Siamina

Uri Orlev’s enchanting tale about the friendship between Siamina the cat and the scruffy dog (or about How the Raggedy Dog Found a Home) is set against the cold Jerusalem winter. When Siamina’s owners, Roni and Dafna, move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the cat escapes and loses her way. She comes to the cat camp at Yemin Moshe, Jerusalem’s oldest neighborhood outside the ancient city walls.

As Siamina adjusts to eating from a rubbish bin, the scruffy dog leaves the pound and gets caught in the heavy snowfall. While the cats nimbly hop in and out of the bin, Scruffy looks on, his mouth watering. He might have starved in the cold if Siamina, also new to scavenging, had not taken pity on him. So the two stick together, looking out for each other, until Roni and Dafna find their renegade Siamese cat. And, of course, the scruffy dog finds himself a home.