Oliver and the Answering Boot

Oliver found a boot on the school step. It was a big red boot, and it was full of rain.

"That's not mine," he said.

"Mine," said the boot. Well, it was only the puddle at the bottom going plip, but Oliver liked it.

It was Oliver's first day of school. He wanted one thing. He wanted to hang his coat on the peg with the little blue fish, because his big sister Mia had told him that peg was the best.

Inside, the hall was noisy with coats. Oliver walked to the peg with the blue fish. A girl in a yellow raincoat got there first.

"That's my peg," she said. "I'm Grace."

Oliver looked at the peg. He looked at his coat. "But I wanted the fish," he said.

"I wanted it too," said Grace. She held her coat tight.

Oliver tried asking nicely. "Please may I have the fish?" Grace shook her head. Oliver tried standing very still and sighing. Grace did not even look.

Then Oliver heard something. Plip. Plip. It came from the step outside. The boot was still going, all by itself.

"Is that your boot?" Oliver asked.

"No," said Grace. "I thought it was yours."

They both went to look. The boot had a name inside, written in thick black pen. It said TEACHER.

"Oh!" said Grace. "She must be looking for it."

Oliver looked back at the pegs. Next to the blue fish was a peg with a little green frog. Next to that was a peg with a snail.

"Grace," he said. "If I have the frog, and you have the fish, our pegs would still be next to each other."

Grace thought. "Then we could say hello every morning."

"Plip," said Oliver.

"Plip," said Grace.

They hung their coats up, frog and fish. Then they carried the boot in together, slowly, so the rain would not spill. It went plip, plip, plip all the way down the hall.