Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Nikki who lived in a big house with her family. Nikki loved to explore the big house and play with her toys, but she had one problem: she was very small and could not reach many things. She wished she could be taller and stronger, so she could do more things by herself.
One day, she saw a beautiful dress hanging from a high shelf in her closet. She wanted to wear it, but it was too far for her to reach. She tried to jump and grab it, but she only fell down and hurt herself. She cried and wished for someone to help her.
Suddenly, she heard a voice from outside her window. It was her cousin, Pukku, who was a clever boy who liked to invent things. He had made a special device that he called a pulley. He explained that a pulley was a wheel with a rope around it, and it could help lift things up or down. He said he could use his pulley to get the dress for her.
He asked Nikki to tie one end of the rope to the dress, and then he pulled the other end of the rope from outside. The dress moved up along the rope, and then down towards Pukku. He caught the dress and handed it to Nikki through the window. Nikki was amazed and delighted. She thanked Pukku and put on the dress. She felt like a real princess.
Pukku told her that he had another surprise for her. He had made another pulley that he attached to a basket. He said he could use it to lift her up and down, so she could see more things in that big house. He asked her to get into the basket, and then he pulled the rope from below. The basket moved up along the rope, and then down towards Pukku. He lifted Nikki out of the basket and showed her around the building.
Nikki had so much fun with Pukku and his pulleys. She saw many things that she had never seen before, and she felt like she was taller and stronger.
She learned that pulleys could make things easier to lift, because they changed the direction of the force and multiplied the input force.
She thanked Pukku for teaching her about pulleys.
Short stories for kids 