Page 2
Words on this page
Milo “Is that your kite?”
Juniper “I’m Juniper. My kite flew away when the wind whooshed.”
Juniper “I tried jumping, but I only jumped into a puddle.”
Read the whole story
The story the pages were drawn from, in full — for reading aloud, or for a child who wants the words without the pictures.
Milo the red fox was carrying a basket of bright yellow apples when he heard a small, worried sniffle.
At the edge of the park stood a young rabbit with long ears and a blue raincoat. She was staring up into the tallest maple tree.
High above her, tangled in three twiggy branches, was a red kite.
Its tail flicked in the breeze.
“Is that your kite?” Milo asked.
The rabbit nodded. “I’m Juniper. My kite flew away when the wind whooshed.” She pointed. “I tried jumping, but I only jumped into a puddle.”
Milo looked at Juniper’s muddy paws. Then he looked at the kite.
“I’ll help,” he said.
Milo set down his apple basket and began to climb.
Scritch, scratch, scritch!
He climbed one branch.
Crack!
The branch bent low, low, low.
Milo’s tail puffed into a red bottlebrush.
“Not that way,” he said, as the branch bounced him gently back to the ground.
Juniper giggled. “Your tail looked surprised.”
“It was surprised,” said Milo.
Next, Milo found a long fallen stick. He held it up toward the kite.
Poke.
The kite wiggled.
Poke, poke.
The kite spun around the branch.
“Oh dear,” said Juniper. “Now it is more stuck.”
Milo frowned at the tree. The tree rustled its leaves as if it were trying not to laugh.
Then a stronger breeze came puffing through the park.
Whoooosh!
The red kite lifted and pulled.
The branch shook.
A shower of maple keys whirled down like tiny spinning helicopters.
Milo had an idea.
“Juniper,” he said, “can you hold my apple basket?”
Juniper grabbed the basket handles. Milo spread his arms wide beneath the tree.
“Now, when the wind comes again, we catch the kite.”
“But what if it zooms past?” Juniper asked.
“Then we run very fast,” said Milo.
The wind held its breath.
The kite trembled.
Then—
WHOOOOSH!
The red kite sprang free!
It swooped over Milo’s head, looped around Juniper’s ears, and headed straight for the pond.
“Milo!” cried Juniper.
They ran.
Milo ran with his tail streaming behind him.
Juniper ran with the apple basket bumping against her knees.
The kite dipped lower, lower—
Plop!
It landed flat on the pond.
For one quiet second, nobody moved.
Then the kite bobbed back up.
Milo carefully stepped onto a smooth stone. Juniper held his tail so he would not slip. Milo reached out with the long stick.
Hook!
The kite’s string caught.
Slowly, slowly, Milo pulled it in.
Juniper clapped both muddy paws. “You got it!”
The red kite was wet at one corner, but its bright tail still danced in the breeze.
Juniper hugged it close. “Thank you, Milo.”
Milo picked a maple key from his ear. “I think your kite likes adventures.”
Juniper smiled. “Would you like to fly it with me?”
Milo looked up at the wide blue sky. The wind was puffing softly now, as if it had a brand-new idea.
