The speed of the Titanic

At last, the shiny black bicycle arrived! Nine-year-old Elijah's eyes widened with delight. His grandma had promised him this very special gift, and she had finally delivered it to their home.

"Thank you so much grandma!" he said with such a wide smile.

As Elijah learned to ride it and how to use the brakes, he made it a habit to zoom around the compound at top speed.

His mother always reminded him that riding so fast was dangerous.

"Elijah," she would say gently, "please ride slowly, not so fast!"

Elijah would always reply confidently, "Don’t worry, Mummy! I know how to use the brakes!"

Every time Elijah went out to ride his bicycle, he would immediately pedal as fast as he could. One day, his mother decided to teach him about the danger of speed.

"You were riding very fast again today," Mummy began.

"Don’t worry, Mummy! I remember what you said, but I know how to use the brakes if I need to stop," Elijah replied, feeling sure of himself as he wheeled his bicycle into the garage where it was kept.

“Let me tell you a story,” she said, handing Elijah a cool bottle of water.

"A long, long time ago, a huge and beautiful ship was built," she started. "It was called the Titanic."

"Titanic?" Elijah asked, hearing the name for the first time.

"Yes, Titanic," Mummy said. "It was the biggest and most beautiful ship in the whole world at that time, and it could carry over two thousand people!"

Elijah’s eyes widened as he imagined how big the Titanic must have been.

"But on its very first trip," Mummy continued, "The captain of the ship steered it at full speed because he wanted to reach where they were going early."

Elijah had a small smile on his face when he heard the word ‘speed.’

"As the Titanic was moving at top speed at night, the captain didn’t know that there were many icebergs in the ocean," Mummy said.

"What is an iceberg?" Elijah asked looking puzzled.

"An iceberg is a very large piece of ice floating in the ocean. Usually, the biggest part of an iceberg is hidden below the water!" Mummy explained.

"So, on that night, as the Titanic was going at full speed, the people watching out for danger spotted an iceberg right in front of them using binoculars," Mummy said, making circles around her eyes with her hands like binoculars.

"Iceberg, straight ahead!" Mummy called out, just like the lookouts did on the Titanic ship.

"But because the ship was going so fast," she said, "It was very difficult for it to turn away from the iceberg in time."

Elijah, who was now completely soaked in the story, asked, "So what happened?"

"Well," Mummy continued sadly, "The Titanic crashed into the iceberg, and because of this, the ship sank into the deep water!"

"Oh no!" Elijah exclaimed.

"I know!" Mummy said softly. "So, my dear Elijah, this is why I keep telling you not to ride your bicycle too fast. When you’re riding very fast, even if you know how to use the brakes, it's much, much harder to stay safe if something unexpected happens"

Elijah nodded slowly, as he understood this. From that day on, while he still enjoyed the thrill of riding his shiny black bicycle, he always remembered the story of the Titanic. He learned that knowing how to stop wasn't the only thing that mattered; sometimes, going slower meant having more time to react and stay safe from the unexpected.

The End.

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