One day, the automatic washing machine broke down. Dad immediately started fixing it. Sasha approached and asked:
Dad, what's behind this door?
Nothing special. Mom loads dirty laundry in there, and a couple of hours later it comes out clean.
Oh, how interesting! There must be little laundry workers in there?
Don't make things up! — Dad laughed, — The machine handles it all on its own. But this time something went wrong…
Dad spent a long time fixing the machine: cleaning, tightening parts, checking… In the end, unable to figure out what was wrong, he went to bed. Night fell — a time of rest for the whole family… But not for Sasha! When everything in the house went quiet, the boy quietly got out of bed, approached the washing machine, opened the cherished door and peeked inside. There he saw his dad's shirt (Mom had absentmindedly forgotten to take it out). The shirt waved its sleeve at the boy:
Sasha, I invite you to the Land of Cleanliness! Come with me quickly!
What kind of place is that? — asked the boy.
Come in and see! — the shirt answered, laughing.
Sasha boldly stepped inside the machine and found himself in an amazing country! Instead of people on the streets, clothing walked about: blouses chatting enthusiastically with each other, angry trousers with an old stain that wouldn't wash out, little socks hurrying somewhere, and many other things.
Sasha asked his dad's shirt:
Who is the most important person in your country?
Oh! Our ruler is King Laundry Detergent. He watches over cleanliness.
Where can I find him?
His palace is in the container, but you can't just walk in. At the palace stand guards — Fabric Softener and Bleach — who only let through those who answer difficult questions.
I'll try to answer the questions. Thank you, shirt!
Sasha quickly found the King's palace, but the guards immediately blocked his way:
Who are you?
I'm Sasha.
What brings you here?
I want to speak with the King.
First answer 3 questions. First: "Why is laundry detergent needed?"
That's very simple! Laundry detergent is needed for washing clothes.
Second question: "What stains are hardest to wash out?"
Mom told me not to spill coffee and tea on myself, and not to lie on the grass when playing outside, because those stains are hard to wash out.
Correct! And the third question: "Why can't you wash coloured clothes together with white clothes?"
Maybe because the coloured clothes could stain the white ones with different colours?
You know the answers to all the questions! Go ahead. The King is waiting for you.
Sasha found himself in the royal palace. A small grey-haired old man with a crown on his head was already running towards him:
How wonderful that you've come! You see, in our Land of Cleanliness we have a problem — your mom constantly forgets to add water softener to the detergent when washing, and that's why the heating element of the washing machine broke!
So that's why the machine doesn't work! — said Sasha, — I need to tell Dad about this right away!
Yes, yes, hurry! Otherwise all the clothes will stay dirty!
Sasha ran home… and woke up!
Dad was already up early, puzzling over how to fix the washing machine, and couldn't find the answer.
Dad! — Sasha called out. — You need to clean the heating element — it has limescale buildup on it! Then the machine will work again.
How do you know? — Dad asked.
The king of the Land of Cleanliness — Laundry Detergent — told me.
That's it! How didn't I think of that before! Well done, son!
Dad fixed the washing machine very quickly, and Mom immediately loaded laundry into it. Sasha watched the drum spin, and suddenly saw his old friend — Dad's shirt. The shirt waved its sleeve at the boy in gratitude.
