Ramires and the Stuck Blue Car

Ramires loved sunny afternoons at the neighbourhood playground. The swings squeaked a happy rhythm, the big slide was warm from the Aussie sun, and the air smelled sweet like the nearby eucalyptus trees. His best mate, Chloe, was there too, and they were racing her little blue car down the pathways. Ramires always made sure Chloe had the smoothest path, clearing away little twigs and leaves because looking after his friends was what he did best.

Suddenly, Chloe had an idea. "Let's send Bluey down the big curly slide!" she squealed. She placed the car at the top, but instead of whizzing down, it got stuck right in the middle of a tight curl, far out of reach. Chloe's happy face crumpled. A big tear rolled down her cheek. "Oh no!" she sniffled. "My car is stuck forever!"

Ramires patted her shoulder. "Don't worry, Chloe, I'll get it!" He tried to climb up the outside of the hot, slippery slide. He stretched his fingers as far as they could go, but just as he got close, his sneakers slipped. *Whoosh!* He slid right back down to the bottom. "It's too slippery! It's too slippery!" he puffed, feeling a bit frustrated that his first plan didn't work.

He sat down for a moment and thought about what his mum always said: 'When you're stuck, try looking at the problem from a new angle.' A new angle! He jumped up. "Chloe, I have an idea!" Together, they found a long, smooth branch under a big gum tree. Standing beside the slide, Ramires carefully reached up with the branch and gave the little blue car a gentle nudge. It wiggled, wobbled, and then zoomed down the rest of the slide, landing safely in Chloe's hands.

Chloe let out a huge cheer and gave Ramires a big hug. "You saved Bluey! You're the best!" The rest of the arvo, they took turns sending the car down the slide, and it never got stuck again. Ramires felt a warm, happy feeling inside. He knew that being a kind friend and thinking cleverly was the best way to make any problem, big or small, go away.