Gungun was a happy elastic band who lived in a stationery shop. She loved to play with her friends, the pencils, the erasers, and the paper clips. They had a lot of fun together, making shapes and patterns with their bodies.
One day, a little girl named Nikki came to the shop with her father. She was looking for some supplies for her school project. She saw Gungun and her friends and thought they were very cute. She asked her father if she could buy them.
“Of course, dear. They are very useful and cheap,” her father said.
Nikki was very excited. She put Gungun and her friends in her backpack and took them home. She couldn’t wait to use them for her project.
The next day, Nikki started working on her project. She wanted to make a collage of different animals using paper and glue. She took out Gungun and her friends and asked them to help her.
“Hi, I’m Nikki. Thank you for coming with me. You are all very nice and pretty,” she said.
“Hi, I’m Gungun. This is Pihu the pencil, Palakshi the eraser, and Sanvi the paper clip. We are happy to help you,” Gungun said.
Nikki smiled. She took Pihu and drew some outlines of animals on the paper. Then she took Palakshi and erased the extra lines. Then she took Sanvi and clipped some pieces of paper together to make the animals look more colorful.
“Wow, you are all very good at what you do,” Nikki said.
“Thank you,” they said.
Then Nikki looked at Gungun and wondered what she could do with her.
“Hmm, what can I do with you, Gungun? You are very stretchy and bendy, but how can I use you for my project?” she asked.
Gungun thought for a moment. Then she had an idea.
“I know! You can use me to make some curly hair for your animals. Look, I can stretch myself like this,” she said, pulling herself from both ends.
“Wow, that’s amazing! You can stretch so much without breaking,” Nikki said.
“Yes, that’s because I’m elastic. Elastic means that I can change my shape when you pull me or push me, but I can go back to my original shape when you let me go,” Gungun explained.
“That’s so cool! How do you do that?” Nikki asked.
“Well, it’s because of the way I’m made. Inside me, there are many tiny molecules that are like little balls connected by springs. When you pull me, the springs stretch and the balls move apart. When you let me go, the springs snap back and the balls come together again,” Gungun said.
“Wow, that’s very interesting. So you are like a spring toy?” Nikki asked.
“Yes, kind of. But not all things are elastic like me. Some things are plastic or rigid. Plastic means that they can change their shape when you pull them or push them, but they don’t go back to their original shape when you let them go. Rigid means that they don’t change their shape at all when you pull them or push them,” Gungun said.
“Can you give me some examples?” Nikki asked.
“Sure. For example, clay is plastic. You can mold it into different shapes with your hands, but it stays in that shape unless you mold it again. Steel is rigid. You can’t bend it or stretch it with your hands at all,” Gungun said.
“I see. So elasticity is a property that some materials have and some don’t,” Nikki said.
“Yes, that’s right. And different materials have different limits of elasticity. That means that they can only stretch or bend so much before they break or lose their elasticity,” Gungun said.
“What do you mean?” Nikki asked.
“Well, for example, I can stretch a lot more than Clipper can before I break or lose my elasticity. Clipper can only stretch a little bit before she breaks or loses her elasticity,” Gungun said.
“Oh, I get it. So elasticity depends on the material and how much force is applied to it,” Nikki said.
“Yes, exactly,” Gungun said.
“Wow, thank you for teaching me so much about elasticity, Gungun. You are very smart and helpful,” Nikki said.
“You’re welcome, Nikki. You are very sweet and curious,” Gungun said.
Nikki hugged Gungun and thanked her again. Then she used Gungun to make some curly hair for her animals. She finished her project and was very proud of it.
She showed it to her father and told her about Gungun and her friends.
“That’s wonderful, dear. You did a great job Nikki.”
Short stories for kids 