SHOWCASE

Kids Showcase

Terry the Tractor

FIRST EDITION

UNIVERSITY EDITIONS, Inc.
59 Oak Lane, Spring Valley
Huntington, West Virginia 25704
Cover and interior art by Bob Burchett

The Licensed Trademark of the elevated sprocket design illustrated
is owned and registered by Caterpillar, Inc. Used by permission.
Copyright 1993, by Michael Rucker
Web-published here with the permission of Mike Rucker
Library of Congress Catalog Card No: 93-94079
ISBN: 1-56002-382-1
Dedication
For Derek



At first Terry wasn't a tractor at all, but just a lot of parts.
The biggest part was his frame. It was exactly like a lot of
other frames on the factory floor.

Both bicycles and tractors have frames.

A tractor's frame is very strong and heavy.

Some workers came near. One shouted,"Let's take this one."
He put some chains around Terry's frame.
A large crane suddenly lifted it into the air.

The crane carried the frame to a busy and exciting part of the factory.
It was the assembly line. The frame was set down right at the start of the assembly line.
Terry's frame had a strange feeling. It felt as if it were moving.
Yes, it was true.It was moving slowly along the assembly line.

Before it had moved very far some workers came over with tools and parts.
They bolted on a radiator. On each side of the radiator they put a headlight.
One worker said, "These headlights look exactly like eyes on this tractor."



Then an amazing thing happened.
Terry blinked his headlights! They were eyes!
He looked up and down and all around. He could
see everything in the busy tractor factory.



The workers began to put on two large sprockets, one on each side of the frame.
They looked like bicycle sprockets, but Terry's sprockets were much bigger.
Sprockets have teeth which fit into the tractor's tracks. The tracks are much like a bicycle's chain.







By this time Terry had moved down the assembly line.
The workers bolted a transmission onto Terry's frame.
A transmission has gears in it. The tractor's engine turns the gears.
The gears turn the sprockets. And, the sprockets make the tracks go around.
Terry's engine was added next. It was bolted firmly in place.
Oil was put into the engine to make it run properly.
A tractor's engine is very powerful so it can do hard work.



Terry wanted to start his engine right away. He knew it would be fun to
feel his powerful engine running. A worker must have read Terry's mind.
"Oh, no," she said, "You can't start your engine yet. You haven't got all the parts
you need. You could damage yourself or hurt someone if you start your engine now."
Terry understood and waited. He didn't have to wait long.

Other parts were put on as he moved slowly along.
He was beginning to look more like a tractor all the time.





Terry looked up and saw the end of the assembly line. He was terribly
afraid that he would go right off the end. Closer and closer he came to
the end. There was nothing he could do. He knew if he tumbled off it
would hurt him a lot. It might even tumble him end over end.





Suddenly, just as he was sure to go off the end, a huge
crane picked him up high above the workers.
He closed his eyes very tightly. He slowly opened one eye.
Then he opened the other. He could see everything in the
whole factory. He was afraid being up so high.
But, it was kind of fun, too.





Terry looked down and saw two tracks on the factory floor below.
The tracks were stretched out in straight lines.
The crane put him gently down on the tracks.



As soon as he was put onto the tracks some workers came over. They put
the tracks around the sprockets and bolted the two ends of each track together.
"Now", said one worker, "I'll put some water in your radiator. That will
keep your engine cool." After filling the radiator he said,
"Terry, you may now start your engine."





"Vrrooom!", Terry started his engine for the first time.
It had a neat sound and black smoke came from his exhaust pipe.
"Wow", he thought, "I'm a real tractor now. Let's see
what happens when I shift my transmission into gear."
Terry shifted his gears and began to move very fast-backwards!
He was going right toward a factory wall.







"Stop that tractor!", a worker shouted.
Terry was able to shift out of gear just in time.
The worker said, "You must be more careful.
With all your power, you could hurt someone."



Terry agreed, so the worker said, "Come with me.
You're not ready to go to work yet."




Terry was taken to a place in the factory
where special equipment is put onto the tractors.
Bulldozer blades were put on most of the
tractors. A tractor uses a bulldozer to push
piles of dirt and other things.
Some tractors had a side boom to lift heavy loads.
Some had a ripper so they could dig into hard rock.
Some had a bucket to load dirt into trucks.




Go to Part 2 of "Terry the Tractor"