The Big Soccer Kick

The afternoon sun was warm and bright in the big backyard. It felt like a golden blanket draped over the green grass. The grass tickled the bottom of Leo’s bare feet as he stood in the middle of the yard. It was the perfect day for Leo’s favorite game in the whole wide world: backyard soccer.

Leo was six years old, and he had a very important soccer partner. His partner was not a big kid from school, and his partner was not a grown-up. His partner was a small, fluffy puppy named Pip.

Pip had floppy brown ears that bounced when he ran. He had a tiny white patch right on the top of his wet black nose, and a tail that never, ever stopped wagging. Pip was a very kind puppy, and he loved soccer almost as much as he loved afternoon snack time.

"Okay, Pip," Leo said, tapping his foot on top of their shiny red soccer ball. "Today is the big day. We are going to score the greatest goal in backyard history!"

Pip sat down on his fluffy bottom. He tilted his head to the left. He tilted his head to the right. Then, he let out a tiny, happy bark. Yip!

"But first," Leo said, his face lighting up with a big, silly grin, "we have to do our lucky warm-up. You know the rules!"

Leo loved to be silly. He knew that the best way to get Pip ready for a game was to make him happy. Leo put his hands on his hips. He shook his shoulders up and down. He wiggled his knees. Then, he did his famous wiggle-waggle dance. He wiggled to the left, and he wiggled to the right. He shook his whole body like a wet dog drying off after a bath.

Pip loved the wiggle-waggle dance. He stood up on his four little paws. His tail started to wag so fast that his whole back half wiggled, too! He hopped up and down, doing his very own puppy dance in the clover.

"Good job, Pip!" Leo laughed. He stopped dancing and patted his tummy. "Now our legs are ready. Now we are soccer superstars. After we score, we will have our favorite snack. Cheesy crackers for me, and a crunchy peanut butter biscuit for you!"

At the word biscuit, Pip’s ears perked up even higher.

Leo tapped the shiny red ball with the side of his shoe. He rolled it slowly across the soft green grass.

"Here it comes, Pip! Catch the pass!" Leo called out.

Pip scampered after the ball. His little paws made a soft pitter-patter, pitter-patter sound on the grass. Pip did not kick the ball with his paws. Instead, he used his nose. Pip gave the red ball a gentle boop with his wet black nose. The ball rolled right back to Leo’s feet.

"Perfect pass!" Leo cheered.

Leo trapped the ball under his foot. He looked across the wide yard. At the very end of the grass stood the old wooden fence. The fence was tall and gray, and it had sweet-smelling green ivy climbing up the sides. Behind the fence were the whispering woods, where the tall trees lived. The leaves in the woods always made a soft shhh-shhh sound in the breeze.

"Watch this, Pip," Leo said. He felt very brave and very strong. "I am going to kick the ball all the way to the big oak tree!"

Leo took three big steps back. One, two, three. He breathed in through his nose. He breathed out through his mouth. He ran forward and swung his leg.

Thump!

Leo’s foot hit the shiny red ball perfectly. But he did not kick it low along the grass. He kicked it very, very hard, and he kicked it very, very high.

The red ball sailed up into the bright blue sky. It looked like a little red balloon floating past the fluffy white clouds.

"Oh no!" Leo gasped, his eyes growing as round as saucers. "That is way too high!"

The ball started to come back down. It bounced once on the grass. Boing! It bounced twice on a patch of yellow dandelions. Boing! Then, it rolled all the way to the very edge of the yard, stopping right next to the bottom of the old wooden fence.

"I will get it!" Leo called out. He started to run across the yard.

But Pip was already running. Pip loved to chase things. He loved to chase soccer balls, he loved to chase falling leaves, and most of all, he loved to chase anything that flew through the air.

Just as Pip reached the shiny red ball, something bright caught his eye.

A beautiful yellow butterfly fluttered down from the green ivy on the fence. It was bright, bright yellow, like a little piece of sunshine with wings. The butterfly danced in the warm air. It went up, and it went down. It looped in a lazy circle right around Pip’s nose.

Pip stopped looking at the red soccer ball. He looked up at the yellow butterfly. His little tail gave a slow, curious wag.

"Pip, stay!" Leo called, running as fast as his six-year-old legs could carry him. "Don't chase the butterfly, Pip!"

But Pip did not mean to be bad. He was just a very small, very curious puppy. The yellow butterfly fluttered low, right near the bottom of the old wooden fence.

At the bottom of the fence, hidden behind some tall green weeds, there was a small gap. It was a cozy little opening where a wooden board had slipped away over the winter. It was just big enough for a small, fluffy puppy to fit through.

The yellow butterfly flew right through the gap, leaving the sunny yard behind, and headed into the whispering woods.

Pip did not want his new butterfly friend to leave without him. He gave a happy little hop. He squeezed his head through the gap. Then, he squeezed his shoulders through. With a quick, excited wiggle of his tail, Pip disappeared right under the fence.

"Pip!" Leo cried out.

Leo reached the old wooden fence and stopped. He looked down. The shiny red soccer ball was sitting quietly in the grass, but Pip was gone. The big backyard felt very empty and very quiet all of a sudden.

Leo felt a little flutter of worry in his tummy. It felt like a cold breeze on a warm day. Pip had never gone under the fence before. Pip was supposed to stay in the yard where it was safe and warm.

Leo knew he had to stay calm. His mom always told him that taking a deep breath helped when his tummy felt fluttery.

Leo closed his eyes. He took a deep breath in through his nose. One, two, three. He let the warm air out through his mouth. One, two, three.

His tummy felt a little bit better. He was a loyal friend, and he was going to find his puppy.

Leo got down on his hands and knees in the cool, soft dirt. He leaned his head close to the cozy little gap under the fence. The earth smelled like wet leaves, fresh rain, and green moss.

"Pip?" Leo called out. He made his voice soft and sweet so he wouldn't scare his puppy. "Pip, are you there? It is time for our snack! I have the crunchy biscuits!"

Leo waited. He listened very, very closely.

He did not hear a happy puppy bark. He did not hear the pitter-patter of little paws. He only heard the soft, gentle rustle of the wind blowing through the green leaves in the whispering woods. Shhh-shhh-shhh.

Leo peered through the gap. On the other side of the fence, the ground was made of soft, dark dirt. The trees were tall, and the light was soft and green.

There were no yellow butterflies in sight. There was no fluffy puppy.

But right there, in the middle of the soft, dark dirt, Leo saw something. It was a single, tiny puppy paw print, pointing away from the yard and straight into the deep, green woods.