The village stood at the edge of a dusty road, where wheat fields extended as far as the eye could see, interrupted only by an occasional rustic barn. In that small community, time flowed at the slow pace of horse-drawn carts, and sunrise and sunset were the unmistakable signals marking the start and end of each day. No one would ever have imagined that in this remote place an innovation would arrive, destined to upset centuries-old habits and customs: a vehicle without horses, noisy, expensive, and irresistibly fascinating.
CHAPTER I
Mathias’s Dream
Mathias was a tall, lean man, his face etched with deep lines that spoke of a life spent working the fields. Since childhood, he had dreamed of a future with less drudgery, where the journey to the city wouldn’t be a three- or four-hour ordeal by carriage, braving rain, snow, or scorching sun. Yet it was a dream he had long kept secret, as though it were too big for a simple farmer.
Every evening, after finishing his chores, he would sit at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee. He paged through newspaper clippings—purchased in secret on his rare trips to the city—filled with tales of incredible mechanical inventions, of men building contraptions that could move “on their own,” without animals. Sometimes he showed a few sketches to his wife, Giulia, a woman with a gentle face but a firm disposition.
“It’s crazy even to imagine getting rid of horses,” she would say, placing a loving hand on his shoulder. “Are you sure those things actually work?”
Mathias nodded resolutely. “The builders in the big cities swear these vehicles will soon be everywhere. I want us to be part of it.”
That very night, Mathias took out his small stash of coins from the drawer, saved over months of sacrifices. He counted them once again, his heart pounding: might it be enough to put down a deposit on that revolutionary “automobile,” as some people were now calling it?
CHAPTER II
The Village’s Skepticism
Early the next morning, Mathias left the house more determined than ever. On his way to the bank, he crossed paths with Stefano, the oldest and most influential landowner in the area—a stern man who always regarded anything beyond tradition with suspicion.
“Where are you off to with that eager look?” Stefano asked, noticing the gleam in Mathias’s eyes.
“I’m going to see the banker. I want to invest in a new vehicle… an automobile.”
Stefano burst into a coarse laugh. “That’s going to be a costly flop, Mathias. You’re no city gentleman. You’re a farmer. This nonsense about carriages without horses is just a passing fad.”
Mathias didn’t argue. He knew it would do no good, but Stefano’s contempt still stung. He arrived at the small village bank, torn between excitement and fear. The banker, an elderly man with white hair, welcomed him with a puzzled expression. “You’re really putting all your savings into this contraption?”
“Yes,” Mathias replied, his voice steady. “I believe one day it will change everything.”
After countless warnings, the banker had him sign a few documents. The deal was done. If all went well, in a few weeks, the village’s first automobile would arrive by train directly from the city.
CHAPTER III
The Arrival of the “Monster”
Word spread quickly: “Mathias the farmer has bought a horse-free carriage!” Many laughed, some shook their heads in disapproval, and others—secretly—envied his boldness. On the day the train arrived with the wooden crate holding the automobile, half the village crowded around the small station, eager to witness the “spectacle.”
Under everyone’s watchful gaze, Mathias and two porters pried open the wooden planks protecting the automobile, revealing a structure resembling a small carriage, but equipped with a visible metal engine, large wheels, and a lever for steering.
“That’s it?” Stefano scoffed, folding his arms. “Doesn’t look like much.”
Mathias, however, was spellbound. It was strange and wonderful at the same time. With Giulia’s help, he pushed it into the yard of their home and spent hours examining every nut and bolt. When he decided to start the engine for the first time, it sputtered ominously and released a cloud of smoke. Everyone stepped back, half expecting it to explode.
“It’s alive!” cried a child, setting off a wave of laughter.
But Mathias paid no attention to their jeers. He climbed onto the seat, carefully pulled a lever, and amid jolts and sudden rattles, the vehicle began to move. It traveled a few yards before dying with a metallic groan. The laughter grew louder. Yet Mathias felt an indescribable joy well up inside him. It had moved. It had truly worked, if only for a short stretch.
