In grandfather Joe's old, fragrant workshop, where it smelled of wood and oil, cheerful disorder reigned. On the large workbench, among saws and hammers, lived three inseparable friends. There was a wooden peg named Peg, who liked to clip onto the edge of the shelf and observe the world. Then there was a cheerful rubber ball named Bounce, who constantly rolled and hopped around. And finally, a small, shiny paper clip named Clip.
Clip was often a bit sad. Peg could climb and Bounce could jump, but he just lay there. "Oh," he sighed one day. "I can't move by myself. I'm just an ordinary piece of wire."
Just then, grandfather Joe was tidying up and emptied a box full of small items onto the table. Suddenly Clip felt something strange. It was as if an invisible hand was gently pulling him toward one corner of the table.
"Do you feel that?" he asked his friends excitedly.
Peg, who was just swinging on the edge of the table, shook his head. "I don't feel anything. Just a breeze from the open window."
"Me neither!" squeaked Bounce and bounced off the table leg. "Just the urge to jump!"
But Clip was being pulled more and more. He moved a tiny bit. Then another! "Look! I'm moving!" he exclaimed in surprise. His shiny little body slowly slid across the wooden board. Peg and Bounce stopped their games and watched their friend with open mouths.
"That's a mystery!" whispered Peg. "An invisible force is pulling our Clip!"
"We must find out what it is," decided Bounce and nudged Clip with her nose to help him.
They didn't know what to do, so they decided to ask for help from the wisest inhabitant of the table. It was an old, slightly rusty nail that everyone called Mr. Rusty. He lay patiently in a small compartment and had seen everything.
"Mr. Rusty," Clip said respectfully when he slid up to him. "Something strange is happening to me. Something is attracting me."
Mr. Rusty thought and then said in a deep voice: "Hmm, interesting. I also feel a slight tingling. It seems this force is selective. Let's do a little experiment!"
He suggested they collect various small items. Peg brought a small wood chip. Bounce rolled over a plastic button and a piece of paper. Clip carefully approached each item. The chip, button, and paper didn't move at all. But when Clip approached Mr. Rusty, both felt a strong pull toward each other.
"Now I understand!" exclaimed Mr. Rusty triumphantly. "That force likes metal! It only attracts us because we're metallic."
Now they knew what to look for. Clip let himself be guided by the invisible force. It led him to the edge of the table, where an old, dusty cloth lay.
"It must be under there!" whispered Clip. Brave Peg grabbed the corner of the cloth and pulled it away. Underneath lay a flat, dark gray block. It didn't look special at all, more like a boring piece of stone.
But as soon as Clip approached, he felt an enormous force. CLICK! And in a split second he was stuck to the gray block.
"Wow! That's it!" he laughed. "The force is in this stone!"
Mr. Rusty nodded wisely. "Exactly. This is called a magnet. It's an exceptional object that has hidden power within it. Power that attracts certain metals, like iron, which we're both made of."
Bounce then had an idea and pushed the magnet to turn it to the other side. Clip detached from it and wanted to attach again. But something unexpected happened. When he approached the other side of the magnet, it pushed him away. Clip couldn't touch it!
"Oh! What's this? It doesn't want me!" Clip wondered.
"That's the magnet's second magic," smiled Mr. Rusty. "It can not only attract, but also repel. Every magnet has two ends, two poles. One attracts and the other repels."
Just then, a sigh echoed in the workshop. Grandfather Joe was fixing his glasses and a small, tiny screw fell out and dropped right into a narrow crack between the floorboards. "Oh, dear," grumbled grandfather. "I'll never get such a small screw out of there."
Peg looked at Bounce, then at Clip, and a brilliant plan formed in his wooden head. He grabbed a piece of string that lay nearby. Together they tied one end around Clip.
"We'll lower you down like a fisherman on a line!" explained Peg.
They carefully lowered Clip into the dark crack. Clip swayed on the string until he felt the familiar pull. He carefully approached the lost screw. SNAP! The tiny screw attached to him.
"I've got it! Pull me up!" he called upward.
Peg and Bounce pulled hard and in a moment Clip was back on the table with his precious catch. Just in time for grandfather Joe to notice.
"Well, look at that! My little screw! How did it get here?" grandfather rejoiced and stroked Clip with his finger.
Clip gleamed with pride. He was no longer just an ordinary, sad paper clip. He was the hero of the workshop! He discovered that his metallic interior wasn't ordinary, but magical. It was his unique property and great strength.
And what do you think? Maybe in your room or kitchen there's a magnet waiting to show you its secrets! Try searching with your parents to see what all it can attract.