really excited and tells Kate that she's going to live with Annie. Pepper tells her that Annie has probably forgotten about her. Kate tells Molly not to listen to Pepper.

The following night Pepper is sitting in the bathroom reading a magazine while Molly is scrubbing the floor. Molly hears Annie's name and listens to the voices that are coming through the heating vent. She hears a man say they are going to drop Annie in the river. She runs to tell Pepper, but Pepper doesn't listen to her, and tells her to clean the bathroom stalls. She doesn't want to fight Pepper, so she does as she is told. After she gets done cleaning the first one, she sees the mop she used earlier and gets an idea. She picks up the mop and knocks Pepper down with it. Molly then runs to Kate and wakes her up. She is really upset. Kate asks her what is wrong. Molly says that Annie is going to be hurt. After Kate hears this she wakes the other orphans up. They then try to use the fire escape to get away, but Miss Hannigan sees them and catches them.

They get put in the supply closet. Molly then starts to cry and say that Annie might be up in heaven with her mommy and daddy. After Pepper hears this she decides to look for a way out. She sees one and shows it to the other orphans, who follow her out. Once free, they look for Fifth Avenue. They find it and are happy until they realize they are only at Number One, and they have to go all the way to 987. Molly tells Kate that her feet hurt. Kate offers to carry her on her back, and Molly accepts Kates offer. They walk a little further. When they come to a really nice buiding with some stairs they sit down. Pepper says that she thinks they should go back. Molly says they have to keep going . The others all agree with Molly. While they are resting, they hear a dog barking. They look up and see Sandy. He leads them to Mr. Warbucks' house.

When the orphans arrive at the Warbucks estate, they ask to be let in the front gate. Once inside, they run to the front door and knock. A large Indian man answers the door. Molly faints from hunger and exhaustion. When she comes to, she sees Mr. Warbucks standing at the top of the stairs. She asks to see Annie. Warbucks tells her Annie is no longer there. Molly tells him that the people who said they were Annie's parents are fakes. He asks Molly if she is sure. She says she is. Warbucks then gets everyone together and outlines a rescue plan. When he and Miss Farrell leave to search for Annie, Molly asks to come along. They tell her that she has to stay,but they promise to bring Annie back.

After they leave, Mrs.Pugh fixes them some soup. Molly eats and then sits outside on the portico. She begins to talk to her mother. She says "Mommy, I love Annie. Please don't let her die." Kate then walks up and asks Molly who she was talking to. Molly tells Kate that her neighbor, Mrs. Johnston, said that she could talk to her mother up in heaven if she was ever lonely or scared. The two girls sit and talk for a while. Then they see the car pull up. They go downstairs and see Mr. Warbucks. Molly asks if Annie is okay. He assures her that she is.

The next day Molly tells Annie that she was worried that Annie might die. That night there is a big party. At the party Annie asks Molly to come over to her for a minute. When Molly does so, Annie asks Mr. Warbucks if they can adopt Molly. She tells Mr. Warbucks that she took care of Molly for two years. Mr. Warbucks agrees to adopt Molly. The last thing we see is a family portrit of the Warbucks family (Annie, Molly, Grace Farrell, Mr. Warbucks, and Sandy.)

THE END