In a toy shop there lived a Tractor, a Crane and a Lorry. Every night they would drive to a toy building site and build a toy house, and every morning they would return to their shelves again.
One day a boy came into the shop with his mum. He liked the tractor so much that he persuaded his mum to buy it. And so the money was handed to the cashier, the shop assistant wrapped the toy in a beautiful box and gave it to the boy.
The Crane and the Lorry said goodbye to the Tractor and became sad.
That night they, as always, drove to the toy building site, but they couldn't manage to build a house. They missed their friend the Tractor very much. The friends were about to return to the shelves when the Lorry sighed and said:
How wonderful it would be to be all together again! If only we could find our friend the Tractor…
The Crane thought and said:
Why not? We can try!
Try? But how?.. ― the Lorry was surprised ― We can't leave the shop.
Don't worry, we'll think of something!
The Crane was very tall and very clever. He scratched his cab with his hook, smiled and said:
Look! Do you see that little window in the door? Our cat Marusya goes out onto the street through it every day. That means we can too!
That's a brilliant idea! ― the Lorry was delighted, and they headed towards the doors.
The window was quite high up, and the toys couldn't jump up and grab its edge, but together they managed even with such a difficult task!
The Crane extended his boom, lifted the Lorry up and carried him through the window outside. Then the Lorry slowly and carefully pulled his friend out on a rope. And at last, the little vehicles found themselves on the street. They looked around…
They stood on the pavement, and all around them were houses. The Crane and the Lorry were small, and these houses seemed sooooo big…
When they looked around, the Lorry became sad again:
We'll never find the Tractor, because we don't even know where to go or where to look for him in this big city.
Don't be sad, we'll think of something.
As you remember, the Crane was very tall and very clever. He scratched his cab with his hook, smiled and said:
You know, I heard that all children go to nursery school! So we need to find the nursery and wait there for the boy who bought our friend the Tractor!
That's right! Let's go to the nursery quickly, ― the Lorry was delighted and started his engine.
But the little vehicles didn't know where the nursery school was in this city. So they looked to the right, then to the left, and… decided to head towards a traffic light that was blinking somewhere far away, to their right.
As they drove, dawn broke. The first rays of the sun appeared over the horizon, and our friends looked with interest at this new world. After all, in their lives they had only seen the factory machines that made them, and the box they were packed in and brought to the shop in. And, of course, the shop itself, where they stood on the shelves and became friends.
And they really liked this new world. They rolled along the pavement towards a friend they had missed very much. Suddenly the Crane stopped. He saw a nursery school ahead.
Where? Where? ― asked the Lorry, trying to see it too.
Over there, look, on the other side of the street, ― the Crane pointed with his boom, which was like a very long arm.
Where?
There, behind the trees, ― said the Crane, for he was not only clever but also tall!
No, I can't see it, ― the Lorry was upset, ― let's go there quickly!
The friends started to cross the road. They had almost reached the middle when they suddenly heard the screech of brakes. They froze in fear!
The wheels of a real big car stopped just a few centimetres from them! A man got out of the car and looked to see what was lying in the middle of the road. He saw two new little vehicles and looked around. But there was no one nearby.
Strange, ― thought the man, ― who could have left them here?
The man was in a hurry to get to work and didn't think about it for long. He looked around once more, picked up the vehicles and put them on the back seat.
I'll take them home, my son will be so pleased! ― he thought, got behind the wheel and drove on.
The friends drove in the car all day, and then, on some bump, they fell from the back seat onto the floor. When the man arrived home in the evening, he had already forgotten about his find (they weren't visible on the floor) and went home without the vehicles.
How will we get out? ― the Lorry was upset. ― We'll never find the boy and the Tractor.
But the Crane thought and said:
In the morning the man will come back, and we'll drive out through the open door. We just need to do it very quickly.
The next morning the man went to work again, and while he was wiping the mirrors and windows of his car, our friends climbed out through the slightly open door onto the street. And quickly hurried to hide in the grass on the lawn.
Soon the man drove away, and the little vehicles looked around.
Look, look, there's the nursery school! ― the Crane exclaimed happily.
Where? Where? ― the Lorry jumped about. ― Let's go there quickly!
But it wasn't quick. The Crane was very tall, and instead of wheels he had caterpillar tracks. He wasn't designed for fast driving. And the path leading to the nursery wasn't asphalt, but dirt.
At last, they drove up to the nursery.
Boys and girls were coming up to the gate. They were walking with their mums or dads, and some with their grandmothers or grandfathers. But they didn't see the boy they were looking for. It was time for breakfast, and the boy still hadn't appeared.
He's not here, we'll never find him, ― the Lorry was sad again
Maybe we just didn't notice him… Maybe he came earlier, ― the Crane comforted his friend, and began to think. He scratched his cab with his hook and said:
Let's wait until evening.
That's what they did. They watched very carefully all the children who came and went from the nursery. But they never found the boy who had bought the Tractor.
In the evening the nursery emptied, the gate was locked, and only a lamp shone lonely above the entrance.
