Sophie's mother let her bring about the death of her tortoise
- After Sophie thinks a tortoise could be easier to take care of than all the other animals she has had earlier, her mother acquiesces to her pleas and gets her father to send her one. Then, when Sophie causes her latest pet's death by putting it in water (which she shouldn't have done with a land tortoise), her mother accuses her of being completely unable to take care of animals and states that she will not have the opportunity to do so again. Yet Sophie seems to have made an honest mistake: how can a child whom no one has instructed in the proper care of the species she is taking care of be expected to know that a land tortoise should not be put in water? Could it be that her mother deliberately left her to her own devices with an animal the mother herself disliked, expecting the animal to die and thus giving Sophie's mother an excuse for declaring her unable to take care of any more animals?
