In the merriest corner of the nursery, in one large box full of toys, lived three extraordinary friends. The first was Blocky, a sturdy wooden cube with a rough surface. She always stood firm and had a practical opinion about everything. The second was Speedy the Ball, a shiny plastic marble who couldn't sit still and loved speed. The third was Velcro, a fuzzy strip of hook-and-loop tape who could stick to almost anything and was very careful.
One day it was unusually quiet in the box. Their friend, a little red toy car named Zippy, stood sadly by his racing track. He was missing one rear wheel and now couldn't make it up onto the starting ramp.
"Oh," sighed Zippy, and his single front headlight blinked weakly. "Without four wheels I'll never get up that ramp. I tilt too much."
Blocky, Speedy, and Velcro looked at each other. They couldn't just leave it like that!
"We'll build you a new, special ramp!" declared Blocky determinedly. "It'll be strong and stable, made from my wooden cube friends. You'll drive great on wood!"
"No way!" laughed Speedy and rolled closer. "Wood is slow! The ramp needs to be smooth so you can pick up real speed! Like when I roll down a book cover. Wheee!"
"Are you crazy?" frowned Velcro and ruffled his fuzzy hooks. "On a smooth ramp he won't hold on and will crash at the end! He needs a surface that will safely slow him down. Like me! I'll catch him and won't let go!"
And so began a great argument. Blocky insisted that stability was most important. Speedy insisted on speed and Velcro on safety. Zippy just listened quietly and felt even sadder.
"Enough!" said Blocky finally. "Instead of arguing, let's try it. Each of us will build a section of track and Zippy will tell us himself which is best."
It was a great idea. They immediately got to work.
Blocky went first. She took two more wooden blocks and built a short, sturdy ramp from them. "There, Zippy, try it!" she called to him.
Zippy carefully approached. He tilted a bit to the side where his wheel was missing, but slowly began to climb. It worked. It wasn't fast, his wheels moved over the rough wood with some effort, but he made it to the top. "It's good," he said breathlessly. "But quite tiring."
Then it was Speedy the Ball's turn. He found a smooth plastic cover from a notebook and leaned it against the box. This created a beautifully shiny and steep ramp. "Now you'll see real driving!" Speedy rejoiced.
Zippy positioned himself at the start. A gentle touch was all it took and... Wheee! He shot down at such speed that at the end of the track he flew into the air and landed with a thud in a pile of stuffed animals. "Ouch!" came a voice from the soft cushion. "That was... fast. Too fast."
Finally Velcro presented himself. He spread out on the ground like a small, fuzzy carpet. "Nothing will happen to you on me," he assured Zippy.
Zippy tried to move. He pressed on his wheels, but didn't move even a millimeter. His rubber wheels stuck to Velcro's tiny hooks. He tried again, harder, but in vain. "I... I'm stuck," he said in surprise. "This isn't a ramp, it's a parking lot!"
The three friends fell silent. Blocky's ramp was too slow. Speedy's too fast. And Velcro's... that wasn't a ramp at all. It looked like they couldn't help Zippy.
Suddenly Speedy became thoughtful. "You know, Blocky," he began slowly, "on your ramp Zippy felt like something was holding him a little. It was slowing him down."
"And on yours he was sliding like nothing was holding him," added Blocky.
"And on me everything was holding him completely!" concluded Velcro and sighed sadly.
At that moment it dawned on them. Each surface was different! A rough surface slows things down, a smooth one speeds them up, and a very rough one can stop them completely. What if... what if they joined forces?
"I have an idea!" exclaimed Blocky. "We'll build a ramp together!"
They got to work with new enthusiasm. Blocky and her wooden friends created a sturdy structure to make the ramp stable. Over it they laid Speedy's smooth plastic cover so Zippy could pick up just the right speed. And at the very end, on the flat ground, they placed Velcro to serve as a safe brake.
It looked amazing! The ramp was sturdy, shiny, and had a soft, fuzzy landing at the end. "Zippy, now it's up to you!" they all called at once.
The red toy car hopefully positioned himself at the start. He carefully rolled down the smooth surface. It worked! He picked up exactly the right speed – not too slow, not too fast. When he came down to the end of the ramp, he gently entered Velcro's surface and smoothly stopped. Right in front of the pile of stuffed animals.
"Hooray! It works!" cheered Zippy and spun his steering wheel with joy.
Blocky, Speedy the Ball, and Velcro looked at each other proudly. Though each of them was completely different, together they had accomplished something that none of them could ever have done alone. They understood that in friendship, it's not important who is the best, but how they can help each other.
And maybe, when you play with your toys next time, you'll try to see what surface they drive best on. You'll see that even in ordinary play, there's a little fun discovery hiding.