Playing
to the finish, losing with kindness, and trying again
The Moral of Our Story
When cards or dice bring someone
luck and leave you far behind,
Remember you can still choose words and actions that are kind,
For every game has turns that change and plans that go astray,
And no one gets to win each round or always have their way,
So keep on playing honestly when losing seems in sight,
Without a pout, a shout, or blame that spoils a friend’s delight,
Then thank your friends, applaud their win, and learn what you can do,
For being gracious when you lose brings out the best in you.
Rain drummed against the windows of
Penny Porcupine’s woodland home.
It was perfect weather for indoor
games.
Penny spread a quilt across the
floor while Milo Mouse unpacked a board game. Hazel Hedgehog brought a deck of
picture cards, and Sammy Squirrel carried a bowl of apple slices.
“I hope you brought your best
moves,” Penny said. “Because I plan to win.”
“We brought snacks,” Sammy replied.
“Does that count?”
Everyone laughed.
Their first game was called Acorn
Trail.
Each player rolled a die and moved a
wooden animal along a winding path toward a painted oak tree. Some spaces
offered shortcuts. Others sent players backward.
Penny chose the purple porcupine.
Naturally.
At first, she rolled a six.
Then a five.
Her piece hurried ahead.
“Make room for the champion!” she
announced.
Milo moved his little mouse only two
spaces.
Hazel landed in a puddle and missed
a turn.
Sammy took a shortcut.
Then Penny rolled a one.
Her piece landed on a picture of a
broken bridge.
“Go back four spaces,” she read.
She frowned.
On her next turn, she rolled another
one.
Sammy’s squirrel was almost at the
oak tree.
Penny slumped against a cushion.
“This game is boring.”
“A minute ago, you liked it,” Milo
said.
“That was before all the bad rolls.”
Hazel passed her the die.
“It’s your turn.”
Penny pushed it away.
“I’m not playing.”
Sammy stopped reaching for his
piece.
“But we haven’t finished.”
“You already know you’re going to
win.”
“I might,” Sammy said. “But we still
have turns left.”
Penny folded her arms and stared at
the quilt.
Mother Porcupine looked up from her
chair.
“Penny, would you help me bring in
the cups?”
In the kitchen, Penny set four cups
on a tray.
“Everyone gets good rolls except
me.”
“You had some good rolls at the
beginning,” Mother reminded her.
Penny picked at the edge of a towel.
“I don’t want to watch Sammy win.”
Mother leaned against the counter.
“When you were ahead, did you want
your friends to keep playing?”
“Yes.”
“Then they deserve the same kindness
now.”
Penny was quiet.
“You may feel disappointed,” Mother
continued. “But if you quit because someone else is doing well, the game stops
being fun for them too.”
“What if I really don’t win?”
“Then you can finish kindly. That is
something you can do even when you cannot choose the number on the die.”
Penny looked through the doorway.
Her friends were waiting.
She carried in the cups.
“Sorry I stopped the game,” she
said. “Whose turn is it?”
“Yours,” Hazel replied, handing her
the die.
Penny rolled a three.
No shortcut.
No wonderful surprise.
Just three ordinary spaces.
She moved her piece.
A few turns later, Sammy reached the
oak tree.
Penny felt a small, tight pinch in
her chest.
She took a breath.
“Good game, Sammy.”
“Thanks!”
It had not felt easy to say.
But it felt better than leaving her
friends sitting around an unfinished board.
Next, Hazel dealt picture cards for
a game of matching pairs.
Penny decided she would pay very
close attention.
Surely this time she could win.
Milo collected a pair of umbrellas.
Hazel found two red boots.
Sammy matched two sleepy owls.
Penny had one pair of mittens.
Only one.
She watched Hazel turn over a
teapot.
Penny remembered seeing its match.
“It’s over there!” she blurted,
reaching across the cards.
Then she stopped.
Hazel’s turn belonged to Hazel.
Penny pulled her paw back.
“Sorry. I’ll wait.”
When her own turn came, she found
the teapot pair.
Then she found two yellow stars.
She was still behind, but now she
was enjoying the puzzle.
At the end, Milo had the most pairs.
Penny counted hers twice.
Then she looked at his neat little
pile.
“Your memory was really good.”
“I kept mixing up the boots and
mittens,” Milo admitted.
“Me too!”
They laughed.
After an apple break, Sammy
suggested a card game called Number Neighbors. Players tried to build rows of
numbers in order.
Penny loved making patterns.
She studied her cards and carefully
planned a row.
Then Hazel played the card Penny
needed.
Penny’s plan would no longer work.
Her mouth opened.
She wanted to shout, “You ruined
it!”
Instead, she pressed her paws
together beneath the table.
One breath.
Then another.
“What else can I try?” she
whispered.
She looked again.
There was another possible row.
It would take longer, and she might
still lose.
But she could keep playing.
Hazel finished first.
Penny felt disappointed again.
Three games.
Three different winners.
None of them Penny.
For a moment, she wanted to
disappear into the cushions.
“Are you okay?” Milo asked.
“I wish I’d won something,” she
admitted.
“I know,” he said.
Penny took a sip of water.
Then she turned toward Hazel.
“You spotted that row quickly. Good
game.”
“Thank you,” Hazel said. “Want me to
show you what I noticed?”
Penny nodded.
Hazel spread out the cards, and
Penny leaned closer.
Outside, the rain softened to a
gentle patter.
Inside, the friends put away the
board, counted the cards, and searched beneath the quilt for one missing wooden
mouse.
It was in Sammy’s snack bowl.
“An excellent hiding place,” Milo
declared.
When everyone was ready to leave,
Penny stood by the door.
“Will you come back for games next
Saturday?”
“Definitely,” Sammy said.
“And I’m practicing my memory,”
Penny added.
“So am I,” Milo replied.
Mother Porcupine watched Penny wave
goodbye.
“You stayed with every game.”
“Even when I knew I might lose.”
“What helped?”
Penny thought for a moment.
“Taking a breath. Looking for
another move. Remembering it was somebody else’s turn to win.”
She glanced at the game shelf.
“I still hope I win next time.”
Mother smiled.
“Of course.”
Penny smiled too.
“But I want my friends to have a
good time either way.”
A Poem to Remember
Roll the die and take your turn,
Stay to play and stay to learn,
When your cards don’t go your way,
Choose the kindest words to say,
Cheer the friend who wins the game,
Skip the shouting and the blame,
Try again with something new,
Let good friendship win with you.
Let’s Talk About the Story
- Why did Penny want to quit Acorn Trail, and how would
quitting have affected her friends?
- What did Penny do when she felt like shouting during
the card game?
- What can you say or do when someone else wins, and what
could you practice before playing again?
Bill Conley
America’s Favorite Children’s Storyteller and Author
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