Tom is one year old. He loves his blue ball. “Bouncy!” he says.
Today the ball is not on the rug. “Oh!” says Tom. Mommy smiles. “Let's be little helpers.”
Tom crawls. Pat-pat on the rug. No ball. He looks under the chair. “Peek!” No ball.
Mommy points. “We can find clues. What did you play with?” Tom holds his toy truck. “Vroom!” Mommy nods. “Where did the truck go?”
Tom follows tiny wheel marks on the floor. He points. “There!” They go to the kitchen.
On the way, Tom hears “drip-drip.” A cup is in the sink. “Plink!” says the water. Tom giggles.
In the kitchen, the truck is near the big bowl. “Toc-toc,” Tom taps the bowl. It makes a fun sound.
Mommy asks, “Is the ball in the bowl?” Tom leans in. “Uh-oh!” No ball.
Tom sees a small blue spot by the dog bed. “Woof-woof,” says Pup, soft and happy.
Tom lifts the blanket. “Hop!” The blue ball rolls out. “Roll-roll!” It bumps Tom's toes.
Tom claps. “Ball!” Mommy says, “Good looking, Detective Tom. You found it!”
Pup wags. Tom rolls the ball to Pup. “Boop!”
Moral: When we look, listen, and help, we can solve small mysteries with smiles.
