Rudy the Rubbish Truck

It was early in the morning, the birds were still sleepy and had barely started to trill. As for the roosters, well, they were fast asleep — as if it were still midnight. But already, Rudy was tirelessly cruising through the streets. He was rattling a bit and was pretty dusty too, but no one could blame him — for Rudy is a rubbish truck. Or rather, a little rubbish truck. His parents, the big rubbish trucks, were in charge of the whole town, and Rudy was very happy to help them out. The containers on his parents’ trucks were loaded with rubbish from the big dustbins, and Rudy’s load came from the small dustbins. He was having a great time. Rudy’s engine was spinning happily in his tummy as one dustbin after another was emptied into his container. All the while, children waved enthusiastically from the windows of the houses.

When his morning round was finished, Rudy headed for the landfill site with his container full of rubbish. He was almost at the main gate when he overheard the caretaker and his father talking.

“So, are there any special trucks coming?” asked daddy.

“Yes, and they will collect the plastic and paper items separately,” said the caretaker.

Rudy’s heart rumbled. Special trucks? Plastic and paper separately? What is that, plastic and paper? Feeling puzzled, he dumped the contents of his container into the designated pile and headed home to the garage.

As soon as his mum and dad joined him at home, Rudy started asking questions. “Daddy, mummy, what special trucks was Mr Collins talking about? Are we not going to carry the rubbish anymore? I enjoy it so much!”

His parents were really tired. After all, they had driven all over town that…