Bedtime Stories for Very Young Engineers

Once upon a time, there was an old inventor who lived in an airship with his two children. He would sail through the air showing his children new lands and having fantastic adventures in out of the way places. 

He loved his children very much and had a wonderful time, teaching them all about the airship and the world they travelled. He taught them how the airship worked and how it flew and both children grew up to be fine intelligent young engineers.

He was very proud of his children, so when they wanted to invent their own machines to explore the World themselves, he smiled and waved goodbye, but inside he was very sad.

The old inventor sailed his airship to his favourite places, but he was lonely without the children and wanted once again to have someone to share his adventures with. 

Then he had an idea – he would invent a new companion.

“But what shall I build?” he asked himself. “Well, old sailing had cats on board. Perhaps a cat?”

Yes, a cat could share in his adventures and keep him company.

But how to make a cat? 

With the children it had been easy. He had simply read the old nursery rhyme books and followed the instructions:

Sugar and Spice and all things nice for a little girl had presented little difficulty. 

Slugs and snails and puppy dog tails for a little boy had sounded less appealing but had proved just as effective. 

He read all he could, but there were simply no instructions on how to build a cat.

He did find a book that said that people liked to stroke cats’ fur and that they always turned up exactly on time for meals, perhaps he could try clockwork.

He dug out all of the spare clocks he had around the airship and started to put them together. 

If the fur encouraged people to touch the cat then he could use that motion to keep the clockwork wound up - he considered this a stroke of genius!

By late afternoon he had built a cat. 

It had a head to store its brains.

It had two large eyes to see in the dark;

It had two large ears to hear all of the things the Inventor would tell it about the places they went to;

It had a nose to smell all of the interesting smells of the places they went;

It had a mouth to let him know when he was happy;

It had four legs to walk around; 

And it had a tail... the Inventor had not seen the point of the tail at first, but this appeared in most of the old photos he had seen so he left it in place. 

Finally, he named his cat Tick.

As he sat admiring his new companion, the Inventor absentmindedly stroked Tick's fur.

Suddenly Tick's eyes opened, for of course the stroking had wound his clockwork.

Tick regarded the Inventor... for a very long time...

Eventually, Tick stretched out his legs and got to his paws. 

Tick swished his tail.

Tick prowled the workbench,

Tick looked out of the window at the fields passing far below.

Tick jumped onto the shelves and pushed the inventor’s tools onto the floor!

Tick ran in a circle attempting to catch the end of his own tail – “Ah! The tail is for entertainment” thought the inventor. “What a great design – I would never be bored if I had a tail”.

The inventor was very pleased with his design, and he could hear the happy purr of Tick’s gears and realised that his cat was happy too.

The inventor immediately felt more excitement than he had since his children had left the airship. 

“I shall immediately set out to share an adventure with Tick – one that will let him know how important he is.”

They set out for Egypt because the Ancient Egyptians used to worship cats and there are many fine monuments that show cats looking very important and God-like.

The Inventor could tell that Tick very much enjoyed seeing how important he was.

However, after a few days, the inventor noticed that Tick did not seem very happy. Every time the cat moved there was a painful creaking noise.

MeeeOW 

The noise definitely came from the cat; but what could it mean?

MeeeOW

What could the noise be, as time when by, there seemed to be more emphasis on the OW.

MeeeOW

Every time Tick moved the invertor heard the noise and as the days passed, Tick slowed down more and more. 

Meeee….

Tick stopped.

“What’s wrong old boy?” asked the Inventor, but Tick did not make a sound or make a move.

The inventor took Tick back to his workshop and tried to find out what the problem was.

He moved a leg…

Meeee

He moved another leg…

Ooowwwww…

He turned Tick’s head

Meeeeeeeeee

He flicked Tick’s tail

Something was stopping Tick from moving.

Then he noticed it - there was dirt in Tick’s gears.

The sands of Egypt!

Tick needed to be cleaned in order to help him move and he needed something to make his gears move more freely.

The inventor was so upset he called his children to ask for help.

His son had invented a fine train that didn’t need fuel to explore the land and told him that he used grease to keep his gears turning, but the inventor did not want to put grease near his cat’s fur. His daughter, who had invented a beautiful underwater vessel to explore the seas said that she had read that cats liked fish so maybe he could try fish oil.

The inventor put the two ideas together and used the fish oil on the cat’s gears and by evening, Tick was purring happily once again. ‘What a good team we make’ laughed the inventor.

