An allegory by Murdoc Addams
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Once there was a little car named Sporty the Sportscar. He grew up on a farm where is was all dirt and rocks. Sporty wasn’t like all the other vehicles at the farm. They were all trucks, tractors, jeeps, and ATVs. They had no problem getting around the farm, whereas Sporty had a very hard time. No matter how hard he tried he could only go very slowly over the rough terrain, sometimes hurting himself, sometimes getting stuck and not moving at all. His little wheels would spin and spin, but seldom was he able to get very far.
But Sporty didn’t know why he had these troubles. All the others at the farm would see his slow, clumsy movements and make fun of him for it.
“Come on!” they’d say. “Put some horsepower into it!”
“Kid must not have much horsepower after all.”
“A vehicle without horsepower can’t go very far in life.”
And this would make Sporty very sad and frustrated, wondering what was wrong with him. Maybe the others were right, maybe he didn’t have much horsepower. Maybe he was defective.
One day he heard of a place called The City, where they used these things called roads. Long, flat, smooth surfaces that made driving so much easier than on rough dirt. But The City was far away, and Sporty couldn’t get there. He tried a few times, but after a long and painful journey, he’d get stuck, not even very far from the farm, and he had to wait for someone to tow him back home.
“If only I could get to the city, maybe I could use a road too!” Sporty thought to himself, but without any way to get there, he was stuck being a disappointment to everyone.
Then one day a truck named Big Rig visited the farm. Big Rig had a trailer on that carried other cars when they needed help. He noticed Sporty and asked him if he needed a ride. Sporty said yes enthusiastically and hopped onto Big-Rig’s trailer, and the two went into the city.
Once in the city, Sporty tried driving on a road. He was nervous at first, it was so different. But once he got going, he went fast! Faster than all the trucks, tractors, and ATVs could ever go. Sporty was so happy zooming around The City, and everyone was impressed. It turns out that Sporty had plenty of horsepower after all! Sporty even met other sports cars like him and they’d race together all around The City. And Sporty was happy, he finally found his place.
