The Football and the Tree – New and Revised

When Jonathan turned six, he received a football for his birthday. The ball was signed by a very famous player. His father had brought it all the way from Brazil.

Jonathan ran out to play in the park. A mean kid from the neighborhood grabbed the ball and kicked it so hard and high that it got stuck in a tree. He just smiled and walked away.

Jonathan stood there for hours. He came back the next day, and the day after that. He cried. He waited in the rain. But the ball was nowhere to be found.

Every year, on his birthday, Jonathan would visit the tree. He would search among the leaves. But the ball was nowhere to be found.

One day Jonathan met a girl and fell in love. They got married and moved away.

Every year, on his birthday, he would drive with his wife to visit the tree. He would tell her the story. When they had children, he would bring them to visit the tree as well.

Jonathan’s children grew up, got married and had children of their own. Now he was a grandfather. When Annie, his eldest granddaughter, was six, he took her to see the tree.

Annie looked at the tree. She looked at her grandfather. She thought for a moment.

“Grandfather,” she said, “There are so many trees in the park. Are you sure this is the right one? And even if the ball is still there, it must be very, very old.”

“Grandfather”, she said, “Why don’t we just go buy a new ball and play together?”

And so they did.

Jonathan smiled for the first time in many, many years.

They walked home slowly,

Hand in hand, 

And Jonathan never visited the tree again. 

Football (known as ‘soccer’ in some countries) is the most popular sport in the whole world. To play you don’t need fancy, expensive equipment, just a ball, a pair of legs and a goal or two. Children and adults in China and Rome played similar games thousands of years ago.

In our story, the ball was signed by a famous player from Brazil. Although the story does not name the player, it could be Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known around the world as Pelé.

Pelé grew up in poverty, and not having enough money for a real ball, would play with stuffed socks and grapefruits. At the age of seventeen, he became an international hero as he led Brazil to win the World Cup, scoring two goals. He went on to become the greatest football player that ever lived.

Although I never had a ball signed by Pelé, I did receive his signature on a poster. I gave to my own son, who played football and is now a coach. Doe this have anything to do with the story? Perhaps.