The Cat in the Hat (1957) is the first book featuring the title character. In it, the Cat brings a cheerful, exotic, and exuberant form of chaos to a household of two young children, brother and sister, one rainy day while their mother leaves them unattended. The Cat performs all sorts of wacky tricks—the Cat at one point balances a teacup, some milk, a cake, three books, the Fish, a rake, a toy boat, a toy man, a red fan, and his umbrella while he is on a ball to the chagrin of the fish—to amuse the children, with varied results. Then, the Cat retrieves a box from outside. Inside the box are two creatures named Thing One and Thing Two, who begin to fly kites in the house. The Cat's actions are vainly opposed by the family pet, a sapient and articulate fish. The children (Sally and her unnamed older brother, who serves as the narrator) ultimately prove exemplary latchkey children, capturing the Things with a net and bringing the Cat under control. To make up for the chaos he has caused, he cleans up the house on his way out, disappearing a second before the mother arrives. The mother asks what they did while she was out, but it is not revealed whether or not they tell her - the story ends with the question, 'What would you do if your mother asked you?'