In a curious little nook of the world, where the sunbeams danced and the shadows played, a question flitted through the air like a butterfly: “Is that a paper plane? Is that a pencil? Is it an eraser, perhaps?” But lo! A voice rang out, clear and bright, “Nay, my friends. That’s Elementary Man!”
In a big, bustling city far away, things were not so clear and bright. The streets were messy, and the air was filled with grumbles. People were rude, and neighbors didn’t help each other. Workers backbit each other instead of banding together. Bills piled up like old newspapers as everyone struggled with increasing expenses. The newly appointed mayor, a woman beset with worries, called for help.
“Elementary Man!” she cried. “You must save our city!”
Elementary Man with a twinkle in his eye, arrived with a hop and a skip. “What’s the fuss?” he asked, grinning.
“Everything is terrible, and everyone is grumpy!” the mayor complained.
Elementary Man scratched his head. “Let’s investigate!” he declared.
They walked through the city. First, they stopped at a busy street corner. People were rushing past each other and rudely shouting whenever they wished to talk.
“What’s going on?” Elementary Man asked a passerby.
“Just the usual chaos!” the person replied, rolling their eyes. “No one cares!”
Elementary Man frowned. “Rudeness is a crime!” he said. “And this chaos is a crime too!”
Next, they visited a government offices. The shelves were cluttered, and the official was looking too hassled. “Why is everything so messy and slow?” Elementary Man asked.
“Who cares?” the official replied, not looking up. “Neither the higherups nor the citizen make no attempt to change it into a better system!”
Then, they wandered into a school. The teachers looked tired, and the students were restless. “What’s wrong?” Elementary Man asked a teacher.
“The reading and math levels are terrible!” the teacher sighed. “Even the parents complain this! We need help!”
Elementary Man shook his head. “Actually, this entire city needs help! But where to start?”
Suddenly, a cat jumped onto a desk nearby. “Meow!” it said, as if it had the answers. Elementary Man laughed. “Who knows? Maybe the cat knows something.”
They followed the cat to a newsstand. There, they found papers filled with silly stories and gossip. “Churnalism!” Elementary Man exclaimed. “This is the problem! No real news, just nonsense!”
The mayor looked confused. “What’s churnalism?” he asked.
Elementary Man explained, “It’s when news is copied and not checked. People don’t get the information they need to work their brains, improve their skills and knowledge or suggest improvements to the civic scene!”
The mayor nodded. “So, what do we do?”
Elementary Man thought hard. “We need to teach people! Let’s hold a big meeting!”
They gathered everyone in the town square. Elementary Man stood on a giant ladder. “Listen up!” he shouted. “We need to stop backbiting, reading gossip rags, and start helping each other! We must improve our reading and math skills, and get better in general!”
The crowd murmured. “But how?” they asked.
Elementary Man smiled. “By working together! Let’s lift each other up instead of tearing each other down! Give up the gossip rags! Read good useful information and practice math and important skills!”
The people cheered! They promised to be nicer, to clean up their streets, to stop reading the gossip rags, and to support their schools. The city began to change. Workers started to help one another in developing skills and negotiating a nicer future, and students began to learn better.
Elementary Man’s friend, the mayor and his staff clapped. “That was a stroke of genius, man!” they said.
“Nay, my friends. That’s Elementary Man!” he replied with a laugh.
Moral: Churnalism and lack of good standards in one’s reading material can lead to a city’s downfall. Always seek the truth, support one another, and value education!
If you enjoyed this post, then you will like these other short detective stories for children:
That’s Elementary Man! Episode 2 – The Curious Case of the New Hire
