A Lorry by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. Short summary

5 seconds

His dream was a wagon. They carried earth on them, building a narrow gauge railroad. Once the workers let him push one of them up the mountain with them. Then he climbed inside and rolled down. When they told him to go home, Rehay was confused. He ran all the way, and in the front yard he cried loudly. Now, in the editorial office of a Tokyo magazine, all life seemed like a ribbon of railroading.

1 minute

Not far from the village, a narrow gauge railroad was being laid. The boys’ dream was the wagons that carried the earth. One day Rehay was allowed to push one of them with the workers. It was hard, but it was a lot of fun to roll down the mountain. Gradually they found themselves in places he had never been before.

The boys were not going back today. In one of the villages they stopped at a teahouse, and then told the little helper to go home so as not to worry the relatives. It was already getting dark, and he was scared. Barely restraining himself from crying, he ran between the rails as the sun dipped lower and lower.

Wet with sweat, he reached the first familiar houses, and only when he saw his parents did he allow himself to cry. He now works in the editorial office of a Tokyo magazine. He often remembers his first journey, and the future appears to him as a narrow ribbon of railroad.