Funny Children's Stories

The Scooter

I built a scooter. Really, I never actually thought I would be able to build it. It all happened because I found two bearings on the Trifonovka junkyard.

Honestly, I love to search through junkyards and dumps. My mom once said that whenever I pass by a dump, I always examine it with an inquisitive look.

Well, we all love to go to Trifonovka. And we do not go there for something specific. If you need something specific, you will never find it there. But sometimes you find unimaginable things at Trifonovka.

Boys from all regions of Moscow go to the Trifonovka junkyard. We are just lucky that it is so close to us.

Before I found the bearings at Trifonovka, I did not even intend to make a scooter. Actually, no one in our yard has a scooter. But somehow everyone knows how to build it and what spare parts are needed.

And as soon as I found these bearings, it immediately became clear that there was nothing left to do but to make a scooter.

Of course, everyone began to tell me what else I needed to find. I had to find two wooden boards, a round stick for the handle, a piece of tin sheet, several nails, and two short metal pipes that would fit into the bearings.

My friend Gleb Paramonov said that I would need a lot of tools but that I would have no chance of getting them. He said that I would need a hammer, a drill with drill bits, scissors to cut metal, and a knife.

And I told Gleb not to be a wise guy. Of course, it is very easy to nail things with a hammer. But a stone would work just as well. You can make any hole, using a nail and a small knife. Actually, a knife is what you really need. It is not really possible to do anything without it. Scissors to cut metal are not really necessary either. If you just keep bending the tin back and forth many times on the same spot, then it will break on its own.

It took me a couple of months to collect all the parts. But it only took me a few days to put the scooter together. But I did not like how the whole story with the scooter turned out. And here is why I did not like it.

It was no fun to ride alone. Therefore, everyone in our yard took turns riding my scooter. And everyone tried to go nearly all the way to the end of our street and then speeded downward. The scooter broke very often. And I was the only one repairing it.

But it was not because the one who broke it refused to repair it. Not at all. Usually everyone started to repair it with great enthusiasm. And always told me, “Don’t worry. We’ll have it fixed in no time.” But it always ended up that something stood in the way of finishing the repair. Either I or the one who was helping me with repairs needed to go home. Or else there were not enough nails. Or something else.

Finally, I gave my scooter to Gleb. And when I gave it to him, I said, “Gleb, take it and ride it whenever you want. And don’t worry about its wheel being broken – it’s nothing. I’ll help you right now, and we'll have it fixed in no time.”