The Little Red Car
Adventures of a Freewheeling Vehicle
By: Yuri Tuvim - Jan 08, 2007
These adventures started in the parking lot of an automobile factory. There were many cars waiting to be hauled to a dealership and among them was the little red car. One morning this little red car woke up and realized that he did not want to be sold to anybody; he wanted to be his own master. So he started his engine and snuck out behind a trailer leaving the lot.
It was wonderful to be free! The little red car started to drive around looking at the city. Pretty quickly he learned to stop at red lights and to show his turn signals before changing lanes and turning. He was really enjoying himself when all of a sudden a red light on his dashboard went on. The little red one got scared. What was this? Surely it was bad news. Very little gasoline was left in the tank. But the car had already learned by looking around that he could refill his tank by going to a gas station. So he drove to a gas station and asked a man to fill up his tank. The gas station owner could not believe his eyes; he had never seen a talking car before! But service is service, so he filled the tank and said, "Ten dollars please."
The little red car was shocked. He did not know what ten dollars was. He had never dealt with money before. The gas station owner was a good man. He explained what money was and advised him to earn some. That way, he could pay for the gasoline later. "You are such a nice car," he said, "I trust you." The little red car left the gas station and drove slowly along the street thinking about how to earn money to pay the debt.
Suddenly he saw an old lady carrying a heavy bag. She was walking slowly; it was obvious that she was tired. The little red car stopped, opened his door and said, "Please, take a seat, I will drive you home." And so he did. The old lady was very grateful and wanted to give the car some money. First, our little red one was offended. He helped the old lady because he could not stand seeing her struggling with the bag, not because he wanted money. But the old lady wanted to pay him, so she put ten dollars into the glove compartment and left.
At that moment our car realized that now he could pay for the gasoline. He drove back to the gas station, opened his front door and asked the owner to take the money out of the glove compartment. "You are honest," said the owner, "I think you will have a great future." Free of debt and with a full tank of gasoline, the little red car felt that the whole world belonged to him. He drove and drove tirelessly across the city. He took a highway out of town and saw fields and cows, farms and lakes. He drove through a tunnel under a mountain, and over a river along a bridge. But all good things come to an end; after a lot of driving, the red light went on again.
"No problem," thought our car, "I just need to find an old lady and drive her home." He started to look, and looked, and looked, and looked but there were no old ladies on the streets, and the red light was glowing brighter and brighter.
The little red car panicked when his engine stuttered. At that frightening moment he remembered that some cars with green lights on their roofs were picking up people who were waving from the sidewalks. "Aha!" said the red car, "I need a green light too." So, using the last drop of gas, he drove back to the only place he knew and asked the gas station owner for help.
"You want to be a taxi?" asked the owner. "I see you are getting serious about life. I think I can help you." And he installed a green light on the roof and a meter inside the little red car, filled his tank, and wished him good luck.
Our car turned the green light on and drove slowly down the street. One man waved his hand and screamed, "Taxi!" The little red car stopped and took the man in.
"Where do you want to go?"
"Jenison Street, number 22, in Newton."
"Where is Newton?" asked the car. The man was very surprised that the car was talking to him and that there was no driver behind the steering wheel.
"What kind of car are you?" asked the man. "Why do you talk?" And the little red car told him his story of how he wanted to be his own master, and how he became a taxi because he wanted to buy gasoline. And while they were talking the man was telling the car where to go and what turns to take. They arrived in Newton.
The man put money in the glove compartment and asked the car if he wanted to meet his little daughter. The car was delighted. He didn't know any children. He jumped on all four wheels and blinked his headlights.
"Sure," he said, "bring her out. She will be my friend. I will take her for a ride. This will be free. I don't charge friends."
"It's too late now. Come tomorrow, she will be ready for you."
Thus ended the first day of the adventures of the little red car.
THE SECOND DAY
"My name is Sarah," said the girl climbing into the car. "Papa said that you needed a friend. I want a friend too. Where are we going?"
