River's Missing Shoe

Tiger River's Missing Shoe

One day, little Tiger River was trying to find his shoe.

"Where is my shoe?" asked River, pacing around the room.

But no one was there to answer him. 

He was in Gail's room alone because Gail was in the kitchen, eating breakfast.

"Gail!" River yelled, his tiny tiger voice echoing through the house. "Do you know where my shoe is?"

Gail quickly ran into her room, wiping her hands on a napkin. "Did you look under the bed?" she asked.

River shook his head, his striped tail swishing back and forth. "No, I didn’t think of that."

"Then let’s look together," Gail said kindly. She got down on her knees and peeked under the bed. River followed, lying on his belly, his whiskers brushing the floor. They scanned the dark space under the bed, hoping to spot the missing shoe.

First, they found a stuffed bear that looked like it had been forgotten for a while. Then, they found a bouncing ball. A single old sock was next, but still no shoe.

"Maybe we should look somewhere else," Gail suggested, standing up and dusting off her knees.

River nodded and followed her as she led the way to her closet. "It might be in here!" Gail said, swinging open the closet doors.

River walked over and peered inside. He looked up at the shelves and down at the floor. They moved around boxes and clothes, but the shoe wasn’t hiding there either.

"Oh, where could it be?" River asked, his ears drooping in disappointment.

Feeling defeated, River sat down on the floor and put his paws into his hands, his small body shaking as he began to cry.

"Don’t cry, River," Gail said softly. She knelt down and hugged him tight. "We’ll find it."

River sniffled, rubbing his eyes with his paws, and hugged Gail back. Her hug made him feel a little better. "Let’s keep looking," she encouraged.

They moved into the living room next. Gail carefully checked the couch. "It’s not on the couch, not under it, either. It’s not by the lamp or the end table," she said.

River sniffled again, feeling frustrated. "Oh, where could it be?" he whined softly.

"Now, now," Gail said, gently scolding him. "No more whining, River. We’ll find your shoe. I know we will."

River took a deep breath, calming himself down as they walked into the kitchen. And that’s when River’s eyes widened in surprise.

"Look, Gail! There’s my shoe!" River shouted, hopping up and down with excitement. His missing shoe was right by the back door.

"You must’ve knocked off your shoe here when you came inside," Gail said, laughing. "Then you carried the other one with you into my room."

"Yes, that is what I did," said River. "That was silly of me. I should of left both shoes together."

River beamed as he slipped his shoe back on. "I found my shoe!" he cheered, his tail swishing happily behind him.

Gail smiled, watching her little tiger friend. "See, River? We just had to keep looking."

"You're right Gail. Thank you so much for helping me look," said River.

"You're welcome River." They hugged and then they got ready to go to school.

It was River's first day to go to school. So join River and Gail next time as we see how River's first day of school goes...