지호과(와) 태엽 천문대
6–8세
별똥별이 쏟아지는 드문 밤, 낡은 천문대의 별 추적 태엽 장치가 덜컥 멈춰 버려요. 지호은(는) 톱니 하나하나를 살펴 알맞은 기어를 골라 장치를 고쳐야 해요. 하늘 쇼가 끝나 버리기 전에요!
Every Tuesday night, 지호 climbed the hundred spiral steps to the observatory dome, where Dr. Nell Hargrove kept watch over the stars. "Ticker's helped me count the stars since I was young as you," she always said. Tonight was special: a meteor shower was coming, and the great telescope needed to track the sky all by itself, tick, tick, tick.
"This little wheel is called the escapement," said Dr. Nell, her arm reaching in to point at a small ticking wheel inside the mechanism. "It lets the gears turn in tiny, even clicks, so the telescope glides after the stars without a single jerk." Ticker whirred happily. "Tick, tick, tick!" it sang, counting each click out loud.
Suddenly, deep inside the mechanism, something gave a sad little clunk and stopped. The telescope froze mid-turn, pointed at empty sky. "Oh dear," said Dr. Nell. "The big drive gear has lost its teeth. Without a new one, we'll lose the whole meteor shower!"
