Outside of the towns
And outside of the cities,
Along the dirt track that’s a little bit gritty.
Winds a road away from the people,
Beyond the church with its spire and its steeple.
Sits a lonely building on top of a hill
Surrounded by trees that stay ever so still.
The biggest building you have ever seen
A building so grey you can’t tell if it’s clean.
With big dirty chimneys
And lots of little funnels.
A lot of large windows
And lots of tiny tunnels.
There’s just one big door
No less no more.
Just one big door
So be sure that you’re sure
Just one way in and one way out
So enter only if there’s no doubt
The factory was big, a bit dark, a bit scary.
But everything inside was very shiny and not hairy.
There were no monsters or ghosts or vampires or fairies
Just big computers, cranes and machines a bit lairy.
The factory was full of robot parts and vents.
It had trolleys and tracks and pipes a bit bent.
The factory that sits as tall as the pines
Is numbered like the others,
This one – Factory 9.
Factory 9 is where Little Robot was built,
In a room with big windows on a bench with a tilt.
Little Robot was created as part of a test
To see if robots make friends and even make best.
He was built along with many others,
Built by their masters, not made by their mothers.
The night before Little Robot was finished,
Just after the sun had gone down and the light had diminished.
Little robot had just been given his heart,
Sewn onto his sleeve,
It was his very last part!
All other bits of Little Robot in place;
His shoes his legs his belly and his face.
The workers were leaving on their way to go home,
Leaving all the robots sitting alone.
They left for the weekend, not to return for a while,
The thought of getting home was making them smile.
They were battling to get to their cars and their bikes
To get home by which ever mode that they liked!
Their jackets were blowing really far behind them
If they were wearing a hat you would have to remind them,
To hold their hat down on top of their head
Or the hat would be blown behind them instead!
The first drops of rain fell as the workers departed,
Driving off down the tracks not knowing what had started.
The leaves were spinning in small circles around them
With the rain picking up very soon to surround them.
The elements were close and they just kept coming,
Out of the sky the thunder was humming.
The sky was getting darker and the wind was blowing.
What was about to happen they had no way of knowing.
As they drove off real quick leaving dust trails behind them,
The robots just waited for someone to find them.
The clouds bellowed and swelled above factory 9
And above all the robots that waited in line
The factory fell silent and all just went dark
But for a few blinking lights and a very small spark.
There was a faint pitter-patter of rain on the roof
To tell anyone what would happen, you would surely need proof.
There was a big rumble right from the clouds up above.
What the robots now needed was lighting and love.
The rumble really rattled the robots about…
And if you were there you surely would shout.
As the lighting lit up the sky and the factory
Charing the air like a giant car battery
Then robots appeared to move by themselves…
Or was it the bench? Or the tilt of the shelves?
The thunder really shook everything inside…
The factory, the robots and the insects that hide.
After the rattle of the sky came a clap of lighting
That was ever so loud and ever so frightening
The air was filled with tremendous Thunder
And the lighting lit up the sky with wonder.
This could be the night the robots really come to life
As lighting and magic in the air was rife.
But after the lightning the skies just went black
And nothing could be seen of the robot rack
But then in skies another big rumble
And all the robots started to tumble
Off the shelves and onto the floor
Where the robots could be seen in the factory no more…
That was it – not a trace!
Of any of the robots – in any factory space.
That was the night that they all disappeared
Into the world not be feared.
The robots were clever
The robots were funny
They just had each other
And didn’t need money.
They went into the world charged by the storm
Not really finished and a little bit worn.
They had no idea where to go? or what to do?
All they understood was their Little Robot crew
They just knew to make friends, to be kind and give love
As all of their power had come from the lighting above.
So if you see a robot on your way
To school next week, tomorrow, or today
Remember to smile and help them if you can
And then you can be Little Robots first fan.
