The playground was so loud. Swings squeaked, and big kids zoomed past. Tom gripped his green shovel and stepped back into the cool shadow of the tall slide. Then he heard a quiet, scraping sound.
Tom peeked around the metal slide. A girl sat alone in the giant sandbox. She scooped up the dry sand, trying to build a tall tower. Shhh. The powdery sand slipped right through her fingers into a flat puddle.
Crunch, crunch. Tom stepped toward the sandbox, and the girl quickly dropped her hands. She stared at her ruined pile. Tom froze in place. He held his shovel out in front of him like a green shield.
Tom carefully walked right up to the edge. "You can use this," he whispered, holding out the shovel. Suddenly, an autumn wind blew the girl's big hat right over her face. "Achoo!" she sneezed. Tom giggled, and she laughed, too.
Together, they got to work. She dug a deep trench, and Tom packed wet sand into huge, heavy blocks. They stacked them higher and higher to make a giant fortress. "It needs a moat!" Tom cheered, grabbing an old cup to fetch water.
Tom slowly poured water into the trench to make a perfect muddy moat. The girl grabbed a pinecone and planted it right on top of the tallest tower. Tom sat down next to her in the cool sand, grinning at their masterpiece.