Asher was bouncing on his trampoline, up, up, up, and down. Boing, boing, boing. Then he lay back on the springy mat and looked at the sky. The clouds drifted by, slow and soft, and Asher's eyes grew heavy. In a happy blink, he was somewhere new, in a dream.
It was a sunny beach. The sand was warm and golden. The waves went shush, shush, shush. Asher wiggled his toes in the sand. It felt like a cozy blanket.
"Hello, Asher!" said a little voice.
A round red crab waved a claw. She wore a tiny smile. "I'm Clementine. Welcome to the beach!"
"Hi, Clementine," said Asher.
Beside her sat a small brown squirrel. He had a fluffy tail and a bright blue shell for a hat. "I'm Pip," he said. "I came to the beach to see the waves."
Asher grinned. "A squirrel at the beach! That's funny."
"Today is race day," said Clementine. "Look!"
On the sand sat a row of tiny race cars. They were made of shells and driftwood. One was pink. One was green. One was shiny blue. They had round pebble wheels that sparkled in the sun.
"Whoa," whispered Asher. He loved race cars more than almost anything.
"Pick one," said Pip. "We're going to race down the sandy hill to the big flat rock."
Asher chose the shiny blue car. Clementine took the pink one. Pip took the green one. They lined up at the top of the hill. Asher's tummy fizzed with excitement. His feet wanted to hop, hop, hop, like on the trampoline.
"Ready?" said Clementine.
Asher wanted to go right away. He wanted to push his car before anyone said go. His hand twitched.
But Asher remembered something. He remembered how his grown-up said, "Wait, breathe, and choose the gentle thing."
So Asher waited. He took a big, slow breath in. In through his nose, like smelling a flower. Then out through his mouth, like blowing on warm soup. His hands went still. His tummy felt calm.
"Set," said Pip.
Asher breathed again. In and out.
"Go!"
All three cars rolled down the hill. They went zoom, zoom, zoom, across the soft sand. The pink car wobbled. The green car spun. The blue car rolled straight and true.
Asher's car reached the big flat rock first. "I did it!" he said.
Then he saw Pip. The little squirrel's car had tipped over in a bump of sand. Pip was patting his tail, looking at his car with a tiny frown.
Asher felt a hop of joy inside him. He wanted to cheer and dance. But he took another slow breath. He chose the gentle thing instead.
He walked back up the sand and set Pip's car upright. "Your car is ready," he said kindly. "Want to race again? I'll wait for you."
Pip's face lit up. "Thank you, Asher!"
So they lined up again. Asher waited. He breathed in and out. Clementine counted slowly, and they rolled off together. This time, Pip's green car zoomed all the way to the rock, and everyone cheered.
"That was the best race ever," said Clementine.
"Waiting made it so much fun," said Pip.
Asher smiled. Taking a breath and being gentle had made the whole day brighter.
The sun began to sink, painting the sky peach and pink. The waves went shush, shush, shush. Clementine snuggled into the sand. Pip curled his fluffy tail around his toes.
"Goodnight, Asher," they whispered.
Asher's eyes felt heavy and warm. The sand felt soft as a pillow. The waves hummed a slow, sleepy song.
Then Asher felt something soft under him. It was his own cozy bed, with the blanket tucked up to his chin. Mom had carried him in from the trampoline. The night light glowed gently on the wall.
Asher took one more slow breath, in and out. He was warm and safe and happy. And he fell fast asleep, dreaming of waves and little shell cars.
馃寵 The End 馃寵
This story was written by AI for an example child named Asher, and it passed the same safety check every Tuck-In Tales story gets before it's sent.