Stinky Socks & Perishing Hot Dogs

“What a great game, Justin!” Jeremy slapped his friend on the back in congratulations. “You did a great job scoring that last goal.”

“Thanks, Jeremy,” Justin replied. “Too bad it was just for practice.”

“How about I buy you a hot dog while we wait for our rides?” Jeremy counted his change.

“Sounds great!” said Justin as he and Jeremy walked to the snack stand near the edge of the soccer field.

Justin had just gotten his hot dog and was about to squeeze ketchup on it when he heard his mom calling his name from the parking lot. “Justin! Come on, or I’ll be late for my Monday meeting!”

“Uh, okay, coming!” Justin waved at her then ran to the team bench and grabbed his soccer bag. He tossed his water bottle inside then took a big bite of the hot dog and tossed it in, too. “Guess I’ll have to eat it later,” he said to himself. He hurriedly zipped up the bag and ran toward the car.

“Sorry to be in such a rush,” Mom apologized. “After I got Ellie ready to go, I couldn’t find my keys. Before I knew it, I was late!” They drove down the street toward the church building. “My meeting shouldn’t take long. You and Ellie can play in the Sunday school room.”

When they got home after the meeting, Justin tossed his soccer bag under the bed then quickly changed out of his team jersey and raced to the kitchen. “I’m starving!” he exclaimed, taking his seat at the table. “Roast beef! Yum!”

The family ate their dinner while they listened to Justin tell about the practice game and the goal he scored. Soon it was bedtime, and Justin was exhausted from his busy day— ready for some sleep.

The week flew by. On Friday, Justin was eager to teach his dog, Cookie, a new trick. But on his way out the door, Mom stopped him. “Justin, you’ve got to clean your room. Something smells bad in there.”

“Aww, Mom. Do I have to right now? I haven’t had a chance to teach Cookie any new tricks in a long time.”

“Well,” Mom said, “at least collect the dirty socks and laundry first; that’s probably what stinks.”

Justin ran into his room. As he quickly gathered up the dirty socks, shirts, and underwear, he noticed a very bad smell. “Eww!” He scrunched his nose. Mom was right. He raced to the laundry room and tossed the clothes into the hamper then went outdoors to play with his dog.

At bedtime, the odor in his room was worse. “Ooh-wee!” said Dad, coming in to give Justin a goodnight hug. “It smells like something has perished in here.”

“What does that mean?” asked Justin.

“It means there must be something rotten in your room.”

Justin shrugged. “I don’t know what it is. I got rid of the dirty laundry.”

“Maybe you’d better go on a hunt tomorrow,” said Dad.

The next day, as Justin opened his bedroom window for some fresh air, Ellie knocked on his door. “Jussin! Can I come in, pwease?”

Justin opened the door. Ellie immediately pinched her nose. “Eww! It’s tinky.”

“Yep, that’s why I have to hunt for whatever’s making it stink,” Justin explained.

“Can I help?” Ellie volunteered excitedly. “I wanna hunt for da tinky thing!”

“Okay, start looking.” Justin pointed to the closet where Ellie crawled around on the floor sniffing like a dog.

“Hey, that’s a great idea, Ellie!” Justin ran out to the backyard. When he’d found his dog, he led him inside to his bedroom. “Come on, Cookie, find what’s stinkin’ up my room.”

Cookie sniffled and snuffled around the room. He went into the closet then came back out. “Nope, not there,” said Justin.

Cookie sniffed under the dresser then went the other way. “Nope, not dere, either,” said Ellie.

Cookie excitedly sniffed around all the toys on Justin’s floor. Then he stopped, frozen in place. Sniff—sniff. The dog’s nose wiggled. Suddenly, Cookie dove under the bed. “Woof!” he barked.

“Cookie found it!” Ellie clapped.

Justin peered under the bed as Cookie pawed at his orange soccer bag. Justin pulled it out and unzipped it. Foooof—a rancid smell attacked Justin’s nose. “Oh, gross!” He gagged as he reached in and pulled out a greenish, fuzzy hot dog.

“Dats icky!” Ellie pinched her nose. “Mommy! Daddy! We found what tinks!” She ran down the hall, shouting the news.

Mom and Dad came running. They were both curious to know what had caused such an awful stench. Mom stopped in the doorway. “Eww, that’s nasty,” she said, staring at the spoiled hot dog.

“Oh! Now that’s really disgusting,” said Dad. “Where was it?”

Justin explained how he hadn’t had time to eat the hot dog after soccer practice and had tossed it into his bag with everything else.

“That was Monday!” Mom exclaimed.

“It’s had plenty of time to spoil.” Dad laughed.

“Yeah,” said Justin, eyeing the rotten food, “I’d say this hot dog has definitely perished.”

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