CHAPTER IV
The Long Road to Acceptance
The days that followed were full of labor and obstacles. The automobile required constant attention. The engine overheated, parts wore out quickly, and every replacement cost a fortune. Giulia watched Mathias anxiously as he counted his dwindling coins for the umpteenth time.
“We’re running low on money, Mathias,” she warned one evening, showing him a notebook filled with grim figures. “If you keep this up, we might not be able to pay the farmhands at the end of the month.”
Mathias felt a heaviness in his chest. He knew the risk, but he was determined not to give up. He worked the fields until sunset, then spent hours at night, by the glow of an oil lamp, tinkering with his machine. He barely slept.
Meanwhile, rumors spread. Some said he would lose his farm; others claimed the “city folks” had fooled him. Only Giulia and a few friends offered him support and comfort.
Although the villagers mocked him, his stubbornness began to command a certain respect. “Maybe he’s not crazy, maybe he’s just a dreamer who believes in something big,” whispered the more impartial among them. Still, Stefano continued to look at Mathias with disdain, insisting he would fail.
CHAPTER V
Trial by Fire
In that summer of 1894, torrential rains devastated the main road leading from the village to the nearby town. Horse-drawn carts became mired in mud, and the village began to run low on supplies. The mayor gathered the farmers to organize a repair crew. They needed wooden planks, gravel, various tools, and, above all, someone who could transport them quickly.
“We need strong, reliable means of transport,” the mayor proclaimed from a makeshift platform. “Who can offer their carts?”
Stefano stepped forward first, a challenging look in his eyes. “My horses are strong. No one’s got better animals than mine.”
Mathias summoned his courage and took a step forward. “I can help with my automobile. If it can manage that muddy ground, I could carry more materials faster than a cart.”
A murmur rippled through the crowd. Some chuckled. But the mayor, both curious and skeptical, gave him the chance. “All right, Mathias. Let’s try it. The more help we have, the better.”
That afternoon, as the clouds began to break, Mathias started up his vehicle and headed toward the damaged road. The automobile spewed smoke and rattled, but thanks to its large wheels and relatively light load, it managed to navigate puddles without sinking too deep. He hauled planks, sand, and gravel. Each time people saw him coming, they were astonished: the farmer with the horse-free machine was actually speeding up the work.
Even Stefano had to admit that, noisy and imperfect though it was, the automobile proved useful. He only shrugged, at a loss for words.
CHAPTER VI
A New Light
By evening, the road was largely repaired. The volunteers returned to the village, tired and mud-spattered but satisfied. Mathias, with his automobile caked in splashes of mud, made it back home feeling a pride he could hardly describe.
Impressed by his courage and the machine’s usefulness, the mayor decided to grant him a small payment. When he knocked on Mathias’s door and handed him a pouch of coins, Mathias found himself at a loss for words. That same evening, sitting at the kitchen table with Giulia, he admitted the money would be essential for continuing to repair and improve the automobile.
In the days that followed, the little motor’s roar in the yard no longer sounded so ominous to the villagers. Children drew closer, marveling, and asked Mathias if they could touch that mysterious steering lever. Adults watched with greater respect, and some even began to wonder whether they, too, might own such a vehicle one day.
EPILOGUE
On the Road to the Future
A few weeks passed. Mathias, with great satisfaction, purchased the spare parts he needed to make the automobile more reliable. He no longer had to spend endless hours each evening trying to fix one breakdown after another; now the engine ran with fewer hiccups, and even Stefano had to concede that it wasn’t just a fancy toy from the city.
One late-summer morning, Mathias set off with Giulia by his side, traveling the road to the city—now free of mud. The sun rose behind them, lighting up the still-green wheat fields. The roar of the motor, although still imperfect, suggested a future brimming with possibility and hope.
Being the first did not mean never making mistakes or avoiding ridicule; rather, it meant believing in an idea and fighting with all your strength to prove its worth. And as the automobile sped along—or at least ventured faster than any horse could—Mathias felt, for the first time, truly part of that future, confident that one day even his little village would join a world larger and richer in inventions.
