Lola and the Wobbly Hoops

Lola’s last hoop bounced once, twice, and landed flat on the grass. The blue ribbon still fluttered above the booth.

“Oh, crumbs,” said Lola. A little gold star was stitched in the middle of the ribbon. She wanted it more than anything at the village fair.

Beside her, Max held a red hoop and squinted at the wooden pegs. “I’m aiming for the tallest one,” he announced.

Sadie stood on her tiptoes to peek over the counter. “I’m aiming for any peg at all.” She was smaller than Lola and Max, and the counter came nearly up to her chin.

The booth keeper, Mr. Bell, smiled. “Three hoops each. Toss from behind this line. One point for every peg you ring. The player with the most points wins the ribbon.”

A row of painted pegs stood on a grassy platform: short ones in front, tall ones at the back. A little bell hung beside them. When a hoop landed over a peg, it gave a cheerful ding.

Max went first. His red hoop sailed high, looped over a tall peg, and rang the bell. “One point!” cried Mr. Bell.

His next hoop rolled past the pegs, and the last landed on the grass. Max shrugged. “One point is still a point.”

Then it was Lola’s turn. Her first hoop slipped over a short peg. Ding! Her second made a neat circle around another. Ding!

“Two points,” said Mr. Bell. “One hoop left.”

Lola lined up her hooves behind the mark. She pictured the ribbon between her ears, lifted her chin, and tossed.

The hoop sailed toward the tallest peg. For a moment it seemed just right. Then it clipped the wooden top, bounced, and landed flat on the grass.

“I was so close,” Lola said, looking up at the fluttering ribbon.

Mr. Bell gathered the hoops. “Sadie’s turn now.” He reached for the last hoop, which had rolled beneath the counter. It rested beside a little wooden step, tucked where Sadie could not reach it.

Sadie stretched one arm as far as she could. Her fingers brushed the hoop, but it slid farther beneath the counter.

Lola noticed. The ribbon still mattered to her. But Sadie’s hopeful face mattered, too.

“I can get it,” Lola said. She lowered her head and nudged the hoop with the tip of her horn. It rolled out from under the counter and stopped beside Sadie’s shoes.

“Thanks!” Sadie scooped it up. She turned toward the throwing line, but the tallest pegs were hidden behind a little wooden screen. From where she stood, she could see only the short pegs in front.

“I can’t see the targets,” Sadie said. “And I can’t reach over the counter to look.”

Lola glanced at the line, the screen, and the step. She had used all three of her turns, but the game was not set up so Sadie could play easily.

“What if we move the screen?” Lola asked.

Mr. Bell lifted it away. The pegs stood in plain view. Sadie grinned, then looked at the throwing line. “I still can’t reach the hoop basket.”

“I’ll bring the hoops down,” said Lola. She gently tipped the basket with her horn. Mr. Bell caught it before it could tumble, then set it on the low wooden step, where Sadie could pick up each hoop herself.

“Now you can take your turn,” Lola said.

Sadie chose a yellow hoop. She held it with both hands, stood behind the line, and aimed at a short peg. The hoop bounced off the grass and rolled in a little circle.

“Try a little lower,” Max suggested.

Sadie tossed again. This time the hoop settled over the peg. Ding!

“I got one!” Sadie clapped.

Her next hoop landed flat. On her last try, it hooked around a peg at the back. Ding!

“Two points!” Mr. Bell announced. “A fine turn.”

Lola had two points, too. She looked at the blue ribbon, then at Sadie’s bright smile. She had wanted to win, and she still did. But now she was glad Sadie had been able to play.

Max tapped the line with his hoof. “We could make a new game. What if we aim for pegs with the funniest names?”

“Like the Wiggly Pickle?” Sadie asked.

Mr. Bell laughed. “That peg is ready.”

Lola’s ears perked up. The ribbon could wait one more game. “Let’s try it!”

Mr. Bell moved the hoops to the low step and placed a small chalkboard beside the line. Max drew a pickle with a crooked hat. Lola added a lopsided crown. Sadie carefully wrote the name beneath it: WIGGLY PICKLE.

“That’s our first silly peg,” Max said, pointing to one near the front. “Whoever rings it has to make a pickle face.”

Lola tossed first. Her hoop rolled past the peg and stopped beside the chalkboard. She scrunched her nose and stuck out her tongue anyway. Sadie bent over the counter, giggling, and grabbed its edge to keep from tipping forward.

Max’s hoop landed around the Wiggly Pickle peg. He crossed his eyes and puffed out his cheeks. Even Mr. Bell chuckled.

Sadie picked a hoop from the step and aimed. It landed over the next peg, which Max named the Sleepy Dragon. Everyone pretended to snore. Lola made the loudest snore of all, though she was only pretending.

They took turns choosing a silly name and aiming for its peg. A small peg became the Tippy-Toe Teapot. A tall peg became the Noodle Tower. Sometimes a hoop landed neatly. Sometimes it rolled away, and everyone helped bring it back.

When the game was finished, Mr. Bell counted the points from the first round. Lola had two. Max had one. Sadie had two.

“Lola and Sadie tied for the most points,” he said. “You two share the ribbon.”

He laid the blue ribbon across Lola’s foreleg. She smiled, then draped it over the booth’s front rail so her friends could admire it. It swayed above the chalkboard as the evening breeze stirred the fair flags.

The friends helped Mr. Bell gather the hoops. Sadie placed each one on the low step, ready for the next player. Max brushed the grass from his knees. Lola looked at the gold star on the ribbon, then at the silly names they had made.

When it was time to go, Lola lifted the ribbon from the rail and carried it home. The friends walked beneath the quiet fair lights, talking softly about which peg had made the funniest face. By the time Lola curled into bed, she could still hear Max’s pretend snore and Sadie’s giggle in her mind. The ribbon rested beside her window, swaying whenever the night breeze slipped through.