Priya Loses a Match
Priya’s team lost, and Priya feels like stomping. But there’s a surprise at the end.
Priya wanted to win more than anything. She practised every day. She even slept with the football beside her pillow. Today the Purple Stars were playing the Green Giants.
The game was tough. Priya ran and ran, and Bruno did too. But the Green Giants were just a little bit better. When the whistle blew, the score was 2-0. The Purple Stars had lost.
Priya’s face went hot and red. She threw down her gloves and stomped across the grass. ‘It’s not FAIR!’ she said. Stomp, stomp, stomp.
Then she felt a tap on her shoulder. It was Kit from the Green Giants. Kit held out a hand. ‘Good game,’ he said. ‘You ran so fast. I could hardly keep up.’
Priya looked at the hand. Her cross feeling started to fizzle like a bubble. She took a breath and shook it. ‘Good game,’ Priya said quietly. ‘You played really well.’
Afterwards, both teams sat together on the grass eating a crunchy biscuit. Bruno told a silly joke about a football that wanted to be a pumpkin. Everyone laughed.
That night, Priya was still a bit sad. But she also felt proud. She had done her best and been kind. And tomorrow, she 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 Priya as a sticker in your Sticker Book.
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Dexter’s team lost, and Dexter feels like stomping. But there’s a surprise at the end.
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Pip is too small to play with the big kids, but has the loudest whistle in town.
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