One day, the automatic washing machine broke down. Dad immediately began to repair it. Sasha approached and asked:
Dad, what's behind this door?
Nothing special. Mum 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 by itself without any help. Only this time something went wrong…
Dad spent a long time repairing 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 had gone quiet, the boy quietly got out of his bed, went over to the washing machine, opened the treasured door and peered inside. There he saw his father's shirt (Mum had absent-mindedly forgotten to take it out). The shirt waved its sleeve at the boy:
Sasha, I invite you to the Land of Cleanliness! Come along with me!
What sort of land is that? — asked the boy.
Come in and see! — the shirt replied, laughing.
Sasha boldly stepped inside the machine and found himself in a wonderful land! Instead of people, clothes walked about on the streets: blouses chatting enthusiastically with each other, grumpy trousers with an old stain that wouldn't come out, little socks hurrying somewhere, and many other things.
Sasha asked his father's shirt:
Who is the most important person in your land?
Oh! Our most important is King Washing Powder. He looks after cleanliness.
Where can I find him?
His palace is in the dispenser, but you can't just walk in there. The palace is guarded by sentries - Fabric Softener and Bleach, who only let through those who can answer difficult questions.
I'll do my best with the questions. Thank you, shirt!
Sasha quickly found the King's palace, but the sentries 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 washing powder needed?"
That's very simple! Washing powder is needed for washing clothes.
Second question: "What stains are hardest to wash out?"
Mum told me not to spill coffee and tea on myself, and not to lie on the grass when I'm out playing, because those stains are hard to wash out.
Correct! And the third question: "Why can't you wash coloured things together with whites?"
Probably because the coloured things might dye the whites different colours?
You know the answers to all the questions! Go through. 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 came running towards him:
How glad I am that you've come! You see, in our Land of Cleanliness we have a problem — your mum constantly forgets to add limescale remover to the washing powder when doing the laundry, and that's why the heating element of the washing machine has broken down!
So that's why the machine isn't working! — said Sasha, — I need to tell Dad about this straight away!
Yes, yes, hurry! Otherwise all the clothes will stay dirty!
Sasha ran home… and woke up!
Dad was already up early, racking his brains over how to fix the washing machine, and couldn't find the answer.
Dad! — shouted Sasha. — You need to clean the heating element - it's got limescale on it! Then the machine will work again.
How do you know? — asked Dad.
The king of the Land of Cleanliness told me — Washing Powder.
Of course! How didn't I think of that before! Well done, son!
Dad fixed the washing machine very quickly, and Mum immediately loaded the laundry into it. Sasha watched the drum spinning, and suddenly saw his old acquaintance — Dad's shirt. The shirt waved its sleeve gratefully at the boy.
