“One, two, three... GO!”
The whole gang took off across the flower meadow. In front was Pigúiça, her ears flying back in the wind. Right behind her came Nina the poodle, bouncing like a spring. Then Tico the dachshund, his short little legs spinning super fast. And way, way in the back was Bolota the basset hound, her long ears dragging through the flowers.
Fofuxo ran alongside, just to keep them company. The finish line was the thick root of the Universal Tree.
Pigúiça ran and ran. Almost there! But right at the very end, Nina made a gigantic leap, boing, and zoomed ahead. She touched the root first.
“I won!” shouted Nina, laughing.
Pigúiça stopped. Her ears drooped. “That doesn't count,” she grumbled. “You jumped. Jumping isn't allowed. I don't want to play anymore.” And she sat down with her back to everyone and a very grumpy nose.
Tico arrived huffing and puffing, his tongue hanging out. And a long, long time later, Bolota arrived. She came slowly, stopping here and there, with a huge smile on her long face.
“Bolota, you came in last,” said Tico. “Aren't you sad?”
“Sad?” said Bolota, sitting down in the grass. “I saw a ladybug with pink polka dots. And a flower said good afternoon to me. And I felt the wind in my ears. It was the best race in the whole world!”
Pigúiça thought about that. She had run so hard, so fast, that she hadn't seen a single ladybug. No flowers, no wind. Only the root up ahead.
“The best part of a race is running together,” said Fofuxo, lying down beside her. “Getting there is just the end.”
Pigúiça was quiet for a while. Then she got up, walked over to Nina, and said, a little softly, “Congratulations. Your jump was really high.” Nina wagged her whole tail, she was so happy.
“Let's play again!” said Tico. “This time it's a backward race: whoever comes in last wins!”
Everybody laughed. The gang walked slowly, sloooowly, looking at every flower and every ladybug. And the winner, of course, was Bolota, who knew how to go slower than anyone.
That night, Pigúiça went to bed tired and happy. She didn't even remember who had come in first. She remembered the wind in her ears, the gang's laughter, and the polka-dot ladybug. And with those memories, nice and slow, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
