"Watch this," Sam told his younger brother, Nick, one day. Sam threw three scarves into the air, one by one. As each fell, Sam caught it and threw it up again in a slow-moving circle.
"Wow!" Nick said. "You learned to juggle(杂耍)."
"Haha, I made it!" Sam laughed.
"I want to juggle, too," Nick said. "Will you teach me?"
So after lunch, Sam taught Nick how to throw two scarves in an X shape—first the one in his right hand, then the one in his left.
"Adding the third one is difficult," Sam said.
"Like this?" Nick said. "Oops!"
Sam smiled. "It takes time to catch on."
But it didn't take Nick long at all. After supper, he ran into the family room, wearing a magician's hat.
"Watching Nick the talented juggler!" he announced. Then he began to juggle—slowly at first, then faster.
"Amazing!" Dad said.
"You're a natural!" said Mom.
Sam was silent. ▲ Sam was older, and he'd been practicing longer. It wasn't fair.
A few weeks later, as Sam played basketball in the driveway, Nick hurried out of the house with his magician's hat.
"Guess what!" he said. "The community center is having a talent show. I'm going to juggle water balloons. Isn't that a great idea?"
It was. But Sam didn't want Nick to know he thought so.
On the morning of the talent show, Nick practiced one last time while Sam played basketball outside. Suddenly, Sam heard a splat(啪嗒).
Colorful balloon bits were everywhere around Nick's feet. "Do you think it's too late to cancel?" Nick moaned.
Sam couldn't help feeling bad for his brother. "Probably."
"Even if I'm sick?" Nick said. "My stomach kind of hurts."
Sam remembered his last basketball game. Before the game, he'd felt so nervous that he almost wished he could catch a cold so he'd have a reason not to play. At the same time, he'd wanted to play to prove(证明)he could. Maybe Nick felt the same way.
"You know what?" Sam said. "It's good you broke some balloons. If you do it now, you probably won't do it on stage. That's what my coach always says. Make your mistakes in practice, not during the game."
"Really?" Nick said doubtfully.
"Yeah," Sam said. "Come on. I'll help you fill more balloons before we leave!"
