The Motor Coach

On a short railway track between villages high up in the mountains, there used to run an old Motor Coach. It was a slow and chugging little train, but back then, it didn’t need to go fast anyway.

Most of the passengers were families with kids, taking a trip into the mountains, and they always enjoyed the peaceful ride – most of all the children. They loved looking out of the windows and watching the beautiful countryside rolling behind and below them.

The higher the Motor Coach went, the lovelier the views were. There were cows grazing on the mountainside, little blue ponds teeming with fish near the track, and the ruins of a castle - which perhaps used to be the seat of a great king from ancient times? Here and there they saw light-brown does with their little fawns. It was a spectacular and scenic route.

But times change, and they also get faster. High-speed trains have started taking over the railways. People on these trains travel from one place to another so quickly, they don’t even have time to enjoy the ride. These trains move so fast, the countryside outside is nothing more than a green and brown blurred smudge.

Our little Motor Coach was going out for fewer and fewer rides, until it finally had to retire altogether. No one wanted to ride it anymore.

“What should we do with this useless old train?”

“Just put it in the depot,” said one of the railwaymen, sealing the train’s fate without a speck of gratitude.

Just so you know, kids, a depot is a place where trains go to have a rest. It’s where the mechanics take care of the trains so that they can safely take us wherever we need to go.…