Where Did the Other Shoe Go?

Po was ready to go out, but only one orange shoe sat on the mat. “What does the other one look like?” asked Aunt Oon. Po said, “A round orange toe, a white strap, a moon patch, and a green zigzag sole.” Then they began to look slowly.

Something orange was under the table. “Is it the shoe?” Po bent down to look. “No! It is a triangle block. It has no round toe and no strap.” There was no shoe under the table.

Something white was behind the curtain. “Is it the shoe strap?” Po opened the curtain a tiny bit. “No! It is the curtain tie. There is no orange shoe and no moon patch.” There was no shoe behind the curtain.

A moon shape peeked from the play-market basket. “Is it the shoe?” Po lifted the cloth and turned the object over. The green sole had four zigzag rows. “Yes! I found the other shoe!”

Po placed the shoes together by the entryway. “Round orange toes, white straps, moon patches, zigzag soles—all here!” Po remembered using one shoe as a delivery boat in the pretend market yesterday. Next time play ended, both shoe-boats would sail back to their parking place by the entryway.

When something is missing, look slowly, name its color, shape, parts, and position, and check more than one clue before deciding it is a match.