Zane huffed as he tried to drag a heavy water bucket up the hill. Bingo dashed around him, wagging his tail. “This is too hard!” Zane sighed. Bingo barked, as if he agreed. Both looked out at the big water tank down the hill. Zane wondered, “Is there an easier way?”

A Heavy Problem

Zane noticed the clothesline rope moving around a round wheel. “It spins and pulls the clothes,” he said, thinking hard. Bingo tilted his head, curious. Zane’s eyes lit up. “Maybe I can do the same!” he shouted. Bingo barked happily.

A Clever Idea

Zane searched for a spool, rope, and a bottle. He tied the rope to the bottle and set the spool on a sturdy stick. “Ready, Bingo?” Zane smiled. He dropped the bottle down towards the tank and filled it with water. Slowly, he pulled the rope. The bottle rose up easily!

Building the Pulley

Zane grinned as the water bottle reached him at the top. “This is so much easier!” he cheered. Bingo wagged his tail and bounced around Zane. Zane used the pulley every day after that. Watering the plants became fun. Bingo always watched, proud of his friend’s idea.

Pulley Power!

shorts & a colourful T-shirt; Often holding a toy or a small tool

An 8 year old indian boy with short black hair, wearing shorts and a colourful T-shirt, often holding a toy or a small tool

Zane

Brown and black fur, floppy ears, wagging tail

A brown and black Jack Russell dog with floppy ears and a wagging tail

Bingo

A short narrative story for a Grade 2 Science class to present students with the idea of pulleys as a type of simple machine, similar to this story: Once upon a time, in a little yellow house at the top of a steep hill, lived a boy named Zane. Zane loved to play in the garden, especially with his building blocks and toy cars. But there was one problem.

At the bottom of the hill was a big water tank, and every afternoon, Zane had to carry a heavy bucket of water all the way up the hill to water the plants.

“Huff… puff… this is too hard!” Zane groaned one day, dragging the bucket with both hands.

His dog, Bingo, barked and wagged his tail. It was as if Bingo was saying, “There must be an easier way!”

Zane sat on a rock and stared at the clothesline hanging above his head. It had a rope that moved around a wheel.

Suddenly, Zane had an idea. “What if I could pull the water up instead of carrying it?”

He ran inside and found an old spool from his mom’s sewing box, a long piece of rope from the shed, and an empty plastic bottle. Carefully, he tied the rope to the bottle and placed the spool on a stick above the hill path.

Then he dropped the bottle down to the tank and filled it with water. With a big smile, he pulled on the rope. The bottle lifted into the air—up, up, up—without Zane having to carry it at all!

“Wow! This is so much easier!” he shouted.

Zane had built his very own pulley. From that day on, watering the plants wasn’t hard anymore.

And every time he used his pulley, Bingo wagged his tail proudly.

“Thanks, Pulley Power!” Zane laughed.