Coraline, the new governess, arrives at the Dodsons' house. She explains that she has four brothers and an elderly uncle, but she is very happy to be a governess. She tells Dodson that she is a little lost, but that she will be able to understand him. Dodson asks her to show him to her room, and she tells him that she does have letters of reference for him. She also tells him to expect her to do some of the work himself. Coraline says that she still has a few things to learn about the house, and that it is obvious that the boy has not yet learned to count the stars or to sit still in the grass and watch the clouds move by. She warns Dodson to be careful around the boy's prodigious inven-tions.