And so, from that day forth, the inventor made sure that Tick had plenty of fish so that the oil could keep his gears clean and operating well. He could always tell when things were working well as Tick’s gears would purr contentedly when he was happy but if there was not enough fish, the terrible creaking would resume… 

MeOW

From that day on, the inventor travelled the world with Tick by his side and he was never lonely again.

THE END.

The storm clouds were black, the rain flooded down
So we stayed in the house, we stayed in with a frown.

 

We sat there so bored, looking out the window
We sat there sooooo bored, oh how we felt low

 

The yard was too wet and muddy, it made us feel blue, 
Then we realised – that mud is not mud, it is POO!

 

We ran to the door, it was mind blowing
To see all of our poo from the loo overflowing

Panic set in, what on earth could we do?
I looked down and saw a big turd on my shoe

 

Then a miracle arrived, without a fanfare 
We looked and we saw her sweep back her hair
We looked, and we saw, Gertrude and her Gulp-er

 

[the Gulper is a hand-pump, which can be used to suck up poo
it’s a clever bit of kit, if you know just what to do]

 

Gertrude rode into our yard on a huge motorbike
Her gulper behind on an emblazoned trike 
An iridescent boiler suit and shimmering cape
She was a real superhero, we were agape,

 

Gertrude said – have no fear I’ll empty this tank
We were so glad because it really stank!

 

Gertrude set to work sucking up all the poo
But then came a crash and a bang and ‘oooooo’
We thought in a flash of what we had put in the loo
Like nappies and nails - not just paper and poo

 

The Gulper wheezed, and, even with her super strength,
Gertrude could not contain the rising stench 

 

We ran to help, but Gertrude said ‘No!’
Protect yourselves first, think before you go’
We grabbed wellies and gloves, and big safety specs
Then set out into the yard, ready to flex

 

We all pulled together and unblocked the pump
Then back to more work, no time for a slump

 

We cleared up the mess, we worked till we were done
Neighbours urged us on and the sun shone

 

When all was done and the yard sparkling clean
Gertrude snapped her fingers to make her cape gleam
Then she turned and said - with a smile on her face

 

‘Sanitation workers keep us all safe,
They might not each have a sparkling cape,
But they’re all superheroes, make no mistake’ 

 

Gertrude mounted her bike and, smiling and proud,
Sped off into the sunset to the cheers of the crowd

Once upon a time, in a small town called Clarkton, there lived a clever young girl named Mafalda. Mafalda loved to create things using her tools and gadgets. She loved to tinker and build all sorts of amazing things; a machine to toast and butter bread, a small toy train that zoomed around her house to deliver tea and a mug that meant her tea never went cold. Her and her friend Duda always played and drank warm tea together in Mafalda’s garden, watching the butterflies.

Then one day, Duda’s parents decided to move to the neighbouring town of Lacington to look after Duda’s grandma. Whilst very excited to see live with their grandma, Duda was sad at leaving Mafalda because Lacington was far away. It was too far to walk, the road was bumpy and hard, with large hills to climb up and down.

“We’ll still see each other to play and drink tea won’t we?” asked Mafalda.

“Of course we will!” cried Duda.

And so, they gave each other the warmest of hugs before parting ways.

One sunny morning, Mafalda woke up with a bright idea. She could build a special bicycle that would let her visit Duda easily. Mafalda gathered her tools, a pencil, and a piece of paper, and began sketching her design.

First, Mafalda drew a sturdy frame for the bicycle. She wanted it to be strong and safe. Next she drew the wheels. She wanted them to be big and wide so they could roll smoothly over the bumpy path from Clarkton to Lacington.

Next, Mafalda did some maths to make sure the design would work. Once satisfied, she started building her bike. She used her measuring tape to measure all the pieces and then used her saw to cut them. She tightened screws and bolts to hold everything in place.

Next, Mafalda attached the wheels to the frame and made sure they turned freely. Mafalda knew that good brakes were important too, so she added them to the handlebars.

Now came the fun part—decorating the bike! Mafalda painted the frame in her favourite colours, bright purple and vibrant blue. She added a shiny bell that tinkled with every ring.

TRING TRING

Mafalda even attached a basket to the front of the bike where she could carry her snacks and toys.

Finally, Mafalda hopped onto the seat and decided to test her new bike. She started pedalling but nothing happened. No matter how hard she pedalled the wheels wouldn’t spin.

“It doesn’t work!” Mafalda cried in frustration. “How am I ever going to see Duda now?”

Sad and tiered, Mafalda went to bed, not even bothering to drink a cup of tea.

