The Bubble Machine
Chapter 1: Sal and the Strange Bubble Vending Machine
In a town not too far from where you live, a man named Sal loved old things that most people threw away. He believed that every old thing had a story, and he was the one to find it. So, he spent his days visiting places filled with things no one else wanted.
One sunny day, Sal went to a junkyard. This wasn't just any junkyard. It was the biggest one in the entire state, filled with mountains of stuff. As he climbed a hill of old bikes and past a valley of broken chairs, something caught his eye. It was an old vending machine. But this was no ordinary vending machine. It used to sell bottled bubbles for kids. Yes, bubbles! You could put in a coin, and out would pop a bottle full of magic to fill the air with floating, shimmering bubbles. Only, it hadn't popped out anything in many, many years.
Sal knew he had to have it. He imagined the joy it would bring if he could make it work again. After talking to the junkyard owner, he took the bubble machine home to his workshop.
Sal's workshop was a wonderland of tools, paints, and all sorts of gadgets. He set the machine in the middle and started to work. But when he opened it, he found something very surprising. There were no wires, buttons, or electronics inside it. Yet, when he touched it, parts of the machine would light up as if it were full of life. How could this be?
Sal looked closer, peering into the heart of the machine. Nestled amongst the gears and springs, a glowing round object about the size of a tennis ball glowed warmly, lighting up the entire machine inside. Sal had never seen anything like it. It was as if the ball contained a little sun of its own.
For days, Sal tried to understand how the ball worked and how it powered the machine. But it was a mystery. The ball didn't fit any of the rules of the gadgets Sal knew.
Then, one night, as Sal lay in bed thinking about the machine, he heard a noise. It was a soft, whirring sound, like something was waking up. Sal tiptoed to his workshop, the sound growing louder with each step. It was coming from the bubble machine.
As he stepped inside, the machine was alive with light, the glowing ball brighter than ever. And the noises... they weren't just random sounds. They were almost like music, or maybe... a voice?
Sal stood there, mouth open in wonder. What was this machine? And what was it trying to say?
The night was no longer quiet, and Sal knew this was just the beginning of an incredible adventure.
Chapter 2: So Many Bubbles
Several days later, the sun was peeking through the curtains when a loud bang startled Sal from his sleep. "Not the Bubble Machine!" he thought, imagining the worst: his project shattered into pieces across the workshop floor. He dashed to the workshop, heart pounding, only to find the door still locked but the Bubble Machine... gone! Along with it, many of his other gadgets had vanished into thin air. How could this be?
But the mystery deepened. The door hadn't been tampered with, yet there was a gaping hole in the back wall, leading straight to the backyard. It looked as though something, or someone, had made a grand escape.
With a mix of worry and curiosity, Sal set out into town, eyes peeled for any sign of his missing creations. The town was waking up, the streets quiet, but something unusual caught his eye as he passed his neighbor's house. Children were playing outside, laughing under a shower of giant soap bubbles that floated like cheerful clouds above their heads.
"Where did all these bubbles come from?" Sal asked, puzzled.
"A giant robot flew by and blasted them into the air!" one of the children exclaimed. Sal giggled at what he assumed was a playful exaggeration.
Sal thanked the children and drove on, the mystery deepening with every turn. As he moved through the town, bubbles seemed to be everywhere, dancing in the wind, adorning the town like floating jewels. It was clear something extraordinary had happened while he was asleep.
Following the trail of bubbles, Sal found himself drawn to a large gathering at the end of the city park. People from all over town had come, drawn by the same curiosity and wonder that had guided Sal here. What had caused this bubbly phenomenon?
As he approached, Sal realized this was no ordinary gathering. The excitement was bubbles, and the crowd was looking at something... or someone. Sal squeezed through, determined to find the source of all the commotion and, hopefully, his missing Bubble Machine.
The adventure was far from over. It was just beginning.
Chapter 3: The Bubble Rescue
As Sal made his way through the excited crowd at the city park, a surprising scene unfolded before him. A giant tree had crashed into a nearby building, its massive trunk blocking the entrance and trapping many people inside. The townspeople, with a mix of worry and determination on their faces, gathered around, brainstorming ways to help those trapped before the roof gave way under the weight of the tree.
But as Sal drew closer, his eyes widened in disbelief. From the second-story windows, people were floating gently to the ground, encased in giant soap bubbles! It was a sight straight out of a dream, each bubble a shimmering globe of safety, delivering its passenger safely to the waiting arms of the crowd below. One by one, everyone trapped in the building was being saved in this miraculous fashion.
Whispers and murmurs circled through the crowd. No one knew where these bubbles had come from. Yet, amid the confusion and relief, a few mentioned seeing a giant robot, resembling a vending machine, soaring through the sky just moments before the rescue began.
As the last of the trapped townspeople touched down, Sal couldn't help but smile, a mix of pride and wonder in his heart. It seemed his Bubble Machine had taken on a life of its own, becoming the hero the town didn't know it needed.
The crowd began to disperse, their spirits lifted by the day's unexpected magic. Sal lingered, looking up into the sky, searching the horizon. And there it was, a speck in the distance, unmistakably his Bubble Machine, gliding gracefully in the sky far off. It seemed the adventure was reaching new heights.
Coloring Exercise
Have Students color these free images of scenes from the story
