Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Nikki who loved to draw and paint. She had a magic ruler that could change its size and shape according to her wishes. She could use it to measure anything she wanted, from her toys to her books to her bed.
One day, she decided to measure how tall she was. She asked her magic ruler to become as long as her height. The ruler stretched itself until it reached from her feet to the top of her head. Nikki looked at the numbers on the ruler and saw that it said 100. She wondered what that meant.
She asked her magic ruler, “What does 100 mean? Is that how many fingers I have?” The ruler laughed and said, “No, silly. That’s how many centimeters you are.
A centimeter is a very small unit of measurement. You need 100 of them to make one meter, which is a bigger unit of measurement. A meter is about the length of your arm.”
Nikki was curious and asked, “What else can I measure with centimeters and meters?” The ruler said, “You can measure anything you want. For example, you can measure how long your pencil is with centimeters, or how wide your door is with meters. You can also use other units of measurement, like inches and feet, which are used in some other countries. An inch is a little bit longer than a centimeter, and a foot is a little bit shorter than a meter.”
Nikki wanted to try it out and asked her magic ruler to change into inches and feet. The ruler did so and showed her how many inches and feet she was. She saw that she was 39 inches or 3 feet and 3 inches tall.
She asked her magic ruler, “Are there any other units of measurement?” The ruler said, “Yes, there are many more. For example, you can measure how heavy something is with grams and kilograms, or with ounces and pounds. A gram is a very small unit of weight. You need 1000 of them to make one kilogram, which is a bigger unit of weight.
A kilogram is about the weight of a big book. An ounce is a little bit heavier than a gram, and a pound is a little bit lighter than a kilogram. A pound is about the weight of a small watermelon.”
Nikki was amazed and asked her magic ruler to change into grams and kilograms, and then into ounces and pounds. The ruler did so and showed her how much she weighed in each unit. She saw that she weighed 18 kilograms or 18000 grams, or 40 pounds or 640 ounces.
She asked her magic ruler, “What else can I measure with these units?”
The ruler said, “You can measure anything you want. For example, you can measure how much sugar you need for a cake with grams or ounces, or how much water you need for a bath with liters or gallons.
A liter is a unit of volume that measures how much space something takes up. You need 1000 milliliters to make one liter, which is about the size of a big bottle of soda. A gallon is a little bit bigger than a liter, and it is about the size of a big bucket.”
Nikki wanted to see for herself and asked her magic ruler to change into milliliters and liters, and then into gallons. The ruler did so and showed her how much liquid she could hold in each unit. She saw that she could hold 250 milliliters or 0.25 liters in her cup, or 0.07 gallons.
She asked her magic ruler, “Are there any more units of measurement?” The ruler said, “Yes, there are many more. But I think you have learned enough for today. Why don’t you go and draw something with your new knowledge?”
Nikki agreed and thanked her magic ruler for teaching her so much.
She went to her desk and drew a picture of herself with her magic ruler, using different units of measurement to label everything. She was very proud of her drawing and showed it to her parents when they came home. They were very impressed by her learning and praised her for being such a smart girl. Nikki smiled and hugged her magic ruler. She knew that with her magic ruler by her side, she could measure anything in the world.
Short stories for kids 