It was getting dark. Small clouds appeared in the sky. The friends really didn't want to get caught in the rain and get wet, so they looked for somewhere to hide. The Crane saw that the neighbouring house had a roof over the door, and the little vehicles drove towards it. The friends made a soft bed out of grass and settled down for the night. The rain began to fall gently. Raindrops pattered on the roof and gently lulled our tired travellers to sleep.
They huddled close to each other and fell asleep.
And the Tractor?
When the Tractor said goodbye to his friends in the shop, he went out onto the street with the boy. The boy didn't let him out of his hands for a second. First they walked along the street, and cars rushed past on the road nearby. "Whoosh, whoosh," they went very close by.
The boy held his mum's hand with one hand and held the Tractor tightly to himself with the other. Then for some reason they stopped. Mum looked eagerly into the distance, and the boy examined his new toy.
Misha, come on, our bus is coming, – said Mum.
"So your name is Misha, ― thought the Tractor, ― well, we've met!"
Then they rode on this very bus for a long time. The bus went forward, then turned, then stopped altogether, and some people got on or off. At last, Mum and Misha got off too. Then they walked a bit more along the street, turned into a courtyard and came up to a big metal door.
Something beeped, and they went forward. But another door was waiting for them ahead. Everyone stood for a moment, and suddenly the door split down the middle and slid apart. Misha and Mum went inside.
The Tractor had never seen such a small room before… He didn't have time to look around when suddenly the room moved. The Tractor was about to be frightened, but Misha was so calm that the Tractor decided: there's no need to worry. And sure enough, soon the doors opened with a noise again, and Misha and Mum got out (You've probably guessed that this was a lift). At last, Mum opened the last door with a key, and they all went into the flat.
Misha immediately ran to his room to play with his new toy.
When he rolled the Tractor along the floor, the sofa, the bed, the wall and the table, he decided to take him to the petrol station, and then he went to build a house out of bricks, and then… And then Mum called him for supper. And then it was time for bed.
Of course, Misha went to sleep with his new toy. To be honest, he was so tired that he fell asleep very quickly. But the Tractor couldn't sleep, and he began to look around the room and its inhabitants.
Misha had a lot of toys. A whole cupboard! Bricks, dishes, little vehicles, dolls, and a big rocking horse. And on the armchair sat a big furry teddy bear.
Excuse me, sorry, ― came a voice from somewhere below, ― could you move over a bit, only my corner has got bent.
At first the Tractor didn't understand. But the voice sounded again, more insistently:
Excuse me, could you move over a bit, only my corner has got bent!
The Tractor looked around again, and then he noticed that he was lying on a pillow. And this pillow's corner really had got bent.
I'm sorry, ― replied the Tractor and moved a bit further away.
Thank you, ― said the Pillow, ― I can see you're a new toy of our Misha's.
Yes, I was only bought today.
Welcome! Misha is a very good boy. He loves his toys and plays with them so carefully that it seems soon the whole room will be filled with his toy friends! Would you like me to introduce you to everyone?
Of course, I'd be very grateful!
The Pillow introduced the Tractor to the inhabitants of the room. Everyone greeted him and began to ask where and how he was bought. The Tractor happily told his story. When he spoke about his friends the Crane and the Lorry, he suddenly felt so sad… He thought that he would never see them again. Then a little doll called Natasha decided to cheer up the newcomer and asked:
Please give me a ride in your bucket. That must be wonderful!
With pleasure, – replied the Tractor and lifted the little doll off the shelf with his big bucket.
The Tractor drove back and forth around the room, spun in place, lifted the bucket with the doll high, high up, and Natasha laughed merrily.
Then a Tumbler doll rolled off the shelf and called everyone to dance. A Jester played the accordion, toy soldiers beat the drums, a Bear and a Rabbit took tambourines, and Nesting dolls whirled in a merry round dance. Everyone became very happy.
The little vehicles spun in place, the dolls clapped their hands, and the Elephant got so carried away that he accidentally knocked a box of bricks off the shelf… The bricks fell to the floor with a crash! The toys fell silent and hopped back to their places.
Misha snuffled and turned from one side to the other. The Tractor patted him on the head, and the Pillow quietly sang him a lullaby. Silence fell. The toys looked at each other, smiled and went to sleep too…
The next day Misha fell ill and didn't go to nursery school. That's why the Crane and the Lorry couldn't find him. The Tractor played with Misha all day and had no idea that his friends were looking for him somewhere.
Yes, of course, our friends ― the Crane and the Lorry… They fell asleep right on the doorstep of the house.
All the people hurried to their flats and didn't pay attention to the sleeping little vehicles by the wall. And only one man stopped, shook the raindrops off his umbrella, and… the little vehicles heard a familiar voice:
Oh, how did you get here? I forgot you in the car… Strange, very strange…
The man picked up the toys and put them in his bag. When he came home, a little boy ran towards him:
Dad, Dad, you're home!
Hello, Misha. I've got a surprise for you! ― and the man took the Crane and the Lorry out of his bag. ― I found them on the road. I don't know how they got there. Here, now they'll live with you.
Misha was very pleased. But the Crane and the Lorry were even more pleased when they recognised the very boy who had bought the Tractor in the shop! And how pleased the Tractor was when he saw his friends!
Our toy friends were very happy because they met again and were together once more!
