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The cargo was unloaded at the dock.
Accidentally, one screw was discarded from its compartment and tumbled down to the ground.
It was a special type of working class screw so he decided to set off to pursue his use.
The screw came upon a carpenter and asked, “Might you need my services? I can screw into many sorts of surfaces, wood, stone and metal.”
But the carpenter said, “Oh, I’m sorry, you’re too sophisticated for me. I only need screws that can screw into wood.”
Then the screw encountered a builder. “Would you be needing an odd screw?” said the screw.
“What kind of a screw are you?” asked the contractor.
“I’m a special sort of screw that can penetrate all kinds of materials,” he answered.
“Well, I’ve never seen a screw like you before and I’m sure you can come in handy, but I don’t have the right tools to service you I’m afraid.”
So the screw carried on until he came across a playground architect. “Perhaps you could use me in a special project?” he said and told the playground architect what he was all about, that he was specially made to twist into a variety of things. The playground architect asked if the screw had any experience.
“No, I don’t,” replied the screw, “but I am a fast learner and can twist very well.”
“I’m sorry,” said the playground architect, “the facilities I make have to be reliable and safe for children. Since you don’t have any experience, I can’t fully trust you on such a project.”
Feeling a little dispirited, the screw called in on a computer company. They inspected him and said that although he could do lots of things, he was too big and not specific enough.
When he then went into a shipyard they told him that, even though they could see he was heavy duty, but he was too small for their large ships.
When he went to the weapons manufacturer, they referred him to the grenade maker who said that, unfortunately, just one screw was not enough and they would need a lot more like him to produce effective grenades.
He continued on to an aerospace company and told them that he was made from a special blend of light alloys and they said, “You’re just what we need to secure a special platform when the spaceships come in.”
“That’s great!” said the screw. “What are my hours?”
“Every day, all day” they said.
“What? With no days off?” replied the screw.
“No days off,” they said. The screw didn’t think it was fair to ask him to work under such conditions, so he sadly went on his way.
The screw started to feel demoralised and in despair he approached a criminal.
“You'd do just great puncturing tyres,” said the criminal, and the screw’s spirit lifted. But after a moment’s thought the screw’s conscience didn’t allow him to be led down this path after all.
He turned back to the more conventional methods and presented himself to an industrial machine factory.
“Heat and cold are not an issue for me, I’m sure I’d be very useful to you,” he said.
“But we don’t have any experience with screws such as yourself, “ they replied. “We’ll get back to you.”
He waited, but they never did.
The screw gave up and decided to lie down on the path. One day and a long, long time after, a passerby saw the screw and picked him up, “You never know when you’ll need one of these,” he said.
The screw had finally found his place and, over the course of time, there was a plentiful toolbox and just
one dusty screw.
edited by Janet Cartlidge, copyright © 2012 Fabrice Schomberg
