When “faster” isn’t the real problem, and rockets aren’t the real solution.
The peacock stood before the two villages and said, “I want a faster horse.”
The team from Yolotown didn’t ask any questions. They strapped rocket boosters to a horse and spent weeks trying to stop it from exploding.
From the Dunwell team, the turtle blinked slowly and asked, “But what’s the problem you’re trying to solve?”
“I need to move grain from the farms to the mill faster,” said the peacock.
“Maybe we could build a short railway?” said the turtle. The peacock paused, then nodded. “Oh. Yes, that would work better.”
While Dunwell designed a small rail line with carts and brakes and grain chutes, Yolotown kept having “issues.”
On demo day, Yolotown went first.
The hedgehog groom brushed the horse’s mane one last time. “Easy, girl,” she whispered, though her own knees were shaking. She’d raised this horse since it was a foal.
The horse stood trembling, sweat dripping from its nose. Rocket boosters were strapped to its flanks.
The parrot patted it reassuringly. “Don’t worry, the law of averages mean it probably won’t explode this time. Our odds improve every time we fail.”
“FIRE!” yelled the rooster.
There was a tremendous bang, and the horse vanished. It was never seen again.
Next, Dunwell unveiled their railway. Grain carts glided smoothly from the field to the mill and back again.
The peacock beamed.
“HEY!” shouted the rooster. “That’s not what he asked for! He said he wanted a faster horse!”
He turned to the peacock.
“That’s what you wanted… right?”
Davide la Locomotive 
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