The games section was even more crowded than the candy vendors' section. Kids rushed from booth to booth, slamming down fistfuls of cash for the chance to win a prize. The prizes dangled above their heads like fruits hanging just out of reach of a starving man's grasp.

"Why don't you pick the first game?" Jacob said as Nate examined the prizes.

Nate wandered from booth to booth, pausing in front of each one as he considered each game and the goodies hanging overhead

Even Jacob had to admit some of the prizes looked cool. He spotted a miniature claw game full of candy bars and a chocolate fountain that looked particularly enticing. Even some of the smaller prizes looked nice, especially the jumbo bags of candy. But as Jacob watched kid after kid lose the games and walk away empty-handed, he began to question the wisdom of taking Nate to this fool's paradise.

"That one!" Nate yelled, interrupting Jacob's train of thought.

Jacob's eyes followed Nate's pointing finger to an ordinary looking bottle toss game. Stacks of bottles painted to look like cowhide stood on stands, and the booth's owner juggled the light brown balls that were supposed to knock them down. A massive stuffed version of Casey that was almost as big as Nate himself looked down on the bottles.

Nate bounced up and down in front of the stall. "How do I play?" he asked the man inside as he fumbled for his money. He had to stand on his tiptoes to get a good look at the bottles.

"Howdy," the man in charge of the booth said with a grin. "I see you've taken a liking to good ol' Casey. All you'll have to do to get him is knock down a couple bottles. Why, it's so easy that even a baby could do it."

Jacob tried to pull Nate away from the booth. "Trust me, this game is a waste of time," he said. "You're too short to aim right. Come on, let's go to the gift shop instead. If they don't have stuffed animals there, I'll eat my shoe."

Nate scowled. "First that guy thought I was too short to go on the Caramel Coaster. Now you think I'm too short to play this. When will people quit treating me like a baby?"

"Let the kid try," said the man, gathering the balls in one hand. "It's only a dollar per game."

Before Jacob could protest, Nate slammed a dollar onto the counter. He squinted at the bottles before hurling the first ball as hard as he could.

It landed in the dirt with a dull thud. His next two throws fared little better. The same went for the next three rounds.

"Seriously," Jacob said, "I'll use my money to get you a toy just like that one if it means that much to you."

"They're never this big in the store," Nate said. "I have to win this!"

Nate 's next two throws missed. For his last shot, he glared at the bottles, reached his arm back as far as it would go, and hurled the ball.

The ball hit the bottles with a faint ding that could barely be heard above the sound of the increasingly noisy crowd behind them.

"Sorry kid," the man said. "You're out of balls."

Nate hung his head. "This is the worst trip ever."

Jacob slammed down a dollar. "I'm next."