Compass

Hello there. My name is Compass. Have you ever been outside on a cloudy day when you can't see the sun. Or maybe it was a dark night with no stars to twinkle at you. Long, long ago, people would get very lost on days and nights like that. They would look around and everything would look the same. They didn't know which way was north, south, east, or west. It was a big problem. But then, I came along. I have a special secret inside me, a little bit of magic that lets me feel the whole world. Because of my secret, I always, always know which way to point. I am a helper for anyone who needs to find their way.

My story begins a very, very long time ago in a land called China, during a time called the Han Dynasty. But guess what. I wasn't made to help sailors at first. My first body was a spoon. That’s right, a spoon. I was carved from a special, magical-feeling rock called a lodestone. The clever inventors in China didn't use me to eat soup. They used me for something called fortune-telling, to figure out the best way to build their homes so they would be happy and lucky. They would place me on a flat, bronze plate, and I would spin around until I stopped, with my handle always pointing to the south. It was my special trick. People watched me do this over and over. "Look," they must have said, "the spoon always knows which way is south." A brilliant idea sparked in their minds. If I always knew which way was south, I could help people who were lost. So, they changed me. I became a tiny little fish made of metal, and then a thin needle. They would float me in a bowl of water on their big wooden ships. No matter how much the waves rocked the boat, I would swim around until I pointed the way. I was ready for the sea.

Soon, I was going on the most amazing adventures. I sat in my little bowl on the ships of brave sailors and explorers. They would look at me and say, "The compass says we need to go this way." We sailed across giant blue oceans that seemed to have no end. We saw whales splashing and dolphins jumping. Because I was there, the sailors weren't afraid of getting lost when they couldn't see land. I helped them discover new places and meet new people from all over the world. I helped connect everyone together, like drawing a map across the seas. My job isn't over, you know. I still love helping people explore. I might look a little different now. I hide inside your family's car, helping you get to the store. I'm even inside phones, showing a little arrow on a map. And when hikers go on long walks in the woods, I'm right there with them, a friend in their pocket, always ready to point them home. I'm here to remind you that there's a whole world to discover, and you never have to be afraid of getting lost.