Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Nikki. She was a curious and adventurous girl who loved to explore new things. One day, she found a dusty old lamp in her attic. She rubbed it with a cloth and was surprised to see a genie pop out of it.
“Hello, little girl. I am the genie of the lamp. You have three wishes, but be careful what you wish for,” the genie said.
Nikki thought for a moment and said, “I wish I could fly.”
The genie nodded and said, “As you wish.” He snapped his fingers and Nikki felt a pair of wings sprout from her back. She was delighted and flew around the room, feeling the wind in her hair.
“Wow, this is amazing! Thank you, genie!” she exclaimed.
The genie smiled and said, “You’re welcome. But remember, every wish has a price. You see, energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed from one form to another or transferred from one object to another. That is the law of conservation of energy. When I gave you wings, I had to take some of your energy and change it into wing energy. That means you will get tired faster when you fly.”
Nikki didn’t understand what the genie meant, but she didn’t care. She was having too much fun flying. She flew out of the window and soared over the trees and houses. She felt free and happy.
But soon, she started to feel tired and hungry. She realized that flying was hard work and that she needed more energy to keep going. She decided to go back home and have a snack.
She flew back to her room and landed on her bed. She took off her wings and put them on the floor. She felt a pang of sadness as she said goodbye to them.
She ran downstairs and grabbed an apple from the kitchen. She took a bite and felt a surge of energy in her body. She wondered where the energy came from.
She went back upstairs and asked the genie, “Genie, where does the energy in food come from?”
The genie said, “Food is a form of stored energy that comes from plants or animals. Plants get their energy from the sun through a process called photosynthesis. They use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to make sugar and oxygen. The sugar is their food and the oxygen is what we breathe. Animals get their energy by eating plants or other animals. When you eat food, you break down the sugar and release the energy that was stored in it. That energy is what makes you move and grow.”
Nikki was amazed by what the genie said. She realized that energy was everywhere and that it could change from one form to another.
She said, “Genie, I have another wish. I wish I could see all the different forms of energy.”
The genie said, “As you wish.” He snapped his fingers and Nikki’s eyes sparkled with magic. She could see things that she couldn’t see before.
She looked at the lamp and saw that it had electrical energy flowing through it. The electrical energy came from a power plant that burned coal or gas or used water or wind to make electricity.
She looked at the window and saw that it had light energy coming through it. The light energy came from the sun, which was a huge ball of fire that made heat and light by fusing hydrogen atoms into helium atoms.
She looked at her radio and saw that it had sound energy coming out of it. The sound energy came from the speakers, which vibrated the air molecules around them.
She looked at her teddy bear and saw that it had thermal energy in it. The thermal energy came from her body heat, which warmed up the teddy bear when she hugged it.
She looked at herself in the mirror and saw that she had kinetic energy in her. The kinetic energy came from her muscles, which contracted and relaxed when she moved.
She looked at everything around her and saw that everything had some form of energy in it or around it. She was amazed by how many different forms of energy there were.
She said, “Genie, this is awesome! Thank you for showing me this!”
The genie said, “You’re welcome. But remember, every wish has a price. You see, when you change one form of energy into another or transfer it from one object to another, some of the energy is always lost as heat or sound or light or other forms that are not useful for what you want to do. That is why machines are never 100% efficient and why you need more fuel or electricity or food to keep them running. That is also part of the law of conservation of energy.”
Nikki didn’t understand what the genie meant, but she didn’t care. She was having too much fun seeing all the different forms of energy.
She decided to go outside and play with her friends.
Short stories for kids 