Mr. Small the Great Inventor is a story from the 1987 Annual.
Plot[]
One morning, Mr. Small woke up in his tiny bed, in his tiny house, which is located under a daisy at the bottom of Mr. Robinson's garden. Mr. Small wants to get a job where he can make a big impact or even just a little one. The problem was, that there aren't many little jobs for someone Mr. Small's size. Mr. Small had many different jobs but none worked out due to his size. Here are some of the jobs Mr. Small had and the reasons why he couldn't keep the job.
- Working at the post office: sticking stamps onto parcels - kept getting stuck to the stamps and was posted through the letterbox three times in one week.
- Working in a flower shop: watering flowers - kept falling into the watering can
- Working in a sports shop: polishing ping-pong balls - kept slipping off the balls into the box
So you see how even the simplest of jobs can be difficult for Mr. Smalls. That particular morning, Mr. Small got out of bed, went downstairs, made himself some breakfast, and tried to think of another job he could do. Soon, after sipping his drop of tea and slicing his crumb of toast, he got an idea! Mr. Small could invent something to help someone his size! But what could he invent? Coming up with such an idea requires help.
After breakfast, Mr. Small spent the rest of the morning walking up the garden path to see Mr. Robinson. Mr. Small told Mr. Robinson how he wants to become an inventor but doesn't know what to invent or where he can start brainstorming ideas. Mr. Robinson thought and remembered his friend at New Brainwave University, Professor Knowitall; an inventor and professor of science. Mr. Robinson took Mr. Small to the university and Mr. Small stayed with Professor Knowitall for a week trying to come up with an invention. Unfortunately, most of his inventions didn't get very far. Here two of the inventions Mr. Small came up with and how they backfired.
- Monday: A fully automatic, computerized knitting machine designed to knit socks. Unfortunately, the machine cranks out 101 socks a minute and there isn't much you can do with an odd number of socks
- Tuesday: A recipe for a revolutionary new jam doughnut. Mr. Greedy arrived at the university and ate the only revolutionary new jam doughnut Mr. Small had.
By the end of the week, Mr. Small made a technological breakthrough and invented something revolutionary to the world! The world's smallest electronic component ever! The micro-PIP! It's like a microchip but half the size and capable of working in anything! Mr. Small even wrote a story about how he invented such a device. The very story you just finished reading.
List of Characters[]
- Mr. Small
- Mr. Robinson
- Professor Knowitall