Vermell was a very well-behaved umbrella. He opened when it rained, closed when the sun came out, and never pinched anyone’s finger.
But he was tired of always going forwards.
One morning, he started walking backwards.
“You’re going the wrong way!” people told him.
“Perhaps,” he replied, “but how many things do you notice after you’ve already gone past them?”
Walking backwards, Vermell found a scarf that had fallen off a stroller.
He saw a door that someone had left open.
He discovered a kiss that was flying by and hadn’t reached any cheek.
He also noticed that a little dog had been following them for three blocks.
“He’s lost!” exclaimed the little girl carrying the umbrella.
They retraced their steps until they found an old man searching for his dog in the rain.
“Thank you,” said the old man. “If you had kept going, you wouldn’t have seen him.”
From then on, Vermell walked forward on busy days and backward on important ones.
And the girl learned that sometimes, moving forward also means looking back.
