In a cheerful little town, where cars buzzed like busy bees, stood an important traffic light at the biggest intersection. And in that traffic light lived three light brothers: Red Stopford, Orange Watchley, and Green Gobert.
Stopford was the oldest and most cautious. When he lit up, all the cars obediently stopped. Green Gobert was his exact opposite, full of energy and always urging everyone into motion. And between them was Orange Watchley, wise and thoughtful, who reminded everyone: "Attention, get ready, there's going to be a change!"
They lived together harmoniously like this, taking turns precisely every day. Traffic in the little town flowed as smoothly as milk on silk. Until one Tuesday.
Just when Green Gobert was supposed to let the cars go, a loud SCRRRK! sounded from inside. And then a strange CLINK! Something unprecedented happened. Green Gobert kept shining, but at the same time Red Stopford lit up too!
Chaos erupted at the intersection. Drivers didn't know what to do. Should they go or stop? Honking began to sound from behind.
"Stop! I say, everyone stop!" shouted Stopford with his red glow. "Go! Why is everyone standing still?" wondered Green Gobert. Orange Watchley remained dark and helpless. "Brothers, stop it! We're going to cause disorder this way!"
The baker with his van full of fragrant rolls got stuck behind a bus. Children who were looking forward to ice cream looked sadly out of car windows.
"We have to do something about this," Watchley finally said. "Let's look inside, into our mechanism. The fault must be there."
Stopford and Gobert stopped shouting at each other and agreed. All three turned their attention inside their metal body.
What they saw surprised them. The inside of the traffic light looked like a small workshop. There were thin wires in various colors and three large levers – one red, one green, and one orange. These levers always alternately rose and fell, thanks to which the brothers lit up and went dark. Now, however, they were stuck. Between the red and green levers was wedged a small, shiny pebble.
"Aha!" exclaimed Watchley. "Look! This pebble is preventing the levers from moving. That's why you're both shining at once!"
"It must have fallen in when that strong wind was blowing and shook the whole pole," Stopford reflected.
"We have to get it out!" burst out Gobert and tried to move his green lever. But the pebble was firmly wedged. "It won't work!"
"Nor can I," added Stopford, when he tried in vain to move his lever.
All three looked helplessly for a moment at the little culprit who had caused such great chaos.
"Wait," said Watchley after a while. "We can't do it alone. Everyone is trying to move only their own lever. But what if we tried to cooperate?"
"How?" asked both brothers at once.
"Stopford, you're the strongest," Watchley began. "Try to push your lever downward as hard as you can. That might create a small gap on one side of the pebble. Gobert, you're the fastest. As soon as Stopford pushes, try to jerk your lever sharply upward. Maybe we can manage to loosen it."
It was a good plan. Stopford took a deep breath and pressed with all his strength. His red lever slowly moved downward with a creak.
"Now, Gobert, quickly!" shouted Watchley.
Green Gobert used his energy and jerked his lever sharply. A loud CLINK! sounded and the pebble jumped out from between the levers and clattered to the bottom of the traffic light.
The levers were free! At that moment the green lever rose and the red one fell. Outside at the intersection, the red light went out and only the bright green remained shining.
"Hurray!" shouted all three brothers.
The cars finally moved. The baker waved cheerfully and drove his rolls to the shop. The children smiled again because they knew they would make it to get ice cream. The chaos was over.
When the situation calmed down, Watchley lit up with his orange color. Gobert went dark and immediately Stopford lit up. Everything worked as it should again.
"You see?" Watchley told his brothers. "We were arguing about who was right, whether to stop or go. But the truth was that we had a problem that we had to solve together."
Stopford and Gobert felt a little ashamed. "You're right," admitted Stopford. "Without your idea, we would have just argued and solved nothing."
"And without your strength and my speed, we wouldn't have gotten that pebble out," added Gobert.
From that day on, the three light brothers valued each other even more. They understood that each of them was different, but equally important. And that they work best when they take turns precisely and help each other. Because only that way can there be order and safety in the cheerful little town. And sometimes, they say, in the quiet of night, when no one is walking around, all three light up at once, but only for a tiny moment. Just so they can remind themselves that they are the best of friends.