The Day Max’s Shadow Ran Away

A brief call for freedom backfires

Max loved his shadow. It followed him everywhere—across the yard, up the stairs, even when he brushed his teeth at night.

But one morning, something strange happened. When Max got out of bed and stretched, his shadow didn’t stretch with him. Instead, it wiggled its arms and whispered, “I’m tired of copying you all the time. I want to have fun on my own!”

Before Max could say a word, the shadow hopped off the wall and darted out the window.

“Hey! Come back!” Max shouted, racing after it.

Down the street, Max’s shadow was busy skipping across rooftops, sliding down lampposts, and making silly faces on the side of Mr. Green’s grocery store. Max tried to catch it, but every time he got close, the shadow slipped away.

Finally, Max stopped to catch his breath. “Fine,” he said. “Go do your own thing. But you’ll miss out on everything I do today.”

At that, Max marched off. He ate pancakes with extra syrup. He rode his bike through the biggest puddles. He even played soccer with his friends, scoring the winning goal.

And guess what? By the time Max came home, his shadow was waiting for him by the front door, looking a little droopy.

“Did you have fun?” Max asked.

The shadow nodded. Then it stuck itself back to Max’s feet.

From that day on, the shadow never ran away again though sometimes, when no one was looking, Max caught it doing a little victory dance of its own.