Chapter One
There once was a scientist named Albert, who spent years working on an engineering project. He was creating a special car that people could drive on the moon. After a great deal of work, Albert was almost done perfecting his invention.
But there was one problem. When he was testing the vehicle near his home, he kept having to stop so it wouldn’t overturn! Albert couldn’t figure out why it was so unsteady, and had no idea how to fix the problem.
Albert had learned in the past that when he was stuck, he could get help from someone who knew more than he did. One of Albert’s friends was an old owl that lived in a nearby woods and spoke English. The owl was very knowledgeable about many things. Albert affectionately called him the “Wise Old Owl,” and never hesitated to ask his friend’s advice.
So Albert went into the woods to consult with the owl. He found his friend relaxing and eating breakfast. Albert explained that he had made a “lunar car” to drive around the surface of the moon. (He called it that because “lunar” means "anything to do with the moon.”)
The Owl was intrigued. He was interested in the moon and had read a lot about it.
Albert described how the car kept tilting over, and asked the owl how he could fix this problem.
The Wise Old Owl said, "Well, I don’t understand why it’s tilting; it shouldn’t be.” Then the owl thought a while and finally asked, “How many times did you drive it around the moon?"
"The moon?" Albert said, "No, I’ve been driving it on the Earth."
"Well!” exclaimed the Wise Old Owl! “There’s your problem! If it’s a lunar car, it should be driven on the moon! The surface of the Earth is quite different, so if you drive it here, the car will be kind of shaky.”
“Oh!” Albert said, “I hadn’t thought of that! But how can I get the vehicle up to the moon so I can test it there? I don’t have a spaceship."
The Wise Old Owl looked surprised and said, "You don’t have a spaceship?"
“No," answered Albert sheepishly.
"Well then,” the Owl said, “how did you plan on getting to the moon?"
Albert was embarrassed about forgetting this detail. So he said, “I was planning to buy a spaceship on Amazon but I’m still saving up money for it.”
The Wise Old Owl said, “Well, fortunately for you, I know a way to get to the moon that doesn’t require a spaceship or any money. You may find this hard to believe. But trust me—if you do exactly as I say, you and your vehicle will get to the moon safely."
Albert was very excited to hear this news. He said, “Ok! Great! Tell me what to do!”