Rafi and the Rainy Day Robot

A story about creative play and making things from recycled materials.

It was raining, and Rafi was bored. He had played with his blocks, and read his comic, and looked out of the window for an hour. “There is nothing to do,” he grumbled. His mother handed him a cardboard box. “Why not make something?”

Rafi tipped it out on the floor. There were three toilet-roll tubes, two egg cartons, a handful of bottle caps, a tin foil sheet and some string. He looked at them for a long moment. Then a smile spread across his face. “A robot,” he said.

He glued the biggest tube upright for the body. He fixed two smaller ones on the sides for arms. An egg carton cup made a head, with two bottle caps for eyes. The foil became a shiny chest plate.

He gave the robot a mouth with a strip of red paper. He taped on a bolt, which was really a nail head, stuck through a paper cup. He drew a control panel with buttons and dials. “His name is Zig,” said Rafi.

But Zig needed a job. “What does a robot do?” Rafi asked himself. He thought of all the little things he forgot. “He will be my reminder robot,” he said. He wrote a note for Zig to hold. “Feed the fish. Pack your bag. Brush your teeth.”

Rafi stuck the note on Zig’s hand, and stood him by the bedroom door. When he came back that evening, he read the note out loud. “Feed the fish.” He did it at once. It was strange, but it worked.

Soon, Zig was the most useful member of the household. Each morning, Rafi changed the note. Sometimes it said, “Be kind to your sister.” Sometimes it said, “Smile at someone today.” He never forgot a thing.

His mother found Zig on the shelf one evening. “He is clever,” she said. “Did he teach you to remember?” Rafi nodded proudly. “Actually, I think I taught myself,” he said. “But Zig helped.”

The rain eased, and a little sun came out. Rafi felt much better. A bored afternoon had turned into a very good one, and Zig stood guard by the door.

Print dot grid paper for sketching →