Anthony the ball is lying in a pile of balls in a big toy store, but he is not feeling very well. Suddenly he notices that the toy store is full of people and a little boy is walking around the store with his mom. Anthony gets very excited and pushes the other balls down so the boy can see him. Finally the boy walks over to the balls, checks them out for a while and looks up.
- Mom, I want this ball, he says.
- Okay my darling, we will buy that ball.
Richard takes Anthony and walks with his mom to the cashier to pay for it. They go out to the car and drive home. When they arrive home the boy starts to kick Anthony into the wall.
Later his friends come to visit and they all want to kick Anthony. Anthony the ball is so proud of himself that he stretches out. Anthony is outside the whole day playing soccer and sometimes he ends up in the goal.
The next day it is raining and puddles are everywhere. Anthony lands in a puddle and gets soaking wet. Then later he lands in some mud.
- Achoo! Anthony sneezes.
Anthony gets very tired and heavy and the kids don’t want to kick him anymore. They all go home but after a while the sun starts shining again. Anthony manages to dry completely so the kids are able to kick him around again.
Days go by and Anthony the ball is very happy because he isn´t lying in a pile of balls anymore. But suddenly everything changes. Anthony the ball is placed in a storage room and Richard doesn´t play with him at all. At first he is surprised, then he gets very angry.
- Mr. Ball, he hears somebody say above him.
He looks up and sees that roller skates are watching him.
- What is your name?
- My name is Anthony, he replies sadly.
- Don’t be sad, says the left roller skate.
- Why not? Anthony askes.
- They also place us in the storage room after the summer is finished.
- The summer?
- Yes, the winter is coming and Richard put us in the storage.
- Why is that?
- Because kids don´t play with the summer toys during the winter.
- Oh, says Antony.
- Well, my name is Miriam, the roller skate tells him.
Anthony looks around and sees that all the other toys are looking at him and smiling at him, so he doesn´t have any choice but to smile back at them. There is Robert the bucket, Mary the jump rope, Kelly the shovel and Joseph and Miriam the roller skates. All of them are summer toys. Anthony is very pleased and has fun with them every day from then on.
One day little Richard comes into the storage room and picks up Anthony and Anthony the ball knows right away it must be summer again. Suddenly the people place him and all the other toys in the car. There he lies with all the other toys totally confused and doesn´t know what is happening. But then Anthony hears the reason why.
- We are going to the country house, Robert the bucket tells him.
- Yes, fun fun! Says Miriam.
After a long drive the car stops and Anthony the ball is kicked out of the car into an open area and he lands in the soft grass. All of a sudden a dog comes along and tries to bite Anthony, he doesn´t want that and rolls away. The dog looks very surprised.
- What do you think you are doing, you stupid dog? Anthony asks.
- I was going to play with you, the dog replies.
- By biting me?
- No I will be careful, I promise.
- Okay we shall give it a try, Anthony says.
All day Anthony rolls back and forth in the garden. All of a sudden Anthony falls into a river and gets very scared. He floats full speed down the river and doesn´t know what to do. Once he stops at a rock that is in the way, but the stream of the river is so strong that he can´t hold on and floats further down the river. Finally he feels that someone picks him up from the water, he looks up and sees an elderly man. The man hands Anthony back to Richard who is so happy to get him back that he dribbles the ball for a while.
Days pass and the toys are feeling wonderful. Finally everyone goes back home and the toys are put back in the storage room. They are all very happy to get some rest.
The end
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