Blue Sky Day
Mike the Kite flew higher and higher into the sky until his person, Ricky Evans, finally ran out of string. This was it! This was as high as Mike had ever been before in his life! Months in a crate and weeks with other kites in front of him being sold had finally paid off.
Mike had been taken out of Ricky's closet a total of five times over the summer. The first day was great, even though Ricky dragged him the dirt a lot. He still got up there pretty high and got to see the tops of buildings. The second day had been a windless bust and the third day he spent in the trunk of the Evans' car while they played baseball instead.
But yesterday! Oh! Yesterday was even better than the first day! Mike had gotten out on his string and up above the wide field of the community park even higher than their first outing and Ricky really seemed to have gotten the swing of flying him. He was above the trees and the houses in no time and even caught a glimpse of a lake not far away. He let the warm wind fill his wings as he breathed in the smell of fresh-cut grass. He darted left and right, nearly crashed, then got up on a strong current of air when Ricky went running across the field. It was pretty incredible.
It must have been great fun for his person too. A bunch of kids and even Ricky's father wanted to have a go, but Ricky would have none of it. He was a scrapper! Always shoving the other kids out of the way, never letting them take Mike's string. Ricky was the best. A kite just couldn't ask for a better person.
And now, he was way, way out there! The people looked like tiny dots, the trees were just green smudges, and even the birds flew underneath him. A strong gust of wind caught him and yanked the string taught. Ricky ran out in the middle of the field, playing Mike out just a little higher. Amazing! That kid was amazing! Ricky's father was chasing him now and Ricky just kept on running. There was no way the bigger man could catch him, he was so fast.
The wind shook Mike's wings and set his long blue tail to snapping. Tiny drops of rain started to pelt him in the face, but he didn't care. Even if the blue sky was turning gray and Ricky had let go of the string, nothing could possibly bring Mike down on a day like this. Without the string to hold him, Mike felt like he could just soar off all on his own, saying goodbye to the lousy dirt and the grass for good. Hello to clouds, hello to sun, hello to freedom!
Finally, in a surprising move, Ricky's father picked him up bodily and hauled him away over his shoulder. Mike was rooting for his person who kicked and screamed with all his might. What a scrapper that kid was! He was the best! A little to his surprise, Mike found that without his person holding the string, he was starting to fall back to the ground. Which was weird. He figured it would be just the opposite. Why wasn't he flying? It was like Ricky was magic or something. Just by being there, he made Mike soar.
Soon enough, it became obvious that he was going to crash again. He'd crashed plenty of times when his person was still learning, but he sure didn't look forward to the taste of grass in his mouth. Lucky for him, he looked to be fluttering away from the grass and off toward the trees. Rather than doing an undignified, fanny-in-the-dirt landing, he came to rest in the boughs of a pine, right above a bird's nest. The wind gave him a hard shove and his tail got tangled up in the branches.
But where was Ricky? Mike would usually be getting drawn back in by now. Below, he saw the Evans family car drive off and caught one final glimpse of his person, red-faced and crying up against the window. He hated for his person to be sad. It was his job to make him happy. As soon as Ricky came back, he was going to do his best to fly higher than ever and make him laugh again.
The wind blew harder and the rain started to fall. All the people ran away from the park. The remnants of Mikes' string flopped around on the ground and got wrapped up in a bush. That was going to be one mess to un-snag. As soon as Ricky came back, they'd get it all sorted. Just as soon as Ricky came back, everything would be made right. The sun went down and the rain started to fall. Mike laid there quietly in the tree, waiting for his person.
Mike the Kite flew higher and higher into the sky until his person, Ricky Evans, finally ran out of string. This was it! This was as high as Mike had ever been before in his life! Months in a crate and weeks with other kites in front of him being sold had finally paid off.
Mike had been taken out of Ricky's closet a total of five times over the summer. The first day was great, even though Ricky dragged him the dirt a lot. He still got up there pretty high and got to see the tops of buildings. The second day had been a windless bust and the third day he spent in the trunk of the Evans' car while they played baseball instead.
But yesterday! Oh! Yesterday was even better than the first day! Mike had gotten out on his string and up above the wide field of the community park even higher than their first outing and Ricky really seemed to have gotten the swing of flying him. He was above the trees and the houses in no time and even caught a glimpse of a lake not far away. He let the warm wind fill his wings as he breathed in the smell of fresh-cut grass. He darted left and right, nearly crashed, then got up on a strong current of air when Ricky went running across the field. It was pretty incredible.
It must have been great fun for his person too. A bunch of kids and even Ricky's father wanted to have a go, but Ricky would have none of it. He was a scrapper! Always shoving the other kids out of the way, never letting them take Mike's string. Ricky was the best. A kite just couldn't ask for a better person.
And now, he was way, way out there! The people looked like tiny dots, the trees were just green smudges, and even the birds flew underneath him. A strong gust of wind caught him and yanked the string taught. Ricky ran out in the middle of the field, playing Mike out just a little higher. Amazing! That kid was amazing! Ricky's father was chasing him now and Ricky just kept on running. There was no way the bigger man could catch him, he was so fast.
The wind shook Mike's wings and set his long blue tail to snapping. Tiny drops of rain started to pelt him in the face, but he didn't care. Even if the blue sky was turning gray and Ricky had let go of the string, nothing could possibly bring Mike down on a day like this. Without the string to hold him, Mike felt like he could just soar off all on his own, saying goodbye to the lousy dirt and the grass for good. Hello to clouds, hello to sun, hello to freedom!
Finally, in a surprising move, Ricky's father picked him up bodily and hauled him away over his shoulder. Mike was rooting for his person who kicked and screamed with all his might. What a scrapper that kid was! He was the best! A little to his surprise, Mike found that without his person holding the string, he was starting to fall back to the ground. Which was weird. He figured it would be just the opposite. Why wasn't he flying? It was like Ricky was magic or something. Just by being there, he made Mike soar.
Soon enough, it became obvious that he was going to crash again. He'd crashed plenty of times when his person was still learning, but he sure didn't look forward to the taste of grass in his mouth. Lucky for him, he looked to be fluttering away from the grass and off toward the trees. Rather than doing an undignified, fanny-in-the-dirt landing, he came to rest in the boughs of a pine, right above a bird's nest. The wind gave him a hard shove and his tail got tangled up in the branches.
But where was Ricky? Mike would usually be getting drawn back in by now. Below, he saw the Evans family car drive off and caught one final glimpse of his person, red-faced and crying up against the window. He hated for his person to be sad. It was his job to make him happy. As soon as Ricky came back, he was going to do his best to fly higher than ever and make him laugh again.
The wind blew harder and the rain started to fall. All the people ran away from the park. The remnants of Mikes' string flopped around on the ground and got wrapped up in a bush. That was going to be one mess to un-snag. As soon as Ricky came back, they'd get it all sorted. Just as soon as Ricky came back, everything would be made right. The sun went down and the rain started to fall. Mike laid there quietly in the tree, waiting for his person.