The next day, Mafalda’s parents asked her “What’s wrong? You look so sad today.”

“My bike won’t work and so I will never see Duda again!” Mafalda sobbed as her parents hugged her.

“There, there.” they replied, “There’s no need to cry. Let’s have a look at your bike.”

They looked at the bikes frame, and its wheels, and its basket and bell. All of them looked good and worked. But the wheels would not turn with the pedals. They looked at the drawings and Um’d and Ah’d, asking Mafalda all sorts of questions about her design.

“Well, we don’t know how to fix the pedals or the wheels.” Her parents said glumly. “They’re not even connected.”

“Of course!” Mafalda cried with excitement. “That’s it!”

In a flurry of movement, Mafalda began fixing the bike. She put gears on the wheels and pedals and connected them using a long chain. The chain wound around the gears making the pedals and wheels spin together.

As soon as she was done, Mafalda packed the basket with her favourite toy, a map, some tools and a flask of hot tea.

“Goodbye” she said to her parents who waved to her from the front gate.

And off she went. The bike sped down the road, making her hair move in the wind. She felt like she was flying. Mafalda giggled with delight as she pedalled faster and faster. She climbed up the hills and used her brakes to stop and look at her map every once and a while.

She was halfway to Lacington when she heard something in the distance.

TRING TRING

And she heard it again.

TRING TRING

A red and orange bike was coming down the road towards her. And it was none other than Duda riding it.

“Duda!” she shouted.

“Mafalda!” they cried back.

“Wow Duda, your bike is so cool!”

Duda smiled and replied, "So is yours!”

“I wasn’t sure if I would even make a bike that worked,” said Mafalda. “But I managed to fix the problems and now we can visit each other for tea whenever we want!"

From that day on, Mafalda and Duda would cycle to meet each other, play and drink tea.

The End

My name is Jo, and I’m a civil engineer.

I’m going to read you a story about my friend, Megan.  On their walk to school, Megan and her Dad always passed an old, brick bridge across a river.  One day there was a flood and the bridge cracked badly and it wasn’t safe for the cars to drive across!  A kind engineer called Dave came to build a new, stronger bridge. Megan loved asking him what they were doing.  This is the story of what happened and how the new bridge was built.

Megan looked at the bridge, “What’s happened?” she said,

Dave looked at the plans and scratched his head.

“The old bridge fell down, he said with a frown.

The flood water got too high.

Some branches and leaves got stuck on a pole,

The water backed up and it scoured out a hole.

A lot of bricks cracked then an arch fell down.

The cars can’t cross or get into town.

We’ll need to re-build it, but stronger and bigger,

I’ll need some good friends and a crane and a digger.

We’ll re-route the cables, we’ll break out the bricks,

I’ll think of a plan to protect the fish.”

“Come on Megan, we don’t want to be late,

If we don’t get to school now, they’ll lock the gate”.

“Two minutes more, Dad, I don’t want to go,

There’s lots more things that I want to know.”

But off they went.

The next week, Dave started to take the old, bridge away.

It was crumbling, unstable and not fit to stay.

“What are you doing now?” Megan said,

Dave looked at the plans and scratched his head.

“The old bridge is not safe so I had an idea,

The water and fish can go through pipes along here.

I’ve filled in around them, we can work over the top,

Without having to worry about things that might drop.

We can get a big breaker to break out the bricks,

See, we engineers, we have lots of tricks.

That crane over there can lift the bricks free,

We’ll take them away, then we’ll all have some tea.

I can do the job safely, I’ve made sure it won’t fall,

We’ll have the job done in no time at all.”

“Come on Megan, we don’t want to be late,

If we don’t get to school now, they’ll lock the gate”.

“Two minutes more, Dad, I don’t want to go,

There’s lots more things that I want to know.”

But off they went.

A few weeks later, Dave and his friends,

Had removed the old bridge from the middle to ends.

The fish could swim free in the river once more,

But a new bridge was needed, Megan was sure.

Dave and his engineer friends all agreed,

In fact, they’d started to build it, working at speed.

“What are you doing now?” Megan said,

Dave looked at the plans and scratched his head.

“We’re bashing in piles to build a new wall.

The piles mean the water can’t get in at all.

We can dig down behind them without getting wet,

Just a few more to go and then we are set.

Then I’ve got this machine, it whirrs and rumbles,

It drills out the soil which falls out in crumbles.

We’ll use it to dig down deep and low,

To make sure the new wall is strong at the toe.

We pump down the concrete and make sure it is strong,

We’ll get the new bridge built before long.”

