Once upon a time, there was a little car named Rusty who lived in a big garage with all of his car friends. Rusty was a bit different from the other cars because he was made up of a bunch of different parts, like a motor, joints, a manifold, a mirror, a differential, a heater, a drivetrain, a muffler, a gearbox, doors, lights, and filters.

One day, Rusty's friend, a sports car named Speedy, was making fun of him because he wasn't as fast as Speedy was. Rusty felt really bad and didn't know what to do.

That night, when all the cars were asleep, Rusty snuck into the parts room and started to swap his parts with the parts of all the other cars. He took Speedy's gearbox, put on the SUV's doors, and even took the race car's light.

The next morning, all the cars were shocked to see that Rusty had changed. They all started to laugh because Rusty now looked like a crazy patchwork of different cars.

Rusty was so happy that he started to drive around the garage, showing off all his different parts. But then, something unexpected happened. Every time Rusty would drive by a mirror, he would start to change! He would grow bigger or smaller, his doors would open and close, and his lights would turn on and off.

All the other cars were amazed and couldn't stop laughing. They finally realized that Rusty was the most unique and special car of all. And from that day on, they all appreciated Rusty just the way he was, with all his different parts.

The end.

Reflections

1. What made Rusty feel different from the other cars in the garage?

2. What did Rusty do to make himself feel better about being different?

3. What happened when Rusty drove by a mirror?

4. How did the other cars feel about Rusty after they saw him change?

5. Why do you think it's important to appreciate people (or cars) for who they are, even if they are different?

6. Can you think of any real-life examples of people or things that are unique and different in a good way?

7. How do you think Rusty felt at the end of the story? Why do you think that?