Willow and the Dusty Boots
In the attic, Willow finds a pair of dusty old boots with a name inside.
On a rainy afternoon, Willow 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: ‘Tessa’. ‘Coach Tessa!’ gasped Willow. Willow knew Tessa the turtle was the coach of the Maroon Mighty, but she didn’t know Tessa had ever played.
The very next day, Willow took the boots to training. Tessa went quiet when she saw them. Then a smile spread across Tessa’s face. ‘Come, sit,’ said Tessa. ‘I’ll tell you a story.’
‘When I was your age,’ said Tessa, ‘we had no pitch. We played on a street with no cars. We had a ball made of rolled-up socks. We played until the stars came out. These boots were the first I ever owned.’
Willow 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 Tessa. Willow slipped them on. They were far too big, but Willow laced them up twice. Together, they walked out to the pitch.
Willow kicked the ball in the old boots. It flew in a perfect curve. Tessa 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, Tessa 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 Willow learn from Coach Tessa?
Finish stories to collect Willow as a sticker in your Sticker Book.
More Football stories
Cosmo Learns to Kick
Cosmo the monkey has never kicked a ball before. Today is the big day!
Dot’s Ball That Wouldn’t Stop Shining
Dot finds a football that glows, and every pass builds a bridge of rainbow light.
Benji’s Boots with a Story
In the attic, Benji finds a pair of dusty old boots with a name inside.
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