THE BIG WHEEL OF VIENNA
Once, an Englishman wanted to build a big Ferris wheel as high as a
twenty-storied building. He wanted it placed in a park called the Prater
in Vienna, Austria. Safety engineers checked the plans for the huge
Ferris wheel to make sure it would be safe. Then they told the
Englishman that the wheel could be built. The men who made the parts
tried to bring the huge axle to the place where the Ferris wheel would
spin on it. But the axle was so big and heavy that it sank into the
ground. Eight horses couldn’t budge the axle. Sixteen horses couldn’t
budge it. Finally, the men managed to move the axle to the park on a
special road of wooden planks. It was such a special Ferris wheel that
when it was nearly finished the builders let the wife of a British
ambassador fasten the last bolt. Now, the giant Ferris wheel was ready.
But, the question was, would it work? Slowly, slowly, the giant wheel
began to spin. It worked! It was safe!
If you visit the Prater today, you can ride up as high as a
twenty-storied building in the biggest Ferris wheel in the world. The
name of the Englishman who planned and had it built in Vienna long ago
was Walter Basset.
