Henry and the Hose Reel

Henry wanted to wash the big red fire truck before lunch, and he wanted it to shine.

Henry was a firefighter. He had a yellow helmet and a bucket as big as a bathtub. Every morning he polished the truck, and every morning the station dog, Biscuit, watched from the doorway.

But today the long hose was tangled. It had knotted itself into a lump like a bowl of spaghetti.

"Easy," said Henry. He pulled one end. The lump got tighter.

He pulled the other end. The lump got tighter still.

"Hmm," said Henry. "Pull, pull, pull. That is not working."

Biscuit trotted over. She had come to look for her ball, which had rolled under the truck. She did not care about hoses at all. She sniffed the knot and sat down on it.

"Biscuit, up, please," said Henry.

Then the alarm went. Ding-ding-ding! A kitten was stuck up a tree by the pond.

"Oh no," said Henry. "I need this hose." Then he stopped. A kitten in a tree does not need a hose. It needs a ladder.

So Henry pulled on his sneakers and his helmet. He swung the ladder onto his shoulder and climbed up the tree, one step, two steps, three steps. The kitten was small and grey and cross. It hopped right onto his helmet and purred.

When Henry came back down, Biscuit was waiting. She had her ball. She had found it under the truck, and now she was dropping it, bounce, bounce, on the hose.

The ball rolled along the knot. Where it rolled, the hose wiggled. Henry saw a loop sticking out.

"Look at that," he said. "One loop. I can pull that loop."

He tugged the loop gently. The next loop came loose. Then the next. Then the whole hose slid out long and straight across the floor, like a river.

Henry turned on the water. Whoosh! The truck got wet from top to bottom. Biscuit shook her wet ears, and the kitten, still on Henry's helmet, shook too.

The red truck shone in the sun, and a bubble floated up from its roof.