Loser

Donald loves soccer: Its wild, “haphazard” style suits him perfectly. He joins the Peewee League Titans in second grade, arrives at practice early, and plays with abandon. He’s terrible at the game, more often kicking the shins of other players than the ball itself. His team members call him “Wild foot.”

At the end of one game, Donald cheers “Yahoo!” but his teammates have sour expressions. They lost the game, but Donald didn’t notice. The others kick the turf and yell; Donald tries to imitate them and gets in trouble with his parents. No thanks to his efforts, the team makes the playoffs against the Hornets. Late in the game, the ball hits Donald in the head and bounces into the net for the winning goal. Suddenly he’s a hero. He and his teammates each receive a gleaming trophy.

He sees his friend Andrew, a Hornet, looking miserable. He offers his trophy to Andrew, but Andrew’s mother intervenes: “Donald, that is really nice of you, but you’re the one who won it. Andrew will win a trophy of his own someday” (48).

At home in the backyard, Donald calls over to Andrew and offers to play, but Andrew turns him down.