THE END
The village stood at the edge of a dusty road, where wheat fields extended as far as the eye could see, interrupted only by an occasional rustic barn. In that small community, time flowed at the slow pace of horse-drawn carts, and sunrise and sunset were the unmistakable signals marking the start and end of each day. No one would ever have imagined that in this remote place an innovation would arrive, destined to upset centuries-old habits and customs: a vehicle without horses, noisy, expensive, and irresistibly fascinating.
CHAPTER I
Mathias’s Dream
Mathias was a tall, lean man, his face etched with deep lines that spoke of a life spent working the fields. Since childhood, he had dreamed of a future with less drudgery, where the journey to the city wouldn’t be a three- or four-hour ordeal by carriage, braving rain, snow, or scorching sun. Yet it was a dream he had long kept secret, as though it were too big for a simple farmer.
Every evening, after finishing his chores, he would sit at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee. He paged through newspaper clippings—purchased in secret on his rare trips to the city—filled with tales of incredible mechanical inventions, of men building contraptions that could move “on their own,” without animals. Sometimes he showed a few sketches to his wife, Giulia, a woman with a gentle face but a firm disposition.
“It’s crazy even to imagine getting rid of horses,” she would say, placing a loving hand on his shoulder. “Are you sure those things actually work?”
Mathias nodded resolutely. “The builders in the big cities swear these vehicles will soon be everywhere. I want us to be part of it.”
That very night, Mathias took out his small stash of coins from the drawer, saved over months of sacrifices. He counted them once again, his heart pounding: might it be enough to put down a deposit on that revolutionary “automobile,” as some people were now calling it?
CHAPTER II
The Village’s Skepticism
Early the next morning, Mathias left the house more determined than ever. On his way to the bank, he crossed paths with Stefano, the oldest and most influential landowner in the area—a stern man who always regarded anything beyond tradition with suspicion.
“Where are you off to with that eager look?” Stefano asked, noticing the gleam in Mathias’s eyes.
“I’m going to see the banker. I want to invest in a new vehicle… an automobile.”
Stefano burst into a coarse laugh. “That’s going to be a costly flop, Mathias. You’re no city gentleman. You’re a farmer. This nonsense about carriages without horses is just a passing fad.”
Mathias didn’t argue. He knew it would do no good, but Stefano’s contempt still stung. He arrived at the small village bank, torn between excitement and fear. The banker, an elderly man with white hair, welcomed him with a puzzled expression. “You’re really putting all your savings into this contraption?”
“Yes,” Mathias replied, his voice steady. “I believe one day it will change everything.”
After countless warnings, the banker had him sign a few documents. The deal was done. If all went well, in a few weeks, the village’s first automobile would arrive by train directly from the city.
CHAPTER III
The Arrival of the “Monster”
Word spread quickly: “Mathias the farmer has bought a horse-free carriage!” Many laughed, some shook their heads in disapproval, and others—secretly—envied his boldness. On the day the train arrived with the wooden crate holding the automobile, half the village crowded around the small station, eager to witness the “spectacle.”
Under everyone’s watchful gaze, Mathias and two porters pried open the wooden planks protecting the automobile, revealing a structure resembling a small carriage, but equipped with a visible metal engine, large wheels, and a lever for steering.
“That’s it?” Stefano scoffed, folding his arms. “Doesn’t look like much.”
Mathias, however, was spellbound. It was strange and wonderful at the same time. With Giulia’s help, he pushed it into the yard of their home and spent hours examining every nut and bolt. When he decided to start the engine for the first time, it sputtered ominously and released a cloud of smoke. Everyone stepped back, half expecting it to explode.
“It’s alive!” cried a child, setting off a wave of laughter.
But Mathias paid no attention to their jeers. He climbed onto the seat, carefully pulled a lever, and amid jolts and sudden rattles, the vehicle began to move. It traveled a few yards before dying with a metallic groan. The laughter grew louder. Yet Mathias felt an indescribable joy well up inside him. It had moved. It had truly worked, if only for a short stretch.