"Anywhere you wish," answered the car. "I suggest we go to the forest that I saw across the river. I spotted some kids playing there." And the car asked Sarah to buckle up as they zoomed off.
In the middle of the forest was a big lake. Several tents were standing on the lake shore and a bonfire was burning nearby. Boys and girls were sitting around the bonfire. The little red car stopped and honked. Sarah said to the boys and girls who ran to the car and circled it: "My name is Sarah. There are no kids in my neighborhood and I had nobody to play with until today when my papa introduced me to this little red car. Now we are friends and I want you to meet him. He can talk and he is very kind. It was he who suggested we go to the forest. What are you doing here?"
One boy answered: "My name is Sammy. We are boy scouts and girl scouts. This is our summer camp. We live and play here, and we also do very useful work: we clean this forest. It is important to keep our forests healthy and clean. We remove dead branches and bushes. We collect plastic, empty bottles, and papers that are left by careless people. Do you see this big pile? That is what we gathered today. We are waiting for a dump truck to take it to a landfill."
"And what is this bonfire for?" asked the little red car.
"Oh," said one girl, "we bake potatoes in the ashes. They are ready now; would you like to eat with us?"
"I would," said Sarah, "I've never eaten a potato baked in ashes. My mama bakes them in the oven."
"Really?" said another girl, "Our potatoes are much better. Try one!"
Sarah sat with the girls and boys, ready to eat but she stopped suddenly and said: "But what about my friend? He cannot eat and I think I should not either. This would be impolite."
"Don't worry, Sarah," said the car, "I will fill my tank with gasoline later."
After the meal, which Sarah liked very much, the little red car said that they had to go back home. And because the truck did not come, he would be glad to take the garbage to the dump. He opened his trunk and the girl scouts and boy scouts loaded it with the plastic bags.
"You are so helpful," said the children. "What can we do for you?"
"Oh," said the car, "I need nothing. I am happy to help."
"Wait a minute," said Sammy, "we will wash your headlights. It is getting darker and you will see better. Come with Sarah again, we will do lots of things together tomorrow. But I won't tell you what, it will be a surprise."
"We will come," replied the car and Sarah in unison. "We like being with all of you."
They left, and the little red car returned Sarah to her home. He would come back in the morning, but now he must go to the dump and unload his trunk. This ended the second day of the adventures of our friends, Sarah and the little red car.
THE THIRD DAY
Sarah woke up very early the next morning and slipped into the kitchen, trying not to wake her parents. She ate bread with honey, drank milk and went out to wait for her little red friend. In a few minutes the red car appeared at the front steps and Sarah climbed in.
"Let's go," she said.
"Wait a minute," said the car. "Did you tell your parents?"
"They are sleeping," said Sarah.
"We cannot leave like that, they will be very worried. If I take you without their permission, they'll call the police and I don't want police cars chasing me with blinking blue lights and sirens."
Sarah ran back into the house and received permission from her parents to go to the forest. Once they were on the road, Sarah asked: "What do you think we will do today?"
"I have no idea," answered the car, "but I'm sure it will be very interesting."
Our friends were met with silence at the scouts' camp. The camp was empty! Tents were standing, but not a single living soul was around. What happened? Sarah's eyes were filling with tears. "Don't cry," said the car. "Scouts are good people, and they knew we were coming, they must be around somewhere. We'll find them. I think I hear some laughter behind the trees; go take a look." In a few moments Sarah came back and reported that the scouts were playing in the water and invited Sarah and the car to join them.
"You go," said the car, "I'll wait here. I can't swim; I'll sink because metal is heavier than water."
"But how do ships float in the water?" asked Sarah. "They are made from metal too."
"Because they are mostly empty inside," answered the car.
"You are empty too!" exclaimed Sarah. "You can swim."
"Yes, I am, but I have doors. . . . I will fill up with water and sink."
At that moment the scouts returned from the lake and Sarah explained to them the problem with the doors.
