The Giant Green Maze

The sunny meadow was very, very big. To Leo, it did not look like plain old backyard grass at all. It looked like a giant, magical green maze.

Hundreds of bright white daisies grew in the grass. The daisies nodded up and down in the warm breeze. They looked like friendly little faces waving hello to him. The air smelled sweet, like fresh rain and warm sunshine.

Leo took a deep, brave breath. He reached into his pocket and gently patted the five peanut butter dog treats. They were still safe and dry. They smelled wonderfully nutty, and just thinking about them made Leo’s tummy give a happy little rumble. But those treats were not for him. They were for Pip.

"Okay, Pip," Leo whispered into the warm wind. "I am coming. I just have to find the right way."

Leo took a big step into the green maze. Swish-swish went the grass against his legs. The grass was very, very tall. It came all the way up to his tummy! When Leo looked back, he could not see the dusty garden path anymore. When he looked ahead, he could only see tall green stalks, bright yellow buttercups, and sleepy blue bellflowers.

Leo stopped. He did not want to step on the pretty flowers. He wanted to be kind to the meadow. But how could he walk through the thick, wild grass without squishing them?

Then, Leo smiled a big, silly smile. He knew exactly what to do. He would use his very best soccer moves!

At soccer practice, Leo’s coach always said, "Keep your feet light, Leo! Light feet make fast feet!"

Leo pretended the pretty blue bellflowers were orange soccer cones. He stood high on his tiptoes. He put his arms out to his sides like airplane wings to keep his balance.

"Tip-tap, tip-tap," Leo sang softly to himself.

He took a quick, light step to the left, dodging a patch of purple clover. Whoosh! He glided to the right, stepping right over a sleepy yellow dandelion. He used his special zig-zag footwork. It was his favorite way to dribble the soccer ball down the field. Today, he was dribbling himself through the giant green maze.

"Left foot, right foot, spin!" Leo whispered.

He did a gentle, slow-motion spin around a tall patch of soft ferns. He did not crush a single green leaf.

Using his soccer skills made Leo feel very brave. It made him feel very smart, too. The giant meadow was not scary anymore. It was just a big, fun game of obstacle-course soccer. And Leo was the star player.

Suddenly, Leo stopped. His right sneaker was right next to something bright. It was not a flower. It was not a leaf. It was something shiny and red, lying in a patch of soft, fuzzy green moss.

Leo bent down. He reached his hand into the cool, shady grass and picked it up.

It was a small, red metal circle. It was shaped just like a little dog bone. On the front, written in neat silver letters, was a very special name: PIP.

"Pip's collar tag!" Leo gasped.

His heart gave a happy, bouncy little hop. This was Pip’s favorite red tag! Pip must have lost it when he was squeezing through the thick, tall grass.

Leo held the red tag tight in his hand. It felt warm from the sun. Finding the tag meant he was on the right track. Pip had definitely been here. Pip was somewhere in this very meadow!

"I am getting closer," Leo said, his voice full of excitement. "You are doing great, Leo. Keep going."

He tucked the red tag safely into his pocket, right next to the five peanut butter treats. Now he had a real clue. But which way should he go now? The green maze went on and on in every direction.

Leo looked to the left. He saw only tall, waving grass. He looked to the right. He saw only more nodding daisies.

Then, he heard a tiny sound.

Rustle-rustle. Scritch-scratch.

Leo stood very still. He kept his feet quiet. He carefully peeked through two tall, green stalks of grass.

Sitting in a small patch of brown dirt was a rabbit. It was the roundest, chubbiest rabbit Leo had ever seen. It had soft, brown fur, long floppy ears, and a tail that looked like a fluffy white cotton ball.

The rabbit was munching on a sweet green leaf. Crunch, crunch, crunch. When it saw Leo, it did not run away. It just stopped chewing and stared at him with its bright, dark, curious eyes.

"Hello, Mr. Rabbit," Leo said in his gentlest, most polite whispering voice. "My name is Leo. Have you seen a small, fluffy puppy pass by? His name is Pip, and he is my very best friend."

The chubby rabbit wiggled its little pink nose. Sniff, sniff, sniff.

Then, the rabbit did something wonderful. It did not hop away. Instead, it tilted its head to the side. It pointed its two long, floppy ears straight toward the far side of the meadow.

Leo looked in the direction the rabbit’s ears were pointing. Far, far away, at the very edge of the tall grass, stood a giant oak tree. The oak tree was very old and very grand. Its branches stretched out wide like big, friendly arms, casting a cool, dark shadow on the ground.

Leo looked back down at the rabbit. "Is Pip over there?" he asked.

The rabbit gave one big, happy hop, turned around, and disappeared into the tall grass.

"Thank you, Mr. Rabbit!" Leo called out.

Leo knew he had to get to that giant oak tree. He started his soccer footwork again. Tip-tap, tip-tap, glide. He zig-zagged through the daisies. He hopped over the buttercups. He ran as fast as his light feet could carry him, keeping his eyes on the big, shady tree.

The closer he got, the bigger the oak tree looked. Its trunk was as wide as a car. Its roots grew out of the dirt like bumpy, wooden hills.

Leo slowed his feet down to a gentle walk. He stepped out of the hot, sunny grass and onto the cool, dark dirt under the tree. The air was quiet and fresh here. The wind made a soft shhh-shhh sound in the green leaves above.

Leo held his breath and listened very, very closely.

From somewhere near the deep, twisty roots of the giant oak tree, he heard a sound. It was very soft. It was a tiny, familiar, trembling little whimper.