“Come on Megan, we don’t want to be late,

If we don’t get to school now, they’ll lock the gate.”

“Two minutes more, Dad, I don’t want to go,

There’s lots more things that I want to know.”

But off they went.

A few weeks along, Dave and his friends,

had built new river walls for the bridge at both ends.

There was a huge crane on the site, Megan noted with glee,

She took Dave some biscuits to have with his tea!

 “What are you building next?” Megan said,

Dave looked at the plans and scratched his head.

“My next task now is to lift the bridge deck,

We’ve built some new bearings to help it connect.

The new deck is longer, so next time there’s a flood,

It will flow underneath and the bridge will stand good.

The new deck is wider to give some more space

For walkers and cyclists, plus cars they replace.

We need a big crane, just look over there

At that great yellow crane with its jib in the air.

My engineer friends have done all the sums

And figured that it can lift eighty tonnes!”

“Come on Megan, we don’t want to be late,

If we don’t get to school now, they’ll lock the gate.”

“Two minutes more, Dad, I don’t want to go,

There’s lots more things that I want to know.”

But off they went.

A few weeks later, the new bridge was complete,

With smart handrails, a new road, some drains and even a seat.

Megan crossed over the top and looked either side,

to see the river flow gently now it was more wide.

Dave was tidying up, getting ready to leave,

He looked all around at what he’d achieved.

‘Hello Megan, we’ve got to go,

But is there anything else that you’d like to know?”

Megan looked at the bridge and scratched her head.

“I’ve learnt such a lot from you all, she said.

When I’m older, I’d love to do what you do,

With diggers and cranes, I’ll solve problems too.

I’ll break out the bricks, I’ll get the right cranes,

I’ll build all the walls and the decks and the drains.

I’ll use the machine that whirrs and it rumbles,

And use diggers to scoop up the soil all in crumbles.

I’ll do a great job, I’ll drink cups of tea,

And I’ll look forward to other kids talking to me.”

“Come on Dave, we don’t want to be late,

Pick up your tools and lock the gate.”

“Just two minutes more, I don’t want to go,

I’ve really loved working here, don’t you know.”

And off they went. 

Off to new sites, to build bridges and railways and playgrounds and schools and skyscrapers and drains and tunnels and everything else we need in the city!  And I think Megan will as well, when she’s older!

Pealands a place, far away
With farmers growing fruits and hay
There’s knights and jesters, cows and sheep
Around moat ringed castle keep.

In the tower; Petra von Green
She’s smart, proud and soon to be queen
But before she’s crowned she must find out
Why Pealands peas no longer sprout?

Travelling to each old pea farm
To find out how it came to harm
Each night spent as a royal guest
She’ll use a farmer’s bed to rest.

The farmers though aren’t very pleased
So in the bed they hide dried peas
They hope that she will wake up sore
In payback for her taking more.

By day she measures water and soil
An expert engineering royal
By night she rolls, squirms and aches
She still feels tired when she wakes.

Using her engineering skills
With hammers, saws, spanners and drills
Using sensors for a detector
She builds an amazing pea ejector!

Now each night, before she sleeps
Over the bed the sensor sweeps
Measuring all the bulges and bumps
Removing peas and other lumps.

As she slept well, she thinks clearly
She’s solved the problem, almost…nearly…
Watering peas makes them grow
But how can she make water flow?

First she’s got urgent things to fix
Why are the farmers playing pea tricks?
Why peas in beds she asks a farmer
Do they really want to harm her?

They were angry she took their bed
They had to sleep on the floor instead.
They also hate the moat she built
That’s when the peas began to wilt.

Petra knows the moats to blame
They need to change the water’s aim
She and the farmers dig together
To change the water’s path forever.

Now the pea fields have lots of water
And grow crops, as they oughta
Peas once under beds, now in the earth
Flowering, showing Pealands’ true worth.

Stopping Petra from getting rest,
Was the farmers Peas Full Protest
Petra’s focus on getting crowned
Missed that farmers know ‘bout the ground.

They knew the moat had dried the land
When Petra asked, they lent a hand
When everyone can get involved
We can get the problem solved.

It is a bright and sunny day at the beach
The water is blue and the sand is golden
It is the perfect setting for Kevin on his day off from work
He has had a long hard week at work doing experiments and calculations
Kevin just wants to relax now
He puts on his sunglasses, spreads a towel and lies down with a smile
Soon enough Kevin has dozed off
The kids around him chuckle as he snores

 

Suddenly Kevin wakes up due to something touching his face
Raindrops are falling, the sky is now dark
He can hear thunder and see flashes of lightning
People have retreated for shelter in their huts
Kevin stands up, alone on an empty beach
This is not how he imagined his day off from work !!

