Matt and the Machine

Matt woke with a jump. He sat bold upright in bed and
listened.
BANG. CRASH. BANG, BANG. THUMP.
He slid out of bed and listened from the top of the stairs.
BANG. BANG.
He crept slowly downstairs.
BANG!
That really made him jump.

Matt reached the living room and stopped. He peered cautiously around
the back of the sofa.
Nothing.
He tried the kitchen. He looked underneath the table.
Nothing.
He looked outside into the sunny garden.
Nothing.

CRASH. BANG.

That was much louder, Matt thought. He slowly opened the connecting
door to the garage and gasped.

There, in the centre of the garage where his dad's car was usually
parked, was a large parcel. It was tightly wrapped in brown paper and
tied with string.
Everything was quiet.

Matt stared for what felt like hours. Then, feeling brave he reached
out and tugged at the string. The knot became loose. Matt felt braver
and ripped off all the paper and cardboard that packaged the mysterious
object inside.

There, in front of him was a shiny, silver thing. It was about the size
of Matt's wardrobe. It had knobs that flashed, dials that whizzed
round, levers that pumped and buttons that clicked. A strange low
humming noise came from the object.

Matt coughed nervously. "What are you doing here?"

The object turned slowly on its castors. "I've no idea." It span around
in front of Matt. "I've only just been delivered. I was hoping you
could tell me."
"What are you, some sort of Machine?"
"Humph, a zkf349g actually."
"I've never heard of you."
"No," the machine whirred. "You wouldn't, I've only just been
invented."
"But what do you do?"
"This and that."
"Do you make anything?"
"Might."
"Like what?" Matt stared around the garage. "I can't find any
instructions."
"Patience, patience." The machine looked cross.
"How do you work? You're not plugged in."
"Ah. The Internal Combustion Engine, heard of it?"
"Sort of." Matt looked puzzled.
"Good." Two knobs swivelled up towards Matt. "I don't need electricity
to work."
Matt smiled. "Yes I remember, "I think we've learnt about that at
school."
The machine stopped humming. "What is school?"
"Its where I go to learn things."
"Things? What sort of things?" It was the machine's turn to sound
puzzled.
"Reading, writing, maths, science, that sort of thing."
"Useful things then?" The machine sounded interested.
"Yes." Matt smiled at the machine. "I've got to go now. Will you be
here when I get back?"
"Yes, I think so." The machine hummed. "What are you called?"
"My name is Matt."
"Name? The machine stopped for a second. "I understand. I am a zkf349g,
but my inventor calls me a prototype."
"See you later then."

The first thing Matt did when he got home from school was look inside
the garage. The machine was still there. Only it was now twice the size
it had been that morning.
"You're bigger." Matt stared.
"I know."
"What happened?"
"Optional extras." The machine sounded pleased. "Look."
The machine span around so Matt could see all the additions. Besides
the machine being much larger, there was a small wheel on the back of
the machine and a small chimney on the top of the machine.
"Looks good, doesn't it?"
"Yes," said Matt. "Will you tell me what you do now?"
"All right." The machine's buttons clicked out the machine's reply.
"Can you get any water?"
Matt filled up his dad's watering can and carefully carried it across
to the machine. "Now what?"
A small door at the top of the machine flapped open. "It goes in
here."
"I can't reach up there."
"No problem." A hosepipe rolled out the flap and one end dropped into
the watering can. The machine noisily slurped the water up. Matt could
hear the water running around the pipes inside the machine.
"Now what?"
"Pull that lever." A button flashed under a large lever on the side of
the machine. Matt jumped up and pulled down on the lever.
"Now look." Another flap opened in the middle of the machine and a
small television screen appeared and flickered on. "See."
"It's raining?" Matt stared at the TV.
"Look outside."
Matt peered outside and stared back at the machine. "It's
raining."
"Of course."
"Did you do that?"
"We both did."
"Really?" Matt looked shocked.
"Yes."
"Can you make the sun shine again?" Matt sounded worried.
"Ask me."
"Please can you make the sun shine?"
"Not like that." The machine clunked and a keyboard slid out. "Now type
in your instructions."
Matt carefully clicked in his request. Then he looked into the
screen.
"It says, Yellow paint."
"Must be right." The machine answered. "Have you got any?"
Matt thought for a second. "I may have some in my paint box."
"Marvellous. I'll wait whilst you go and get it."

Matt returned after a few minutes. He carried his paint box. "Where
does this go?"
A small knob flashed purple and a small drawer slid out. Matt carefully
poured his yellow paint powder inside and closed the drawer. A blue
knob began to flash over a large dial. Matt studied the dial. It had
three settings, minimum, medium and maximum. Matt turned the dial to
minimum and went outside. The rain stopped and weak sunlight lit the
street. Matt went back to the machine and turned the dial to medium.
Outside the sun became stronger and warmer. Raindrops on leaves
glistened in the sunlight. They looked like jewels on the trees.

Matt had an idea. He pressed the purple knob and the drawer slid open
again. He poured all his paint powders inside and carefully shut the
drawer. He jumped up and pulled down the rain lever and twisted the
sundial up to maximum.

Matt ran outside and stood in the middle of the drive. Multicoloured
raindrops showered down. The sun warmed the rain and dazzled the
colours of the rain as it fell. Matt outstretched his arms and drops of
rubies, diamonds, sapphires, emeralds and topaz fell into his hands. He
looked up at dozens of rainbows, which criss-crossed the sky.

Matt stared back inside the garage at the machine. "It's magic!" He
breathed.
"Is it?" asked the machine.
Matt looked puzzled. "I know, I know you did it, I just meant it seems
like magic."
The machine's knobs twinkled with laughter. "Nothing to do with you
then?"
"I just put the paint in."
"Exactly, that was your idea. Clever aren't you?"
Matt looked shocked. "Not really. Not as clever as you."
"But you've made people happy. Look."
Matt looked up and down the road. People came out of their houses,
staring up at the sky. They opened their hands as jewel drops fell down
around them.
"Where did you get the idea from?" The machine asked.
"We did rainbows in science today." Matt paused. "How they came out if
it rained when the sun was shining. You said you needed the yellow
paint for the sun, I just wanted to know what would happen if I put
them all in."
"See." The machine clicked. "You're clever. I haven't been able to make
that many people happy at once." The machine span and whirred.
Matt smiled.

He was just about to ask the machine what else they could do when his
dad came into the garage with two strange men. His dad pointed to the
machine.
"There it is, arrived first thing this morning."
The two men started to wrap the machine back up in the paper and
cardboard.
Matt stared up at his Dad. "What's happening? Where are they taking
him?"
"Don't worry." The machine whirred. "It's probably a delivery error.
I'm always ending up in the wrong place."
Matt looked upset. "I'll miss you."
The machine's knobs twinkled, "Just think of rainbows, and you'll
remember me."
The men finished packing up the machine and managed to carefully load
it on to their lorry outside. Matt could still hear the machine
whirring as they started the lorry and drove off down the road.

"Never mind Matt." His dad gave him a hug. "I wish we could have kept
the machine too." He smiled down at Matt. "You'll just have to remember
it as a bit of an adventure."
"Yes." Matt mumbled as he watched the lorry turn right at the end of
the street. He looked up at the sky and smiled at the rainbows. Then he
remembered something. He opened his hand and a fistful of jewels shone
up at him.

Matt started to laugh. He still had his precious memories.