Julie's Secret Sloth by Jacqueline Jackson (1953) part 1

Strange smells, lamp crashing in the middle of the night, and a head of cabbage mysteriously rolling across the living room floor! These are some of the strange happenings in the usually normal Potter house after nine-year-old Julie returns from a visit with her aunt and uncle. Julie is very resourceful in finding ways to hide her new pet, Sampson, a giant two-toed sloth, in the house right under the noses of her parents, which makes for a hilarious story.