Prose: A stich in time

Let us learn

A stich in time

“oh no, “ wails shyam.

The seams of his favourite shirt have come apart.

“I can’t wear this shirt anymore, Thatha!”

“Of course you can, silly,” his grandfather says.

“We can fix it!”

Thatha takes a needle and some blue thread.

He shows Shyam how to stitch.

 Shyam’s friend Veni has come home.

“Let’s go cycling,” Veni says.

“In a minute,” says Shyam. “Let me iron my shirt first.”

He switches on the iron box. But the light doesn’t glow, and the iron remains cold.

“Ufff! I’ll just wear the crumpled shirt,“ grumbles Shyam.

“I was at the Repair Shop last week,” says veni.

“George Uncle was repairing an iron box. I watched what he was doing closely. Let’s try to make it work! Do you have a screwdriver?”

Shyam hunts in the cupboard and gets a screwdriver. Veni unscrews the back of the iron. She scans the inside of the iron.

"What's wrong?" asks Shyam.

"I don't think I can repair it," says Veni.

"Oh no! Appa and Amma will scold us when they see what we have done to the iron box!"

"We'll take it to the Repair Shop! They'll help us." says Shyam. Shyam and Veni take it and sneak out on their cycles to the Repair Shop.

"Aunty, can you help us repair this iron box?" Veni asks Daisy Aunty.

"What's wrong with it?"

"It won't switch on!" says Veni.

Daisy Aunty takes out a little box with wires and knobs.

"This is a multimeter," she says. "It checks if all parts of the iron are allowing electric current to flow."

She tests all the parts, until she comes to a small wire.

"See this wire next to the plug? It's broken-there's your problem!"

She cuts out the old wire and plug, and fixes a new wire and plug to the iron box.

"Let's test it." She switches it on, and the light glows.

The iron is fixed. Veni and Shyam ride back home. It is a day well spent!

Note to the teacher: Read the story to the children. Encourage them to know the name of the tools and its uses.