"I know what to do," said Sammy. "We will put tape around the doors, so that water will not leak through!"
"Does that mean that I won't be able to open my doors?" asked the car. "I don't want to be sealed forever. Can we do something else?"
"I know," said the redheaded girl Lisa, "we need to check the seals around his doors! Maybe they will keep water out. Once we were driving through a storm and our car was dry inside."
What is said must be done! The whole crowd of girls and boys ran to the lake and returned with buckets full of water. Without loosing any time, a couple of boys climbed on top of the car and started pouring water on the roof from buckets handed to them. They opened the doors and inspected the cabin. Not a single drop inside!
"Hooray! Let's go swimming!" cried everybody. The joyful crowd rushed to the lake followed by the car. However, at the very edge of the water the car abruptly stopped.
"I can't," said he, "my engine will be destroyed. Water will be sucked in. . . ."
"Yes," said Sammy, "he is right. Car motors need air to burn gasoline. They suck air through air filters, but filters can not stop water, they only stop dust. We need to make a snorkel for the car, similar to ours, only bigger." The scouts started to look everywhere for a piece of tubing but found nothing.
"Wait a minute," said Sarah, "even if we find tubing, how will we attach it to the motor? We have no tools. . . ."
"I will go to my friend—the gas station owner—and he will find a way to make a snorkel," said the car as he drove away.
"Hey!" screamed Sarah, "You forgot about me! How will I get home?"
Poor Sarah, she was worried. Her parents would be very anxious, not having her back home for dinner. She started to cry. It was getting darker and colder. Fortunately, headlights shined through the trees. The little red car had come back! He realized that he forgot to take Sarah home and he had returned to pick her up. Everybody was relieved. After he brought Sarah home, the car drove to the gas station.
Thus ended the third day of the adventures of our friends, Sarah and the little red car.
THE FOURTH DAY
Bill the gas station owner, was not surprised to see the red car parked at the station again.
"Hi," he asked, "need more gas?"
"Thank you, no, but I really need your help. You see, my friends, the scouts, invited me to swim with them but I am afraid my motor will be flooded. One scout suggested installing some sort of snorkel. I hope you know how to do this."
"Sure I know, but I don't think this is a good idea because you will look like a steam engine with a smokestack. You are such a nice looking car, why spoil your appearance for a fleeting desire? Besides, you still can go into the lake, but not deeper than the top of your wheels. Just remember that and you will be OK."
"It's not very much fun to be in the water only up to my wheels," said the car sadly. "The scouts are diving and collecting shells. . . . I have never seen the bottom of the lake; I want to see fish too. . . ."
"Are you telling me that you would like to be a submarine?" asked Bill. "This can be done, but it takes more than a simple snorkel. You will need a propeller too. I think I can do all of this, even make a detachable snorkel so that you won't look like a steam engine. Come in tomorrow, I'll have the parts ready." The happy red car quickly drove to pick up Sarah and off they zipped to the forest. The scouts were already splashing and screaming in the lake. "Where is your snorkel?" asked the kids. The car told them what Bill said and everybody agreed that he was right. A detachable snorkel and a propeller! This would be great!
"Let's collect mushrooms," said Sarah. "My papa always hunts for them in the fall. Forest mushrooms are much tastier than those from the supermarket."
"Wild mushrooms are poisonous," said the redhead girl. "We can die if we eat them."
"Yes," said Sarah, "some of them are but others are not, and I know how to tell them apart; my papa taught me. I'll show you which mushrooms are not good."
The scouts readily agreed and ran into forest. There were plenty of mushrooms of all sizes and colors. Sarah showed the kids which mushrooms to pick and pretty soon baskets were filled with choice wonders of the forest.
"Hey, look here!" cried one scout, "What is this?" He was pointing to an almost prefect circle of bright orange mushrooms, as big as a hula-hoop.
I know," said Sarah, "this is a witch's ring. It started from one single mushroom a long time ago. Since then the spores of that mushroom spread evenly in all directions resulting in this ring. In Russia these mushrooms are called Lisichki, they are very tasty and never wormy."
