Noah and the Handshake
Noah’s team lost, and Noah feels like stomping. But there’s a surprise at the end.
Noah wanted to win more than anything. He practised every day. He even slept with the football beside his pillow. Today the Blue Comets were playing the Midnight Owls.
The game was tough. Noah ran and ran, and Leo did too. But the Midnight Owls were just a little bit better. When the whistle blew, the score was 5-3. The Blue Comets had lost.
Noah’s face went hot and red. He threw down his gloves and stomped across the grass. ‘It’s not FAIR!’ he said. Stomp, stomp, stomp.
Then he felt a tap on his shoulder. It was Dev from the Midnight Owls. Dev held out a hand. ‘Good game,’ he said. ‘You ran so fast. I could hardly keep up.’
Noah looked at the hand. His cross feeling started to fizzle like a bubble. He took a breath and shook it. ‘Good game,’ Noah said quietly. ‘You played really well.’
Afterwards, both teams sat together on the grass eating a cold glass of lemonade. Leo told a silly joke about a football that wanted to be a pumpkin. Everyone laughed.
That night, Noah was still a bit sad. But he also felt proud. He had done his best and been kind. And tomorrow, he would get a new chance to play.
The little lesson
Losing is part of playing, and kind words make any game a good one.
Let’s talk about it
- How do you feel when you lose a game?
- What kind thing could you say to someone who won?
Finish stories to collect Noah as a sticker in your Sticker Book.
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