A Day for Adventure

By Mary Ann Turner

Micky was sitting on the curb when his friend John came and sat down beside him. “What can we do on such a hot day?” John asked.

“Let’s go for a walk,” Micky suggested. “We might find adventure.”

“Adventure? What’s that?” John asked.

“Grandfather said it’s finding new and happy things to do,” Micky explained.

“Let’s go then!” said John.

They walked to the end of the block and turned the corner. “My mother told me not to cross the street,” Micky cautioned.

“Mine too,” said John as they continued up the street.

A dog was sitting on the grass wagging its tail in front of a house. “Hello, doggy,” Micky called.

“Hello, doggy,” John echoed.

The dog followed them wagging his tail. Soon they turned another corner and saw a boy bouncing a ball.

“Hi!” said the boy. “My name’s Steve and we just moved here. Where do you live?”

“Way back there. I’m Micky and this is my friend John. We’re taking a walk. Would you like to come too?”

“Sure,” said the boy. “Mother says I can take a walk but I mustn’t cross the street.”

“Me neither,” said Micky.

“Same here,” said John.

The friendly dog was still following them wagging his tail. When they came to the end of that block, they saw a low stone wall that went all the way around the corner. Micky stepped up onto the wall. Arms held wide, he balanced himself carefully. “Look, I’m a tightrope walker,” he boasted, putting one foot down right in front of the other.

John climbed up on the wall, too, and followed Micky around the corner, arms held wide. “Zoom! I’m an airplane,” he said and laughed.

Steve tagged along behind John. “Chug, chug, chug. I’m a train,” he pretended. The dog followed along on the sidewalk.

When the wall came to an end, the boys jumped down.

“What’s that on the sidewalk?” Micky suddenly asked, pointing at something sparkling.

Micky ran and picked it up. “It’s a rock,” he said, turning it around and around in his hand. It felt warm. “I think I’ll keep this for my collection.”

As John reached for the rock to inspect it, a yellow butterfly fluttered down and settled on his hand. He held his hand very still, hardly breathing. “Wow!” the boys said when the butterfly fluttered on its way again.

Micky put the rock in his pocket and the boys started walking again.

“Is that your dog?” Steve asked.

“No,” Micky answered, his eyes laughing, “he lives around the corner from us and likes to walk too!”

“It would be fun to play ball there sometime,” Micky said, pointing to an empty lot.

“Or build a clubhouse,” John suggested.

“Or have a picnic,” added Steve.

As Micky, John, Steve, and the dog walked around another corner, Micky shouted, “There’s my house.”

John shouted, “Mine too!”

“I live just around the alley from you. That’s my house by the flag. See you later,” Steve said as he hurried home.

“We really found adventure,” Micky said. “And it was fun.”

“And we found two new friends,” said John, as he waved at Steve and then watched the dog turn in at its own house down the street.

Illustrated by Julie Fuhriman