The Second Place Ribbon

Chapter 1A Fox with Fine Ears

Eli set his wooden fox on the display table and turned it a little to the left.

From that side, the carved ears looked especially fine.

Zeidy had helped him use the tools safely. Eli had done the sanding and painting himself. He had chosen brown for the tail and white for its tip.

The boys at the afternoon craft club had made animals from blocks of wood. Mr. Weiss would give two ribbons at the end of the display.

Eli wanted the blue one.

Chapter 2The Wide Elephant

At the other end of the table, Yossel put down an elephant.

It was wider than Eli's fox. The trunk curved toward a small blue bucket. Its ears stuck out so far that Yossel had to move it away from a wooden horse.

"Look at those ears," Eli said.

"They hear all the gossip," Yossel replied.

Eli laughed. He and Yossel usually worked beside each other. Yossel had admired the white tail tip on Tuesday.

Now Eli looked from the elephant to his fox.

The fox's ears were fine, but small.

Chapter 3The Blue Ribbon

Mr. Weiss looked at every animal and spoke about the work that had gone into it.

Then he gave the blue ribbon to Yossel's elephant.

Eli looked at the floor.

The second ribbon was red. It went to the fox.

Several boys clapped. Eli took the ribbon and said thank you, but he barely heard them.

He had imagined carrying home the blue ribbon all week. Now he could almost feel the place where it wasn't.

Yossel came toward him with the elephant.

Eli bent to straighten the fox's label.

Chapter 4A Long Label

The label did not need straightening. Eli straightened it anyway.

"I was going to ask you something," Yossel said.

"Later."

Yossel stopped.

Eli picked up the fox and moved it two inches. He wanted Yossel to go away so he would not have to look at the blue ribbon.

When Yossel left, Eli did not feel better.

His fox was still the same fox. Yossel was still the boy who had helped him find the tiny paintbrush. But Eli had spoken as if his friend were bothering him on purpose.

Chapter 5Outside the Door

Zeidy arrived to walk home with him. Eli carried the fox and folded the red ribbon inside his pocket.

Outside the door, Zeidy asked how the display had gone.

"Second."

"I see."

"I wanted first."

Zeidy did not tell him that second should feel just as good. They stood quietly while a boy carried a long-necked wooden bird past them.

"Yossel won," Eli said. "He tried to talk to me. I told him later."

"Is later now?" Zeidy asked.

Eli looked back at the door.

Chapter 6The Bucket Question

Yossel was packing the elephant in a box.

Eli stood beside him.

"Sorry I brushed you off. I was disappointed about the ribbon. What did you want to ask?"

Yossel held up the little blue bucket.

"Does this look like a bucket, or like a hat?"

Eli stared at it. Then he laughed.

"A bucket. Unless the elephant has an extremely small head."

Yossel smiled. "I thought we could put the fox beside it for one picture on paper. You draw your fox. I'll draw my elephant."

Eli still wished he had won. That feeling did not vanish because his friend had asked about a bucket.

But he sat down beside Yossel.

Chapter 7A Fox at the Water

They drew the two animals near a pond. The elephant held the bucket. The fox watched from the bank.

"He is admiring the ears," Eli said.

"He is wondering why the bucket is so small," Yossel said.

On the walk home, Eli pinned the red ribbon to the fox's carrying box.

Zeidy noticed but said nothing.

Eli looked at the fine little ears through the open top. Tomorrow he might like the red ribbon more. Today he liked the fox, and he was glad he had gone back.