 

He walks along the sand and as the waves get bigger and bigger
He notices a cave and decides to enter it  
The cave is dimly lit due to the glow of the rocks
Kevin is amazed by the beauty and stares in awe
he walks deeper and deeper into the cave until he comes to a strange door
He tries to open the door but it is locked
He is so distracted that he doesn’t realize that he was being followed……

 

"hello there" says a voice from behind
Kevin turns around in shock and in fear
A troll stand in his way. It has green skin, bright yellow eyes, and wears a scaly kilt
"you do not belong here" says the troll to Kevin
Kevin is too scared to speak and has nowhere to run
"You can leave if you solve a puzzle. If you fail, you will stay for dinner…..my dinner"
The troll takes out 3 shiny gems and gives them to Kevin
He points to a ramp and says "you must pick the gem which will get to the bottom of the ramp first"
Kevin nods. He looks at the gems: the green gem is a sphere, the blue gem is also a sphere and the red gem is a ring

 

Kevin thinks how he will solve this puzzle.
This isn't magic, this is an engineering problem !!!
He looks at the 3 gems and estimates they all have the same size
He smells the gems and realizes they are metal
He licks the gems and instantly regrets that
He listens to the gems and assumes the green gem is hollow
He feels the gems and guesses they all weigh the same
What will Kevin do with all this information ?

 

Kevin is a mechanical engineer.
He knows about inertia.
He knows that the bigger the inertia the less it will roll.
He needs to pick the gem with the lowest inertia
Using the information he got from looking, touching, listening, smelling and not so much from tasting,  
He points to the solid blue gem…….

 

The troll smirks and picks up the 3 gems and places them on the ramp
The gems are released and they roll down the ramp
It is a long ramp, the gems roll slowly……
They both watch in suspense…..
Which gem will get to the bottom first ?
It’s NOT the red ring………It’s NOT the hollow green gem……..
It is the solid blue gem !!!
The troll, in a surprised voice, says "you have chosen wisely"
He opens the door and a bright light shines out from inside.
Kevin smiles, walks through the door and waves goodbye.

 

Kevin wakes up on the beach.
He looks around, it is bright and sunny and lots of people are playing on the beach.
Was it all a dream he wonders ?
He feels something in his pocket.
It is a shiny blue gem !!!

This story is about a sense of feeling small
So small you feel you don’t matter at all

 

But even the smallest can be strong and tough
Can help the whole world, be more than enough

 

Have you ever thought to say thanks to the materials around you
Just look and admire all the things they can do

 

Ever said cheers to a glass window or door made of wood
If we think about it carefully maybe we should

 

Fe is the hero of this particular tale
Could be as big as a house or as small as nail

 

Fe was sad and was running away
Simply lost the love of her job day to day

 

She is a metal, an atom of iron
A wonderful thing that we all rely on

 

If you don’t know about atoms, well they’re small and neat
they’re found in all things like toys and in sweets

 

the houses we live in, the cars that we drive
the metals, the plastics and even nice pies

 

Our atom called Fe sighs “I don’t matter at all
I'm just a dot and I’m just too small”

 

Do you think we could help Fe, help her to see
that we need her around, that she helps you and me

 

Materials are great designed and improved
Helped by engineers to make things we can use

 

Alone an atom might not seem very much
but together they form things, things we can touch

 

That journey for Fe, its starts in the ground
we’re lucky we have lots of iron oxide around

 

That oxide we use well it starts in the dirt
we call it an ore and its where we start first

 

 

We add heat and energy, blow in some air
separate out the metal, do it with care  

 

A lump of pure iron holds millions of Fe atoms
laying across each other in neat structured patterns

 

But that lump of pure metal isn’t the end of our deal
pure iron is soft so we need to make steel

 

We add some carbon, form it and press
It develops strength from applying this stress

 

And this is all to make Fe stronger and tougher
We need strong materials so our constructions don’t suffer

 

We could also add chromium stop Fe from rust
Helping her build more structures we trust

 

We’ve used Fe to help us to build and to grow
Making engines, huge ships and other things we all know

 

The incredible thing is what Fe helped us create
Connecting the world from steel plate to steel plate

 

I guess it's amazing that no matter how slight
Fe can help hold up buildings with her incredible might

 

Engineers can help Fe last forever and long
Help reuse all her friends and keep them strong

 

So thanks to Fe and the other metals we use
Without you there’d be a lot less we could do

Tracey was a tiger worm
Long and red and slimy 
She longed to make the world a better place 
But all she felt was grimey 

 

Tracey watched the insects, shimmering in the sun
They all seemed so useful, so beautiful, so fun

 

But suddenly, she heard some humans start to fuss and run… 

 

Help cried the humans
Our loo is packed with poo
We don’t know how to empty it
What are we going to do?

