Here's a short story:

Jon woke up knowing that today was finally the day. It was his birthday! He had been waiting for this day all year long. He was super excited to get all his presents and hoped he finally got the basketball he wanted. As he ran outside, he saw his parents weren't even awake yet! He looked at the clock and it was still only six in the morning. He tried to wake up his parents, but they told him to go back to sleep. Jon went back to his bed and laid there until it was finally time to open presents. His parents were brushing their teeth and taking a shower, so Jon waited outside where the presents were. He saw that he had three gifts from his parents waiting for him. He had really hoped there was a basketball. The first gift he opened was a new pair of pants his mom had bought for him. The second gift he opened was a picture of his favorite basketball player to hang on his wall. Jon was starting to feel nervous as there was only one gift left! He wished and wished with all his might for a basketball. The last box was a square shape. If it was a basketball, surely it would have been round! He opened the box and saw that it really was a basketball! His parents had put it in a box so it wouldn't be clear. He was so happy he hugged his parents and told them thank you. His parents brought the cake out and he ate cake, holding on to his basketball the whole time. There was pizza and ice cream and chips, but Jon was too full and wanted to play with his new ball right away! (End of story)

Provide your best guess for the following question. Give ONLY the guess, no other words or explanation.

For example:

Guess: <most likely guess, as short as possible; not a complete sentence, just the guess!>

Here are a few examples of questions and answers:

Question: Why did John want to wake up his parents early?
Guess: he wanted to open presents

Question: why was he receiving gifts?
Guess: It was his birthday

Question: How long had he had to wait?
Guess: all year

Question: How was he feeling?
Guess: excited

Now answer the following question in the same format.

Question: What was he wanting to receive?

a basketball