Arlo had a box of rainbow blocks.
And he had a very important job.
He was building the Tallest Tower in the World.
Clack. A red block.
Clack. A blue one on top.
Click-clack. A yellow one, turned just so.
The tower grew taller.
It was taller than his teddy bear, Barnaby.
It was taller than the lamp on his table.
It was almost taller than Arlo himself!
He stood on his tiptoes. His breath was quiet in his chest.
He had one block left. The special one. The sparkly green one.
Very, very carefully, he reached up.
His fingers stretched… a little farther…
The tower began to wibble.
It began to wobble.
And then—
CRASH!
The Tallest Tower in the World was gone.
Rainbow blocks scattered all over the rug.
The sparkly green one rolled under the bed.
Arlo's face felt hot. His tummy felt tight.
A tear trickled down his cheek. Then another.
He flopped onto the floor with a thump.
He heard footsteps in the hall. Tiptoe, tiptoe.
The door creaked open. It was Dad.
"Whoa," Dad whispered, looking at the blocks. He took a careful step into the room.
And then— "YOWCH!"
Dad hopped on one foot. "Ouchie, ouchie, ouchie! Sneaky purple block!"
Arlo let out a tiny giggle through his tears.
Dad sat down on the rug, right in the middle of the mess. He didn't say, "Let's clean up." He didn't say, "Don't be sad."
He just picked up a blue block and a red block and looked at them.
"That was a very big crash," he said softly.
Arlo nodded, wiping his nose with his sleeve.
"You know," Dad said, looking around, "tall is good. But what about… long?"
He placed the red block on the rug. Then he placed the blue block right next to it.
Tap. Tap.
Arlo watched. He found an orange block and put it next to the blue one. Tap.
Then a yellow one. Tap.
They weren't building up anymore. They were building out.
They built a long, winding road that snaked around the leg of the bed.
Arlo found the sparkly green block under there and made it a little house.
Dad made a garage for a sleepy-looking dinosaur.
Barnaby the bear got a long, flat bench to sit on.
Soon, the whole floor was not a mess anymore.
It was a city.
A long, colorful, rainbow city.
Dad's arm was warm around Arlo's shoulders as they scooted a little car down the brand-new road, all the way to the door and back again.