 

The insects came to try to help
And oh how they did strive 

 

The bees did their waggle dance
to direct the hive

 

The ants worked together 
Marching two by two   

 

The butterflies looked fantastic
Fluttering to the loo  

 

The insects came to try to help
But none of them could budge
This ghastly goo-ey problem, 
The huge amount of sludge

 

But Tracey knew at once
That this was not the issue
No need to empty it all out
When she could treat in-situ

 

Tracey called the other worms
With her pheromones
‘At last, somewhere we can help
And build warm and comfy homes!’

 

Tracey and her new found friends
Munched that poo-ey appetiser 
Until all that you could see and smell
Was a lovely fertiliser

 

Now Tracey the tiger worm
Has her grimey tiger team 
And saves the world from stinky poo
A really great pipe dream 

In the kingdom of stories lived a Wizard in a dark twisted wood
People came to him with their problems and he helped as best as he could

 

The Wizard could tell fortunes or what was likely to pass
he helped when people got worried and he offered his wisdom when asked

 

A wise wizard is known for his use of rhymes which may appear a bit weird
it’s usually open ended stuff, not practical or well engineered

 

“need a prince? Kiss a frog! Need a bride? Cross a bog!” he was right about 50/50
Overall the people forgot the duff ones and thought his skills pretty nifty

 

Now the wizard had a smart wee nephew who longed to work with his uncle
He wanted to use more practical words to bring sense when things got muddled

 

His nephew, Ed, enjoyed engineering, reading books and fixing broke things
He understood construction, materials, bits and bobs, wires, metal and springs

 

Ed tried, many times, to give help to his uncle and show him what he could do
But the wizard was stubborn the wizard was proud and thought little of what Ed knew

 

One day the wiz bumped his head on a door, no longer able to have premonitions
He couldn’t predict, he couldn’t divine he couldn’t make sense of his visions

 

But because he was proud he didn't let on and didn’t let anyone know
He wanted to work as he always had, he wanted to put on a show

 

That very same day three pigs arrived who had trouble with a wolf and his snout
They wanted advice on the best stuff to build a practical and wind proof house

 

“Erm…maybe some straw or twigs could work?” Said the wizard scratching his head
He didn’t sound certain, he didn’t sound sure and Ed saw a chance ahead

 

Ed pondered and thought on what he could add, and caught a pig as he left
“I’d suggest a design with foundations and lime, bricks and mortar may be best.”

 

Ed was feeling quite proud of his work and what he had achieved with his day
But the wizard was unconvinced, and didn't know what to say.

 

Next was a fairy godmother who wanted help for a ball at the palace
She wanted to know what shoes would go with a dress that would give off status

 

The wizard again not sure of himself couldn't think of a sensible option.
Ed thought of a shiny and smooth solution, but one that required some caution

 

“I'm assuming there’ll be a dance at the ball and perhaps a run for that matter?”
“I think what will pass is heat strengthened glass that will be strong on the feet and not shatter”

 

The house had worked, the shoes had worked and the wizard couldn’t acknowledge.
That Ed’s excellent advice had helped him out and been based on practical knowledge

 

Nearby a bridge had fallen many times and the wizard knew
That to fix a bridge and make it last was beyond what he could do

 

The wizard had stuff like wood and clay and brick may be best
that mortar and gold, silver and iron might be things to stand the test

 

The wizard felt sure Ed couldn’t succeed that there was no solution to give
That there was no material or plan for the bridge to provide a suitable fix

 

And so the day came of the final trial, hope you’re listening with anticipation
Ed paused, scratched his head, and said “Erm…have you checked your original design calculations?”

 

“I’d also check the structure of the metal, its strength and avoid corrosion”
“with paint and modern coatings you can stop weathering and erosion.”

 

The wizard was mad, the wizard was sad and then a little bit sorry
wizarding visons were grand and all but they won’t fix a bridge in a hurry 

 

And with that the wizard turned to the boy with a smile on his face and said
That there was a place for some fantastic advice from the young engineer called  Ed