CHAPTER IV
The Long Road to Acceptance
The days that followed were full of labor and obstacles. The automobile required constant attention. The engine overheated, parts wore out quickly, and every replacement cost a fortune. Giulia watched Mathias anxiously as he counted his dwindling coins for the umpteenth time.
“We’re running low on money, Mathias,” she warned one evening, showing him a notebook filled with grim figures. “If you keep this up, we might not be able to pay the farmhands at the end of the month.”
Mathias felt a heaviness in his chest. He knew the risk, but he was determined not to give up. He worked the fields until sunset, then spent hours at night, by the glow of an oil lamp, tinkering with his machine. He barely slept.
Meanwhile, rumors spread. Some said he would lose his farm; others claimed the “city folks” had fooled him. Only Giulia and a few friends offered him support and comfort.
Although the villagers mocked him, his stubbornness began to command a certain respect. “Maybe he’s not crazy, maybe he’s just a dreamer who believes in something big,” whispered the more impartial among them. Still, Stefano continued to look at Mathias with disdain, insisting he would fail.
CHAPTER V
Trial by Fire
In that summer of 1894, torrential rains devastated the main road leading from the village to the nearby town. Horse-drawn carts became mired in mud, and the village began to run low on supplies. The mayor gathered the farmers to organize a repair crew. They needed wooden planks, gravel, various tools, and, above all, someone who could transport them quickly.
“We need strong, reliable means of transport,” the mayor proclaimed from a makeshift platform. “Who can offer their carts?”
Stefano stepped forward first, a challenging look in his eyes. “My horses are strong. No one’s got better animals than mine.”
Mathias summoned his courage and took a step forward. “I can help with my automobile. If it can manage that muddy ground, I could carry more materials faster than a cart.”
A murmur rippled through the crowd. Some chuckled. But the mayor, both curious and skeptical, gave him the chance. “All right, Mathias. Let’s try it. The more help we have, the better.”
That afternoon, as the clouds began to break, Mathias started up his vehicle and headed toward the damaged road. The automobile spewed smoke and rattled, but thanks to its large wheels and relatively light load, it managed to navigate puddles without sinking too deep. He hauled planks, sand, and gravel. Each time people saw him coming, they were astonished: the farmer with the horse-free machine was actually speeding up the work.
Even Stefano had to admit that, noisy and imperfect though it was, the automobile proved useful. He only shrugged, at a loss for words.
CHAPTER VI
A New Light
By evening, the road was largely repaired. The volunteers returned to the village, tired and mud-spattered but satisfied. Mathias, with his automobile caked in splashes of mud, made it back home feeling a pride he could hardly describe.
Impressed by his courage and the machine’s usefulness, the mayor decided to grant him a small payment. When he knocked on Mathias’s door and handed him a pouch of coins, Mathias found himself at a loss for words. That same evening, sitting at the kitchen table with Giulia, he admitted the money would be essential for continuing to repair and improve the automobile.
In the days that followed, the little motor’s roar in the yard no longer sounded so ominous to the villagers. Children drew closer, marveling, and asked Mathias if they could touch that mysterious steering lever. Adults watched with greater respect, and some even began to wonder whether they, too, might own such a vehicle one day.
EPILOGUE
On the Road to the Future
A few weeks passed. Mathias, with great satisfaction, purchased the spare parts he needed to make the automobile more reliable. He no longer had to spend endless hours each evening trying to fix one breakdown after another; now the engine ran with fewer hiccups, and even Stefano had to concede that it wasn’t just a fancy toy from the city.
One late-summer morning, Mathias set off with Giulia by his side, traveling the road to the city—now free of mud. The sun rose behind them, lighting up the still-green wheat fields. The roar of the motor, although still imperfect, suggested a future brimming with possibility and hope.
Being the first did not mean never making mistakes or avoiding ridicule; rather, it meant believing in an idea and fighting with all your strength to prove its worth. And as the automobile sped along—or at least ventured faster than any horse could—Mathias felt, for the first time, truly part of that future, confident that one day even his little village would join a world larger and richer in inventions.
THE END
