Tara and the Dusty Boots
In the attic, Tara finds a pair of dusty old boots with a name inside.
On a rainy afternoon, Tara climbed the creaky ladder up to the attic. It smelled of dust and old books. Behind a wooden chest, she found a pair of boots, hard and brown and scuffed.
Inside one boot, a name was scribbled in faded ink: ‘Cleo’. ‘Coach Cleo!’ gasped Tara. Tara knew Cleo the bear was the coach of the Green Giants, but she didn’t know Cleo had ever played.
The very next day, Tara took the boots to training. Cleo went quiet when she saw them. Then a smile spread across Cleo’s face. ‘Come, sit,’ said Cleo. ‘I’ll tell you a story.’
‘When I was your age,’ said Cleo, ‘we had no pitch. We played on a school playground. We had a ball made of rolled-up socks. We played until the stars came out. These boots were the first I ever owned.’
Tara listened with wide eyes. She thought about how the boots had run and jumped, scored goals and missed goals. And now they were sitting in a cold dusty attic.
‘Would you like to try them?’ asked Cleo. Tara slipped them on. They were far too big, but Tara laced them up twice. Together, they walked out to the pitch.
Tara kicked the ball in the old boots. It flew in a perfect curve. Cleo laughed so hard she nearly fell over. ‘Just like the old days!’ she said, and jumped up to join in.
From that day, the old boots stayed on the shelf in the clubhouse, not the attic. And on cold, rainy afternoons, when the team came in, Cleo would tell them yet another story.
The little lesson
Old things carry stories, and listening to them is a gift to both of you.
Let’s talk about it
- Do you have something old that has a story?
- What did Tara learn from Coach Cleo?
Finish stories to collect Tara as a sticker in your Sticker Book.
More Football stories
Kai’s Brave Little Goalkeeper
Kai is scared of the ball flying at the goal. Can a brave heart help?
Rory’s Football That Glowed
Rory finds a football that glows, and every pass builds a bridge of rainbow light.
Suki’s Mud Cup
Rain pours on match day, but Suki has an idea that makes the game the muddiest, happiest ever.
You might also like
Finn’s Well at the End of the Lane
Finn finds a well that grants wishes, but every wish has a surprise.
Olive’s Silent Ocean
Olive the whale wakes up unable to sing. Her ocean friends lend a hand, or a fin.
The Honest Hand of Sia
Sia drops a tool in the river and is offered something much finer. Will she tell the truth?