The Flash-Mites: Turning Problems into Windmills 💡🦟⚙️

Hey there BKFK listeners! Today's story is inspired by a very wise old saying. When the wind of change blows, some build walls while others build wind bills. This means that when a big problem shows up, you can either try hide from it or you can find a way to use that problem to do something amazing.

But first, let's find out who the superstars are on this episode. My name is Jia. I'm 10 years old and I live in Canada. I love ducks and I love playing games with my friends. I'm Sarah and I'm 9 years old. I live in Singapore and I like to play the violin and the piano.

Well done kids, great to have you on the team. Alright, let's get on with the story. The Flash Mites Sparky Flarkbuttons workshop was usually a noisy place, but today it sounded like a dragon chewing on a bag of spanners.

Sparky was working on her latest masterpiece, the Lava Toaster. It was a mechanical volcano designed to make toast at lightning speed. But to make it work, the metal gears had to be perfectly smooth. Sparky stood at her workbench, wearing her thickest leather apron and her welding goggles.

She was holding a heavy grinder against a chunk of raw iron. Clouds of fine silver metal dust puffed into the air. The dust covered everything. It coated the floor.

It coated the shelves. And it coated Sparky's nose, making her look like a silver-garden gnome. Perfect!

Sparky shouted over the noise. Maximum smoothness achieved. Now for the... She stopped.

She blinked behind her goggles. Something was flickering in the corner of the room. It looked like a tiny star. Then two stars, then a hundred.

A swarm of small, buzzing insects had flown in through the open window. They were flash mites. They were tiny round beetles with wings that hummed at a high pitch. And they had one very special, very annoying talent.

When they were excited, they glowed with a blinding white light. And apparently they were very excited by metal dust. One flash might land on a pile of iron filings. It lit up like a flash.

Another one landed on Sparky's shoulder. Within seconds, the workshop was filled with thousands of them. It was brighter than the sun. It was brighter than a lightning bolt. It was blinding. Gears and gizmos, I can't see!

Sparky yelled, shielding her eyes. My reddened eyes are roasting. Turn off the lights! But there was no switch. The bugs swirled around her head, creating a ring of pure white glare. Sparky tried to reach for her screwdriver, but she couldn't see it.

She reached for her wrench and knocked over a cup of oil. This is impossible! I have deadlines! I have toaster make! I must exterminate these dazzling pests! Sparky felt her way to the scrap pile.

If I can't see them, I will just have to swat everything! She worked by feel, banging her thumb three times. In ten minutes, she had built the SWAT Wax Smasher. It was a spinning fan blade with four giant fly swatters attached to it.

Take this, you glowing goggle bugs! Sparky yelled. She pulled the starter cord. The machine spun wildly.

It was a tornado of slaps. But the flashmites were small and fast. They simply dodged the swatters. The machine, however, did not dodge the furniture.

It hit the lamp. It hit Sparky's lunchbox. It hit the shelf of tools. Sparky dove under the table.

The bugs were still there, buzzing happily and glowing brighter than ever. The only thing she had swatted was her own workshop. OK. Sparky coughed, climbing out of the mess.

Physical force won't work. I will suck them out of the air! She grabbed an old bellows, a tube and a steam engine and bolted them together. Behold the Gale Force NatVac!

She announced to the blinding room. She flipped the switch. The machine roared. It created a massive suction, but instead of sucking up the bugs, it sucked up the air.

And the papers. And the plans for Sparky's other inventions. And the bugs. The strong wind just stood up more metal dust from the floor.

The air became a thick cloud of silver powder. The flashmites loved it. They swirled in the dust storm, glowing harder. It's making it worse.

Sparky shrieked, turning off the machine. Sparky was sweating. She was covered in dust. She was seeing spots. Last resort! If I can't swat them and I can't suck them, I will stick them! She loaded a pressurized tank with honey, glue and melted marshmallows. She pumped the handle.

Say hello to the sticky mist blaster! She sprayed the room. Sticky, gloopy foam covered the walls. It covered the tools. It covered Sparky.

But the flashmites were oily little beetles. The glue slid right off them. They just buzzed around, dodging the globs. While Sparky managed to glue her own boots to the floor.

I'm stuck! I'm blind! I'm sticky! And my workshop is full of disco bugs! Sparky wailed, tugging at her feet. She waved her arms frantically, trying to shoe the glowing cloud away from her face.

Go away! Still! Scram! The door to the workshop creaked open.

Whizzlethorpe the wizard peered inside. He had to shield his eyes instantly. Great! Galloping!

Go girls! Whizzlethorpe gasped. Sparky? Are you in there?

It looked like a shooting star exploded in a glue factory. Whizzle Thorpe! Sparky shouted, waving her wrench wildly at the air. Help! I am invested with blinding bugs!

I've tried sweating, I've tried vacuuming, I've tried gluing. Nothing works! Whizzle Thorpe squinted through the glare. He saw the frantically waving gnome. He saw the bugs swirling faster and faster as she waved,

Drawn to the movement and the dust she was kicking up. Spargy! Whizzled Thorpe said calmly. Stop!

Stop? I can't stop! I have to fight them! No! The wizard said, stepping inside and closing the door. You are stirring up the air.

You are making the dust fly. Stop moving! Just stand still. That is a dumb idea. If I stand still they will never stop. Trust me.

Please! Sparky groaned, but she was exhausted. She stopped waving. She stood perfectly still, which was easy

since her boots were glued to the floor. Slowly, the air in the room settled. The wind died down. The cloud of silver metal dust

began to drift slowly to the floor. Watch! as the dust settled on the work benches, the flashmites stopped buzzing.