The Paper Boat Race

It rained all night. In the morning, the sun came out. The world smelled fresh. Arlo ran to the kitchen window. The little stream behind Grandma's house was full and fast.

"Bao!" he shouted. "Wake up! The stream is big!"

Bao was his cousin. He came to the kitchen with his hair standing up. He looked out and smiled. "A paper boat day," he said.

They sat at the table. They made boats from old newspaper. Arlo made a tall boat. It had a red mark on the side. Bao made a long, flat boat with a blue mark. Grandma gave them a candle to rub on the paper.

"Wax keeps the water out," she said. "Now go. And stay on the grass."

The boys ran to the stream. It was loud and brown. Leaves and small sticks floated on it.

"We race to the old stone bridge," said Arlo. "The first boat there wins."

"That is very far," said Bao.

"Then it is a long race," said Arlo.

They counted to three. Then they put the boats in the water together.

The boats shot away. The red boat went left. The blue boat went right. Arlo and Bao ran along the bank, shouting and laughing.

"Go, red!" shouted Arlo.

"Go, blue!" shouted Bao.

At the first turn, the blue boat hit a branch. It turned round and round. Bao jumped over a rock. He pushed it free with a stick. The boat moved again.

The red boat dropped down a small waterfall. Arlo held his breath. The boat went under the water. Then it came up again, wet but still open.

"It lives!" he shouted.

Now the boats moved side by side. A green frog watched them from a stone. A duck swam away. It made an angry sound.

Around the big field, the stream became wide and slow. The boats floated in the middle, close to each other. The boys ran as fast as they could. Their shoes were full of mud.

Then Arlo saw the stone bridge ahead. It was very close. The water ran in a dark tunnel under it.

The two boats went into the tunnel together. The boys stood at the end of the bridge. They waited. A minute passed. Then another.

"Where are they?" asked Bao.

Arlo looked into the dark. He saw a small white shape. "There!" he said.

But only one boat came out. It was the red one. The blue boat did not appear.

"I win," said Arlo, but he did not feel happy. He walked into the cold water. He looked under the bridge.

The blue boat was stuck between two stones. It was wet, and the blue mark was nearly gone. Arlo took it out. He put it in Bao's hands.

"It was a tie," he said. "Both boats got to the bridge."

Bao looked at the boat and then at Arlo. "No," he said. "Red won. But my boat was brave."

They walked home slowly with their wet shoes. In the kitchen, Grandma gave them hot milk. She gave them more newspaper too.

"Again?" she asked.

"Again," said Arlo. "But this time, a longer stream."