In one modern and gleaming car wash, which smelled of apple shampoo and clean water, lived three inseparable friends. Their home was a long tunnel full of colorful lights and cheerful sounds.
The first was a brush named Brushy. Her long, soft bristles could spin so merrily that they tickled every car into laughter. "Scrub-scrub, hee-hee! Cleanliness is fun!" she would say as she eagerly got to work.
The second was the wise spray nozzle Bubbly. She knew all the secrets of water. She could spray gentle mist that caressed, but also a strong stream that washed away every speck of dirt. "Shhh, water always finds a way," she whispered calmly.
And the third was the strongman Windy. He was an enormous dryer who could blow so powerfully that he blew away even the last, tiniest droplet from cars. "Whoosh, watch out, here comes the wind!" he roared proudly when his fans spun at full speed.
Together they formed a perfect team. Every day they watched as sad, dusty cars entered their car wash and emerged happy and shiny as mirrors.
One day, however, a small, red car appeared at the entrance. It was so muddy that its color was barely visible. It was crying quiet, oily tears. Its name was Muddy. Besides the thick layer of mud, it had a strange, dark and sticky stain on its side that looked like a stuck piece of chocolate cake.
"What happened to you, little one?" asked Brushy sympathetically.
"I was playing by the forest and... and I slipped into a pit full of pine needles and sticky tree sap," sniffled Muddy. "I'll never be pretty and red again."
"Nonsense!" roared Windy confidently. "I'll handle this in no time. I'll blow everything away!"
He positioned himself in front of Muddy, took a deep breath and blew with all his might. WHOOSH! Dry leaves and dust flew away. Chunks of mud fell to the ground with loud splashes. Muddy looked somewhat better, but something strange happened. That sticky sap stain remained there. It looked even darker and more stubborn than before. Windy grew sad. His strength wasn't enough this time.
"Now it's my turn," said wise Bubbly. "Water washes away everything, after all."
She aimed her strongest stream at the stain. Water hissed and sprayed in all directions. It washed away even the last remnants of mud from Muddy, but the sticky stain didn't budge. Water just ran off it, as if it had an invisible raincoat. Bubbly was confused. She had never seen anything that water couldn't wash away.
"Then I'll try!" exclaimed cheerful Brushy, who didn't want to see Muddy so sad. "I'll scrub it away with laughter and tickling!"
She spun around and began scrubbing the stain with her gentlest bristles. Scrub, scrub, scrub! But instead of the stain disappearing, it just smeared a little and Brushy's beautiful clean bristles stuck together. "Yuck! That's disgustingly sticky!" she exclaimed and quickly pulled away.
Silence fell over the car wash. Windy was sadly quiet, Bubbly was thinking, and Brushy was cleaning her stuck bristles. Little car Muddy began to cry again. "See? I'm a lost cause. I'll stay stained forever."
Then Bubbly raised her nozzle. A new idea sparkled in her eyes. "Wait! Each of us tried it alone. Windy blew away the mud, I washed off the dust, and Brushy tried to scrub it. What if we're doing it in the wrong order? What if we're missing something important?"
She looked at the dispenser with fragrant, thick foam that they used only for the biggest stains. "I have an idea! What if we first... softened that sticky stain? Like when mommy lets a burnt pot soak in soapy water."
Brushy and Windy nodded in agreement. This sounded like a great plan!
"Alright then, let's go at it as a team!" commanded Bubbly.
First, she sprayed a thick layer of white, fluffy foam onto the sticky stain. It looked as if Muddy had a mound of whipped cream on its side. The foam quietly crackled and hissed. Everyone waited patiently.
After a while, Bubbly said: "Now you, Brushy!"
Brushy carefully approached and began gently scrubbing the foamy spot. And a miracle happened! The sticky sap was no longer so hard. Under the foam it had softened and began separating into small pieces. "Hooray! It's working!" Brushy rejoiced.
When Brushy finished her work, Bubbly took command again. "And now the finale!"
She released a gentle but wide stream of warm water onto the spot. The foam along with the softened pieces of sap beautifully washed away, and nothing remained on the side of the red car but beautiful, shiny paint.
"And now me, so you won't just be shiny from the water!" roared Windy and joyfully blew away all the droplets.
Muddy looked at its white reflections in the clean floor. It was perfect. Red, radiant, and without a single spot. From joy, it made a little hop on its tires.
"Thank you! Thank you all!" it laughed. "You're the best team in the whole world!"
Brushy, Bubbly, and Windy smiled proudly at each other. They understood that even though each of them was good at something, they could solve the biggest and stickiest problems only when they combined their strengths and used them in the right order.
And so that day in the car wash, everyone learned that every stain requires a different remedy and that the best remedy for all troubles is cooperation and friendship.