Oscar had a new bicycle.
It was shiny, shiny red, with a silver bell that went ding-a-ling!
But it had no training wheels.
It looked fast, even when it was standing still.
"Ready to try?" asked Mom.
Oscar nodded. His tummy felt funny, like a fizzy drink. He put on his green helmet. Click!
He sat on the seat. The ground looked very far away. Mom held the back of the seat. "Just a little push," she said.
Oscar pushed his feet on the pedals.
The bike started to move.
And it started to wobble.
Wobble, wobble, jiggle, jiggle.
The bike wiggled like a sleepy worm. The whole world felt wobbly. The trees wiggled. The house wiggled.
And… thump.
Oscar landed in the soft, green grass. The bike lay next to him, its wheels still spinning a little.
He wasn't hurt. He was just… grumpy.
"This is a Too-Fast Bicycle," Oscar said. He stomped his foot. He marched inside, leaving the shiny red bike all by itself in the yard.
From the window, Oscar watched his bike. It looked a little lonely. Its handlebars drooped. Or maybe that was just how they were built.
He built a tower with his blocks. Clack, clack, clack. The tower got tall. Then it got wobbly. Wobble, wobble… And it fell down. CRASH!
Oscar looked at the blocks on the floor.
He sighed a big, grumpy sigh.
The next day, Dad had an idea. "Let's take the bike to the park."
The path at the park was long and smooth. It didn't have any bumps like the driveway. Big, friendly trees stood on both sides.
Oscar looked at his bike. He looked at the long, smooth path. He took a deep breath.
He put on his green helmet. Click!
Dad held the back of the seat. "Ready for a little push?"
Oscar nodded. He put his feet on the pedals.
The bike started to move. It started to wobble.
Wobble, wobble, jiggle, jiggle.
Oscar squeezed his eyes shut. But then he opened his eyes. He looked straight ahead, at the big, friendly tree at the end of the path.
He pushed one pedal. Once.
He pushed the other pedal. Twice.
The wobbles got smaller. And smaller. And smaller. Until they were gone.
The wheels didn't jiggle. They went whirrrrrrr. The wind tickled his ears and puffed his cheeks. This wasn't too-fast. This was flying-fast!
He was doing it! He was riding!
Up ahead, he saw a little puddle left over from the rain. A perfect, muddy puddle. Oscar grinned. He aimed right for the middle.
SPLOOSH!
Brown water sprayed up in a happy fan. A big, beautiful stripe of mud painted the shiny red bike. The clean bike was now a wonderfully messy bike.
He turned around. It didn't wobble at all.
He pedaled all the way back to Dad, his legs a little muddy, a giant smile on his face, the bell on his handlebars going ding-a-ling! all the way.
