All is not Lost. When a child’s bike gets a puncture, plans for the day have to change. But it’s not all bad news because when one door closes, another one opens. Maybe there’s something else just as fun to do instead!
Make your child the main character. Replace this (_____) with your child’s name.
All is not Lost
“Come on, Dad,” said _____, buckling up his bicycle helmet. It was a beautiful day for a bike ride.
_____ dad fetched his own helmet, and they set off together on their bright red bicycles.
They rolled through the city from traffic light to traffic light, passing buses, shops, and food stalls.
Soon, they reached the riverside cycle path. _____, as always, greeted the ducks cheerfully.
“Nearly there!” shouted _____ dad.
They whooshed through the countryside, passing cows and sheep along the way.
Then it was time for the best part of the bike ride: _____ favorite hill. He loved whizzing down it at top speed!
“Woohoo!” he yelled in delight, tightly gripping the handlebars.
Then, as usual, his dad took out two apples and two bottles of water from his bag, and they sat on the grass to enjoy them.
Then back they went through the countryside, past the river, and through the city, towards home.
The next day, after _____ had finished all of his homework, he shouted across the apartment, “Come on, Dad!”
Again, they jumped on their bikes and began pedaling through the city. But as they approached the first set of traffic lights, they heard a pop.
“Oh no!” cried _____. “My tire!”
A nail in the road had punctured _____ tire.
“Now we can’t go for our ride!” He sat down on the pavement, feeling hopeless.
_____ father sat beside him. “Don’t worry, we can get this fixed up tomorrow,” he said.
“But I wanted to go today!” sobbed _____. “I wanted to ride on the big hill!”
As they sat on the side of the road, _____ noticed a little boy and a girl walking by. One of them clutched a kite shaped like a bird.
“Dad…” he said, “Do we still have my old kite at home?”
_____ father thought for a moment. “You know what? I think we do. I know just where to look for it.”
Together, they walked their bikes back to the apartment.
_____ dad opened the big cupboard in the hallway.
He pulled out a box of birthday party decorations as well as a ladder, followed by an old tent.
… and then he pulled out the kite! It was silver and covered with gold stars.
“Yes! Thanks, Dad,” said _____. “Let’s go!”
He bounced happily out the door, holding the kite.
_____ and his dad hopped onto the Number 12 bus to head for the seaside.
It was always windy by the sea. Perfect conditions for kite flying!
When they arrived, _____ unraveled the kite string.
“Let’s get this kite in the air!” his dad exclaimed.
_____ ran along the sand, the kite dragging along behind him.
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind carried it up into the sky.
“Yeah! _____ cried. “Look, dad! Check it out!”
“Great job!” exclaimed his dad.
After hours of kite-flying fun, they sat on the sand together, eating ice cream and watching the boats out at sea.
“When my tire popped,” said _____, “I thought today was ruined. But it wasn’t at all! In fact, there was a positive side…”
“… Because if it wasn’t for the puncture, I wouldn’t have remembered that we even had a kite!”
His dad smiled. “That’s right. When things go wrong, sometimes something even better is waiting right around the corner.”
“Thanks for a really great day, Dad,” said _____. “Maybe tomorrow we can cycle here again and bring the kite, too.”
