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INVENT3  8' An inventor's daughter uses his inventions

Michaela's dad was an inventor. An inventor makes things that
nobody has ever made before. Michaela's dad made things that
were so good that men in army uniforms would come to the house
to see if his latest invention could be used by the army.

Michaela's dad usually kept his workshop locked when he wasn't
working on an invention. But one day, Michaela came by the door
when it wasn't locked and her dad wasn't home. So, she peeked
into the room. The lights were off and the room was dark, but
she could see a small red light glowing in the middle of the
room. And there was a small spot of red light on the ceiling
above. She wondered what it was. It was probably one of her
dad's newest inventions, she thought. It wouldn't hurt to take a
look, would it?

Michaela looked around to make sure her dad couldn't see her,
then she pushed open the door and turned on the light. She saw a
glove lying on the table. The red light was coming from a tiny
light bulb in the palm of the glove. The spot of light on the
ceiling was probably from this light, she thought.

She held her hand over the glove and the spot of light on the
ceiling disappeared. She was right.

But why does a glove have a red light on it, she asked herself.
She pulled the glove to the edge of the table so she could get a
closer look at it. There was a push-button on the wrist of the
glove. Michaela pushed the button to see what it did. The little
red light went off.

Then Michaela saw a tiny switch, like a light switch, next to
the push button. She flicked the switch several times. but
nothing happened. So, she slid her hand into the glove. It was
too big for her hand, but she could open and close the fingers
of the glove.

Next, she pushed the push-button, turning on the little red
light, and she aimed the glove at the walls of the workshop. She
decided that the tiny red light was too small to be useful as a
flashlight at night. So, there must be some other purpose for
it.

Maybe the light will get brighter if I open and closed the
fingers of the glove, she thought. So, she aimed the red light
at the calendar on the wall and opened her fingers as wide as
possible.

Suddenly, the calendar tore off the wall and came flying into
Michaela's hand!

"Oh, dear!" Michaela shouted. Then she remembered that someone
could hear her and she stopped talking.

The calendar was sticking to the glove like glue. So, Michaela
decided that if opening her fingers would make the calendar come
to the glove, maybe it would fly back across the room if she
closed her fingers. But, instead, when she closed her fingers,
the calendar fell on the floor.

She aimed the light at the calendar again, then spread her
fingers wide open again, and the calendar flew off the floor
into her hand again.

But this time, she aimed the calendar at the wall and flicked
the little switch on the wrist of the glove.

Suddenly, the calendar flew across the room and slammed against
the wall.

Now Michaela knew how the glove worked. The push button turned
the light on and the little switch made things come to the glove
or go away from it. Whatever the light pointed to would come to
the glove or push away from it.

So, she practiced with the glove. After a while, by moving her
fingers inside the glove she could control how fast the things
moved. She could pick the calendar off the floor and hang it on
its hook... from across the room!

Suddenly, Michaela heard a familiar cry outside. It was Emily,
the little neighbor girl as she came running into Michaela's
yard. Michaela didn't want Emily to see her in the workshop. So,
she turned off the light and ran out of the room. Then, she
noticed that she was still wearing the glove. So, she hid her
hand behind her back when she greeted Emily.

"What's the matter, Emily?" ask Michaela.

"My tennis ball rolled into the street and fell into the hole!"
Emily cried as she pointed, "Come look!"

Michaela followed Emily to the front yard and pointed to the
storm drain in the street. Looking through the grate, Michaela
could see the green tennis ball at the bottom of the storm
sewer.

"Can you get it for me?" cried Emily.

"Sure," replied Michaela, "You go into your house and close the
door. I'll bring it to you in just a minute."

As soon as Emily closed the door, Michaela reached the glove
into the drain and pointed the light at the tennis ball, then
she spread her fingers wide. But the ball didn't come. Then,
Michaela remembered that she had flicked the little switch to
push the calendar against the wall. So, she flicked the switch
and aimed the light again. As soon as the spot of light touched
the ball, the ball flew up and into the glove. Then, Michaela
gave the ball back to Emily.

But Michaela didn't want anyone else to see her with her dad's
glove, so she went back to her back yard to put the glove back
into the workshop. But as soon as she turned the corner, she saw
a robin red-breast chirping and fluttering back and forth
between her nest in the tree and the grass below.

"What's all the fuss, little bird?" Michaela asked as she
approached.

Then she saw that a tiny baby bird had fallen out of the nest
and landed in the grass.

Michaela knew what to do. She carefully picked up the little
bird with the glove, then she flicked the little switch and
pointed the glove at the nest in the tree. Slowly, she opened
her fingers and the little bird floated out of the glove toward
the nest. By now Michaela was good at moving things with the
glove. And in less than a minute the little bird was back in its
nest.

The mother bird chirped.

"You're welcome," Michaela replied. Then, she turned toward the
workshop.

"Oh, oh!" said Michaela.

Somebody, probably her mom had closed and locked the door to the
workshop. Michaela decided to take the glove to her bedroom and
keep it there until someone unlocks the workshop again.

Michaela's dad usually worked in the workshop late into the
night. So, Michaela thought she might return the glove at that
time. So, she set her alarm clock to wake her up after her
mother was asleep.

Late that night when the alarm went off, Michaela got up and
went to her window to see if she could see a light on in the
workshop. But something moved next door.

It was a burglar climbing up a ladder to get into the window on
the second floor. Michaela ran to the phone and called 911, then
she went back to her window. The burglar was still inside the
house. She decided to stop the burglar. She put the glove on,
pushed the push-button to turn it on, then she flicked the
little switch and aimed the little light at the ladder. Slowly
she opened her hand and spread her fingers and the ladder pulled
away from the wall, just as the burglar was climbing back out
the window. His foot missed the ladder and he fell into the
bushes and knocked the wind out of himself. So, he couldn't get
up until the police arrived and arrested him.

Michaela flicked the little switch to push the ladder back
against the wall, so noone would know that she stopped the
burglar with her dad's glove. But it was too late. Her dad heard
the noise of the fall and came running. He saw the burglar, but
he also saw the spot of red light on the ladder from the glove.

"I was wondering where that glove went." he said.

Michaela was grounded for a week.

©2007 Bob Snook. Conditions for use:
This story is free. Pay no fees or royalties.
Do not sell this story or rewrite it.
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