Chapter 2: Too Small to Play?#

Tina grew a little. But her brothers and sisters grew a lot.

Every day they played a game called Stomp and Roar. They stomped so hard the ground shook. They roared so loud the leaves fell down.

Tina stomped her tiny foot. Tap. The ground did not shake.

Tina opened her mouth and roared. “Squeak!” The leaves did not fall.

“Sorry, Tina,” said her big brother. “You are too small for this game.”

Tina sat down by a tall fern. She felt smaller than ever.

Then she heard a buzzing sound. Bzzzz.

A little dragonfly landed right on Tina’s nose. He had shiny wings and a happy face.

“Hello!” said the dragonfly. “My name is Pip. Why the long face?”

“I am too small,” said Tina. “I can’t stomp. I can’t roar. I can’t play with the big ones.”

Pip flew in a happy loop.

“Small?” he said. “I am much smaller than you! But I can fly into a flower. I can hide under a leaf. I can go where the big ones can never go.”

Tina blinked. “You like being small?”

“Being small is not bad or good,” said Pip. “It is just me. One day, small might be exactly what someone needs.”

Tina was not sure she believed him. Big seemed so much better than small.

But she smiled anyway. Pip was her first friend, and friends make every day feel bigger.