It was only a little thing by enid byton

as Only a Little Thing
charaters
milkman
grocer
john
dad
mum
policeman
baker
dog
John was a careless little boy who never listened to his father’s advice. “You don’t know when a little thing is going to turn into a big thing,” his father said one day, after he found his new spade rusted from being left out in the rain.
John had a wooden box that he had bought from the greengrocer for a penny. He had asked the gardener for four old wheels and nailed them to the box. He made a handle from a rope and used it to pull his sister Anna in his homemade cart. “It’s a fine cart, John,” his father said, admiring his son’s handiwork.
But after six weeks, one of the wheels became loose and wobbly. John’s father noticed it and told him, “Your wheel needs a new nail knocked in, or it will fall off.” John didn’t bother to fetch a hammer and nails and do it himself. He thought it was only a little thing.
One morning, his mother asked him to go to the grocer’s and get a bag of carrots for the soup. John agreed and took his cart with him. He said to himself, “There are three other wheels for the cart to run on. It doesn’t matter if one is loose.”
He got to the grocer’s and the man put the bag of carrots in the cart. John thanked him and started to pull his cart back home. But it wasn’t very long before the loose wheel came off and rolled away. The cart ran on its three wheels for a while, but then it tipped over and spilled the carrots on the road.
A little dog was about to cross the road. He was a clever dog and he always looked up and down before he crossed. But this time, he didn’t see the wheel rolling towards him. He walked straight on and bumped into the wheel. He yelped and ran away, scared and confused.
Now, the milkman was on the other side of the road with his horse and cart. He had four milk churns full of fresh milk. He was whistling a happy tune and didn’t notice the wheel either. When the wheel hit his horse’s legs, the horse kicked up his heels and bolted. The milkman shouted and tried to stop him, but it was too late. The horse and cart didn’t stop until they reached a bridge over a canal. The cart hit the railing and fell into the water below. The milkman fell into the water too, but he could swim, so he was soon out. The horse tried to swim out too, but he was tangled in the harness. A rope was fetched and at last the horse and cart were pulled out.
“What happened?” shouted a policeman, furiously taking out his notebook. He had seen the whole thing from a distance and came running to the scene.
“My horse took fright because of that wheel,” the milkman said, pointing at the wheel that had rolled to a stop near a car. “It knocked me and my cart into the canal. Look at my milk, it’s all ruined!”
“That wheel came off a little boy’s cart,” a baker said. He had seen John and his cart earlier and recognized the wheel. He pointed at John, who was crying because his cart had broken and his carrots had scattered.
“I had to swerve because of that dog,” the driver of the car said. He had seen the dog run into the wheel and then dash across the road. He had moved his car to avoid hitting the dog, but he had scratched his bumper on a lamppost.
The policeman looked at John, the wheel, the dog, the milkman, the horse, the cart, the milk, the driver, the car, and the lamppost. He shook his head and said, “It was only a little thing, but it caused a lot of trouble. You should have fixed your wheel, John. Now you have to pay for the damages and apologize to everyone.” John gave the milkman all the money he had in his moneybox he apologized to the policeman who forgave John for he was a kind hearted man Now john The policeman said in a much calmer voice “you have to say sorry to the others as well. And you have to help them fix their things. Do you understand?”hn nodded and wiped his tears. He went to the baker and the driver and said sorry to them too. He offered to help them clean their car and their shop. They were still angry, but they saw that John was sincere and regretful. They agreed to let him help them. it went on happily now there said the milkman happily every things all right now. and it was.