In a small, shiny magnet that looked like a horseshoe, lived two inseparable friends. Their names were Norty and Southey. Norty was always full of energy, curious, and a little impatient. He loved nothing more than sliding from one end of the magnet to the other, shouting, "Faster, even faster!" Southey was his exact opposite. He was calm, thoughtful, and liked to take a good look at everything first. Together, they made the perfect team. They lived in their little metal house, and their greatest fun was attracting the small hairpins and paper clips scattered on the large table where their home lay.
"Look, Southey! There's a new paper clip over there, it's all shiny!" Norty exclaimed one day and was just about to stretch out his invisible force to pull it toward him.
Suddenly, however, something new appeared on the table. It was another magnet, similar to theirs, only it was straight as a ruler and had a red and a blue end. Two little figures were carefully peeking out from it. One stood on the red end, and the other on the blue end.
"Hello!" waved the figure from the blue end cheerfully. "I'm Southey, and this is my friend Norty."
Norty nearly jumped out of his skin with joy. New friends! This was going to be fun! "Hello! I'm Norty, and this is Southey! Come and play!" he blurted out and, without thinking, ran towards the new magnet. His goal was clear – he wanted to meet the other Norty, who was so similar to him. After all, they had the same name; they were sure to get along.
He approached the red end, where Norty was standing. He was grinning from ear to ear and waving. But something strange happened. The closer he got, the more he felt a kind of invisible wall. It was pushing him away. He tried to push with all his might, bracing his feet against his magnet home, but it was no use. It was as if some mysterious force was repelling him.
"Why are you pushing me away?" he asked Norty, confused.
Norty looked just as surprised. "I'm not doing anything! I'm trying to get closer too, but it's not working!"
Norty tried again. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, but just before he reached the other magnet, he was thrown backward, tumbling all the way to Southey. Thump!
"Ouch," he mumbled, rubbing his head. "This is weird. I can't connect with him at all."
Southey, who had been watching everything carefully, fell into thought. He stroked his chin, even though he didn't have one. "Hmm, this is an interesting mystery. It didn't work? Great, now we know one way not to do it! Let's try something else."
"But what?" Norty asked unhappily. "I guess he doesn't want to be my friend."
"Don't be sad," Southey soothed him. "Maybe it's not about friendship. Maybe there's a rule involved. What if...? What if you try to approach the Southey who is standing on the other end?"
Norty wasn't too keen on the idea. He was afraid she would push him away too. But Southey's idea was stuck in his head. Slowly and carefully, step by step, he began to move towards the blue end, where the smiling Southey stood.
As he got closer, he felt something completely different. There was no invisible wall. On the contrary! He felt a gentle, pleasant pull, as if an invisible hand were calling him closer. Suddenly, it happened! Click! With a cheerful little clink, Norty and Southey connected. They stood close together, laughing.
"Wow! This is great!" Norty rejoiced. "It works with you!"
Down below, Southey watched it all, and a plan began to form in his head. "Norty, can you hear me? Now you try, Southey, come to me," he called out.
The new Southey disconnected from Norty and gracefully approached the original Southey. And again, that same feeling! The invisible wall pushed them apart. They couldn't connect.
"Aha!" exclaimed Southey. "I'm starting to understand! It's like a puzzle! Not every two pieces fit together!"
The children started taking notes. They drew simple signs in the dust on the table. Norty was a figure with his hair sticking up, Southey with his hair pointing down. The other Norty was also a figure with his hair up, and the other Southey had her hair down.
They drew:
- Figure with hair up (Norty) + Figure with hair up (Norty) = Repulsion.
- Figure with hair down (Southey) + Figure with hair down (Southey) = Repulsion.
- Figure with hair up (Norty) + Figure with hair down (Southey) = Attraction!
- Figure with hair down (Southey) + Figure with hair up (Norty) = Attraction!
"Look!" Southey called out and pointed to their drawings. "When two who are the same meet, they push each other away. But when two who are different meet, they joyfully pull together! Norty is drawn to Southey, and I am drawn to the other Norty!"
Suddenly, it all seemed perfectly clear and logical to them. It wasn't about an unwillingness to be friends, but a wonderful rule of nature!
Just then, they spotted a problem. A small metal bee from a children's game had fallen behind a large wooden block. It was so far away that neither magnet could reach it on its own.
"The poor little bee, it's trapped in there," said the new Southey sadly.
Norty had an idea. "I know how we can save it! We'll use our new superpower!"
All four of them got together. First, the original Southey stood opposite the new Southey. Their repulsive force was so strong that as they moved closer, it pushed the original Southey's entire magnet forward, right into the narrow gap behind the block. Now they were much closer to the lost bee.
"My turn!" shouted Norty. He quickly moved to the edge of his magnet and stretched out his attractive force toward the bee. He felt the metal bee tremble. Click! He held it tight.
"I've got it!" he shouted triumphantly.
But now they had to get it out. "Let's use attraction!" Southey suggested. The other Norty from the second magnet moved closer to the original Southey. Their opposite poles happily attracted, and click! they connected. Then together, like one long magnetic train, they reversed from behind the block with their precious cargo.
They placed the bee back in its spot in the game, and all four of them hugged for joy. Well, of course, only those who could—Norty with one Southey, and Southey with the other Norty. They had discovered that their power wasn't just for playing, but also for helping.
From that day on, the four of them were the best of friends. They knew that even though they sometimes had to push each other away, other times they could connect and, together, they could do great things.
What do you think, children? What other little metal things could they find together in your room? With a parent's help, try to see what things around your house your magnet will attract. But be careful around electronics; they are not friends with magnets