Once upon a time, there was a little block named Bloccy. Bloccy lived in a magical world of algorithms and bintrees, where every creature was a different shape and size. Bloccy was a unique block because instead of having straight edges, his edges were bisected, making him look like a square with curved edges.

One day, Bloccy was playing with his friend, the alphabet block, when they stumbled upon a strange object. It was a bag filled with shiny objects, and upon closer inspection, they discovered it was an array of shiny coins. Excited at their good fortune, they started counting the coins when they suddenly heard a loud, mechanical voice.

"Stop right there!" the voice boomed. They turned around to see an automaton, a robot-like creature, standing before them. "Those coins belong to me. I am the ancestor of all automatons, and I have been searching for them for ages."

Bloccy and the alphabet block were frightened and didn't know what to do. They had never encountered an automaton before, let alone one that claimed to be an ancestor. Suddenly, the automaton transformed into their adversary and started chasing them, determined to get back the coins.

As they ran for their lives, Bloccy and the alphabet block came up with a clever plan. They started spelling out words with their letters, trying to slow down the automaton. The automaton was so busy trying to make sense of the words that it didn't notice the blocks slipping away with the bag of coins.

Finally, the blocks made it back to their hiding place, exhausted but triumphant. They counted the coins and found that they had enough to buy ice cream for all their block friends. From that day on, Bloccy and the alphabet block were known as the smartest blocks in the land and were never afraid of automatons or any other adversity again. The end.

Reflections

1. What was unique about Bloccy's shape compared to other blocks?

2. Why was the automaton after the bag of coins?

3. How did Bloccy and the alphabet block outsmart the automaton?

4. Why did the automaton have trouble with the words spelled out by Bloccy and the alphabet block?

5. How did Bloccy and the alphabet block become known as the smartest blocks in the land?

6. What do you think the world of algorithms and bintrees is like?

7. If you were in Bloccy and the alphabet block's situation, what would you have done differently?

8. Do you think Bloccy and the alphabet block will have more adventures in the future? Why or why not?