Pretty soon the scouts had filled their baskets but quickly realized that they had neither frying pans, nor butter to fry the mushrooms. The car offered to go to the city and buy pans and butter but the scouts did not have any money.
"We can sell some of our mushrooms and buy what we need." suggested Lisa. Everybody agreed. The baskets were put in the trunk of the car and Sarah, Lisa, and the car drove to Trader Joe's where they sold the mushrooms and bought what they needed. Back in the forest they found the fire ready. The scouts fried the mushrooms and ate them. It was a delicious meal!
Thus ended the fourth day of the adventures of our friends, Sarah and the little red car.
THE FIFTH DAY
Early in the morning the car drove to the gas station. He was apprehensive but hopeful. On one hand, this would be a major operation, but on the other hand, if successful, he would be able to swim with his friends and explore the lake. "Areyou ready?" asked Bill, "I hope you are not afraid."
"A little bit nervous," answered the car, "but I trust you. Go ahead!" Bill turned on the acetylene torch and proceeded to cut a hole in the hood of the car.
"What are you doing?" asked the car.
"Preparing a place to attach the snorkel, just bear with me," answered Bill. And so he continued cutting, drilling, hammering, welding, attaching, tightening and painting. At the end of the work day the car rolled out of the garage with a shiny propeller under his rear bumper and a red intake pipe on the side of his hood. "Don't forget to fold the snorkel when driving through the city," said Bill and slapped the car on the back. "You owe me three hundred dollars for parts only; I don't charge friends for my labor. It was fun working on you!"
Thus ended the fifth day of the adventures of our friend the little red car. But what did Sarah do the whole day without her friend? She was helping her mother clean the house. She had to do it today, for tomorrow would be Saturday.
THE SIXTH DAY
In the morning Sarah jumped into the little red car. "How was it yesterday?" she asked, "Was it painful?"
"Nah," answered the car, "have you ever been in a dental office?"
"Many times," said Sarah.
"What did the doctor do to you?"
"He filled a tooth and cleaned my teeth."
"Was that painful?"
"A little bit but mostly very ticklish."
"That's exactly how I felt; only there was no pain at all, but extreeeeemely ticklish. Bill and I were laughing the whole time. We had a lot of fun yesterday. Did you notice my propeller? Isn't it pretty? And look how the snorkel comes up! I think we will have a great time at the lake! Belt yourself—off we go!" And the car surged forward.
At the camp the scouts were already swimming. Heads and rear ends were popping in and out of water; snorkels squirted fountains, and beach balls were flying high. The car did not hesitate for a second, but plunged into the water making a big splash. When the waves settled scouts were terrified! The car dangerously tilted to one side so that the snorkel was just a few inches above the water.
Then the scouts noticed Sarah inside. She was on the passenger seat, white as a ghost. Her mouth was open, she was shouting but the scouts could not hear anything through the closed windows. Luckily somebody commanded: "Everybody! Hold the snorkel up and push the car to the shore!" The scouts encircled the car lifting the end of the snorkel and guided the car to the shore. The door opened and a very pale Sarah thanked the kids for rescuing her.
"I was so scared," she said. The car was very ashamed and sorry too. He blinked headlights and honked.
"I was so excited to swim," he said, "I forgot about my passenger."
"It's OK," said Sarah, "I don't hold grudges. You are my dear friend and you always will be."
The car honked and spun his propeller! "I love you, Sarah, and I love all of you, boys and girls! Let's go swimming! Hooray!"
With these words he jumped back into the water and all of the scouts followed him. They swam and dove; they collected shells, and played water polo. It was great fun! The car assumed the role of referee and did it very well noticing minor infractions and honking gently.
Thus ended the sixth day of the adventures of our friends the little red car, Sarah and the scouts. Unfortunately, it was also the end of the summer. The camp would be closed tomorrow and the kids would go back to school. But before parting, they all agreed to meet during winter break for more adventures.