The Tractor and the Ferrari
It was a beautiful spring morning. The first rains
had fallen the previous night, and as the sun
poked it’s head over the horizon, Farmer Brown
walked out onto his porch. He breathed deeply,
filling his lungs with the smell of the fresh rain
on the crisp early morning air. His house was
situated on a slight incline, and below him he
could see his fields, lying brown and dead.
Yesterday they were still a dusty light brown,
today they were a deep ripe brown from last
night’s rain.
He was just about to start walking towards the
shed, to get his plough ready for the oxen,
when he saw a big, strange, red contraption
coming down the road. It had four huge black
wheels, and it seemed to be a vehicle of some
sorts. Farmer Brown had never known any
vehicle other than his horse-cart, and his
brother’s “Eddy Custom Wagon.” This was
clearly no horse cart and no custom-wagon.
As the vehicle came closer, he recognized his
friend, Inventor Eddy on top of it. Eddy was
smiling from ear to ear. Farmer Brown
remembered that the last time he had seen that
smile, he nearly lost his biggest dam when
Inventor Eddy’s “Automatic Dam Cleaner” had
decided the wall of the dam was dirt that had to
be removed.
had fallen the previous night, and as the sun
poked it’s head over the horizon, Farmer Brown
walked out onto his porch. He breathed deeply,
filling his lungs with the smell of the fresh rain
on the crisp early morning air. His house was
situated on a slight incline, and below him he
could see his fields, lying brown and dead.
Yesterday they were still a dusty light brown,
today they were a deep ripe brown from last
night’s rain.
He was just about to start walking towards the
shed, to get his plough ready for the oxen,
when he saw a big, strange, red contraption
coming down the road. It had four huge black
wheels, and it seemed to be a vehicle of some
sorts. Farmer Brown had never known any
vehicle other than his horse-cart, and his
brother’s “Eddy Custom Wagon.” This was
clearly no horse cart and no custom-wagon.
As the vehicle came closer, he recognized his
friend, Inventor Eddy on top of it. Eddy was
smiling from ear to ear. Farmer Brown
remembered that the last time he had seen that
smile, he nearly lost his biggest dam when
Inventor Eddy’s “Automatic Dam Cleaner” had
decided the wall of the dam was dirt that had to
be removed.
| The Parable of the Tractor and the Ferrari -- Page 1 |
The contraption stopped next to him, and
Inventor Eddy jumped off.
“Hey Farmer Brown. Meet Fred the Tractor.”
“Please to meet you Farmer Brown.” Said the
tractor in a tinny voice.
“What on earth is this, Eddy?” Farmer Brown
asked, ignoring the talking machine.
“This, Farmer Brown, is Fred the Tractor. Be
nice to him. I’ve made him a friendly fellow.”
“And what does Friendly Fred the Tractor
do?” Farmer Brown’s voice didn’t hide his
suspicion in any way.
“Well, Farmer Brown, I can pull a twelve shear
plow through ripped ground. I can rip hard
ground with three rip teeth up to half a metre
deep. I love doing that. I also have a seeder.
You fill it up with seed, and I will drop twelve
rows of seed at the same time, each seed
exactly the same distance from the previous.
At the end of the season, I have a harvester
that I can pull, which will harvest twelve rows of
wheat in one go. I move twice as fast as any
team of oxen.
Inventor Eddy jumped off.
“Hey Farmer Brown. Meet Fred the Tractor.”
“Please to meet you Farmer Brown.” Said the
tractor in a tinny voice.
“What on earth is this, Eddy?” Farmer Brown
asked, ignoring the talking machine.
“This, Farmer Brown, is Fred the Tractor. Be
nice to him. I’ve made him a friendly fellow.”
“And what does Friendly Fred the Tractor
do?” Farmer Brown’s voice didn’t hide his
suspicion in any way.
“Well, Farmer Brown, I can pull a twelve shear
plow through ripped ground. I can rip hard
ground with three rip teeth up to half a metre
deep. I love doing that. I also have a seeder.
You fill it up with seed, and I will drop twelve
rows of seed at the same time, each seed
exactly the same distance from the previous.
At the end of the season, I have a harvester
that I can pull, which will harvest twelve rows of
wheat in one go. I move twice as fast as any
team of oxen.
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