The Ferry That Leaned on the Turn
Chapter 1Ready to Sail
Nochum's model ferry could carry six little sacks of clay.
He had tested it in a washing bowl. Three sacks stood on each side of its flat deck, and the ferry floated level.
For the courtyard boat afternoon, Mr. Katz had filled a long, shallow trough. The boys stayed on the dry pavement beside it. Only their models went into the water.
The ferry had a low rail and a string tied at the front. Nochum could guide it gently from one end of the trough to the other.
His friend Yechiel had made a tiny sign that said GOODS ONLY.
"No passengers," Yechiel told the clay sacks.
They obeyed very well.
Chapter 2The First Turn
The ferry crossed the straight stretch without trouble.
Near the far end, Nochum moved the string sideways to guide it around a floating marker.
The deck leaned.
A sack slid toward the low side. Two others followed.
The ferry dipped until water touched the edge of the deck.
Mr. Katz caught it with the long-handled net before the cargo fell off.
Nochum stared at the wet corner.
"The trough must be wrong. It worked in the bowl."
Yechiel looked at his sign. One edge was damp.
"We could make the ferry bigger."
Chapter 3The Same Six Sacks
Mr. Katz set the ferry on a towel.
"What moved first?" he asked.
"The boat tipped," Nochum said.
"One sack slid," Yechiel said at the same time.
They looked at each other.
Nochum remembered the sacks in a pile at one side. He could not remember whether the first one moved before or after the deck leaned.
"We had three on each side," he said. "Exactly the same weight."
Mr. Katz pointed to the empty stretch of deck.
"Show me where they were when we took it out."
Nochum put five sacks close to one rail. Only one had stayed on the other side.
Chapter 4A Gentle Try
They dried the deck and set the sacks back in two rows.
Mr. Katz held the ferry at the shallow edge while Nochum placed the cargo. Then he let it float.
It sat level.
Yechiel watched the sacks instead of the bow.
Nochum pulled the string slowly along the straight stretch. Nothing shifted.
At the marker, he moved the string sideways a little more quickly.
The ferry turned. One smooth sack slid across the deck toward the outside of the turn.
"There," Yechiel said.
Mr. Katz steadied the model before it leaned farther.
The other sacks were beginning to move too.
Chapter 5Little Cargo Bays
"So it isn't just how we load it," Nochum said. "They don't stay there."
He pressed two fingers onto the empty deck.
"I'll hold them."
"That would be a hand-powered cargo service," Yechiel said.
The model was meant to cross without fingers holding its load.
Mr. Katz found short pieces of cork in the supply box. Nochum and Yechiel arranged them as low dividers, making three small bays on each side.
Mr. Katz attached them with waterproof glue and put the ferry aside until it had set as the label required.
The boys spent the waiting time repairing the sign.
Chapter 6More Than One Crossing
When the ferry was ready, they put one sack in each bay.
On the first crossing, Nochum turned slowly. The sacks stayed in place.
Yechiel cheered.
"Finished!"
"One more," Nochum said.
They tried the other direction. Then they made the same sharper turn that had caused the trouble before.
A sack nudged its cork wall but could not cross the deck.
The ferry leaned a little and came level again.
Mr. Katz nodded.
"Keep your movements gentle. The bays help; they don't make it impossible to tip."
Chapter 7Goods Only
At the end of the afternoon, the ferry carried all six sacks past the marker.
Nochum did not pull the string faster to show off.
Yechiel counted the sacks as they arrived, one in each bay.
"Six goods. No passengers."
Nochum picked up the model when Mr. Katz brought it to the edge.
He studied the little cork walls.
"I wanted to blame the trough," he said.
Yechiel straightened the sign.
"The trough would have needed a very large repair."
Nochum laughed and laid the ferry on its towel.
