It was the first truly cold afternoon of November. The wind tore through the city streets, sending leaves spinning like coins and flipping umbrellas inside out. Inside the Eastview Library, three students sat huddled at a corner table—Ava, her cousin Malik, and their friend Jay. They were supposed to be finishing a group project for English, but they were mostly scrolling through their phones and complaining about how boring the afternoon was turning out.
“We should’ve just gone to the café,” Jay said, staring out the window. “At least they have heat.”
Ava glanced outside too. “I think the wind would have chased us back in anyway. It’s wild out there.”
As she spoke, a gust of wind rushed down Main Street, lifting the hat off a man walking just outside. He was older—mid-seventies, maybe—with a cane in one hand and a reusable grocery bag in the other. The hat, a black wool fedora, flipped up like a leaf and tumbled down the sidewalk.
“Whoa,” Malik said, sitting up. “Did you see that thing fly?”
The man dropped his bag and began shuffling after the hat, but it darted ahead of him like it had a mind of its own.
“He’s never going to catch it,” Jay muttered.
Ava stood. “We should help.”
“Really?” Malik said. “We’re not even supposed to leave. Ms. Dominguez said to stay put until our rides get here.”
Ava was already walking toward the door. “This counts as extraordinary.”
The boys looked at each other, then followed her out.
By the time they made it to the sidewalk, the hat had tumbled half a block. The man was still trying, his limp more noticeable now as he called weakly after it. Ava sprinted, and the boys ran too, zigzagging between street lamps and startled pedestrians.
The hat dodged everything—pigeons, puddles, a woman with a stroller. At one point, it nearly flew into the street, but a gust carried it back up onto the curb. Ava lunged, missed, and nearly collided with a newspaper stand.
“This hat’s got wheels!” Jay gasped, laughing between breaths.
“It’s got a grudge,” Malik said. “This is personal.”
After three blocks, the hat finally snagged on a construction barricade and stopped. Ava reached it first, grabbing it with both hands before the wind could lift it again. The wool was damp and slightly crushed.
The man caught up seconds later, wheezing. “That thing’s got more fight than I do,” he said, trying to laugh. “Thank you.”
Ava handed it to him carefully. “Are you okay?”
He nodded. “I’m winded, not broken. You kids really took off.”
Jay raised an eyebrow. “How far did that thing go?”
“Far enough that we’re gonna get a lecture when we go back,” Malik said. “We were supposed to stay inside.”
The man looked at them closely. “You from the high school?”
They nodded.
He held up the hat. “This belonged to my wife. I’ve kept it for years. Couldn’t bring myself to stop wearing it.”
None of them spoke right away.
“Well,” the man said after a moment, adjusting it gently on his head, “thanks to you three, I still have it.”
They offered him a smile and began walking back together. As they reached the library, Ms. Dominguez was standing just inside the door, arms crossed.
“I’m guessing there’s a story,” she said.
Ava stepped forward. “There is. And we’ll explain. But… it felt like the right thing to do.”
Ms. Dominguez looked at the man behind them, who gave a small wave. She sighed. “All right. Let’s hear it.”
Back inside, as they told the story, Malik leaned over to Ava. “You were right,” he said. “It was extraordinary.”
She grinned. “Told you.”
“The Chase” by Bright Bunny Books © 2025. Retelling of “The Trippertrots and The Old Man’s Hat” from The Three Little Trippertrots on the Travels by Howard A. Garis, originally published in 1912.
“The Chase” is intended for students in grades 7–10, offering relatable themes of empathy, quick decision-making, and everyday heroism in a modern, urban setting.
Bright Bunny Books 