Edit to add: Bear in mind that this story is for a two-year-old. Toddlers love and need repetition, so if this seems repetitious, well… that’s because it is repetitious. Did I mention it repeats itself? Just so you know, it does that. A lot.

Once upon a time, there was a little backhoe. He was a very little backhoe, but he was a good helper. One day, he went to a construction site near his house and watched all the big construction vehicles doing their jobs. The huge excavator scooped dirt into a gigantic dump truck, which carried the dirt away and dumped it into piles that the bulldozer smoothed out and moved around. The cement mixer twirled  all around the site, pouring cement from his chute wherever it was needed, while the mobile crane lifted beams and things into place with his long boom. The little backhoe was very excited to see all this work, and after watching for a while, he wanted to go help.

So the little backhoe went up to the big excavator and said, “Excuse me, Mr. Excavator, can I please help you? I’m a good helper.”

The big excavator looked down at the little backhoe, with his tiny scoop, and said, “No. You’re too little to help me.”

The little backhoe felt sad about this, because he had really wanted to help the excavator; but he didn’t give up. Instead, he went to the bulldozer next.

“Excuse me, Mr. Bulldozer,” he said, “Can I please help you? I am a good helper.”

The big, strong bulldozer looked at the little backhoe’s tiny blade and said, “No, you’re too little to help me. Stay out of the way.”

The little backhoe felt discouraged, because he really wanted to help the bulldozer. But he didn’t give up; instead, he went to the dump truck.

“Excuse me, Mr. Dump Truck,” he said, “Can I please help you? I am a good helper.”

The gigantic dump truck looked at the little backhoe and said, “No. You don’t even have a bed to carry dirt. How could you help me? Besides, you’re too little.”

Well, the little backhoe felt even more discouraged, because the big trucks were all rejecting him because he was too little. But he didn’t give up; instead, he went to the cement mixer.

“Excuse me, Ms. Cement Mixer,” he said, “Can I please help you? I am a good helper.”

The cement mixer looked down at the little backhoe and said, “No. You can’t even carry cement. Besides, you’re too little.”

At this, the little backhoe felt very, very discouraged. He was just about ready to give up and go home, and in fact he was driving off the construction site, when he went by the kind mobile crane. The mobile crane saw him looking very sad, and said, “Little backhoe, come over here. I’ve seen you going all over the construction site, trying to help.”

“Yes,” said the little backhoe, “But nobody wants my help. I’m too little.”

The mobile crane said, “You’re never too little to be a helper. Here, come help me. I could use someone to help me move my materials.”

At this, the little bulldozer was very happy. He zoomed over to the mobile crane and began helping him. He worked very, very hard and proved himself to be a good helper for the mobile crane. The other big trucks noticed the little backhoe helping the mobile crane, and they smiled, seeing the little tiny backhoe’s boom reaching as high as it could, helping the mobile crane’s long, long boom.

Well, it happened that the big excavator was digging a trench, and near the end of the trench, he found he needed to dig in a spot that he was just too big to reach. He tried and he tried, but his scoop was just too big. So he went to where the little backhoe was helping the mobile crane, and he said,  “Little backhoe, I’m sorry I said you were too little to be a helper. I need help digging my trench. Will you please help me?”

Because the little backhoe was a good, kind backhoe, he forgave the excavator. He said, “Yes, Mr. Excavator, I would love to help you!” Excitedly he followed the excavator to the trench, and he used his little tiny scoop to reach into the little tiny space and scoop out dirt that the big excavator couldn’t reach. The excavator said, “Thank you, little backhoe! You’re a little backhoe, but you’re a big helper.”

And he was very happy.  The little backhoe was a big helper for the mobile crane and the excavator.

Well, a little bit later, the bulldozer was moving dirt into a big pile, and he found that the pile was so tall and steep that he couldn’t push dirt to the top anymore. He was too big and heavy! So he went to where the little backhoe was helping the excavator, and he said, “Little backhoe, I’m sorry I said you were too little to be a helper. I need help moving dirt to the top of my dirt pile. Will you please help me?”

Because the little backhoe was a forgiving and understanding backhoe, he forgave the bulldozer. He said, “Yes, Mr. Bulldozer, I would love to help you!” Excitedly he followed the bulldozer to the pile of dirt, and he used his blade to help the bulldozer push dirt up, up, up to the very tippy-top. He was so small and light, he could drive right up the side of the dirt pile where the big, heavy bulldozer couldn’t go! The bulldozer said, “Thank you, little backhoe! You’re a little backhoe, but you’re a big helper.”

And he was very happy. The little backhoe was a big helper for the mobile crane, the excavator, and the bulldozer.

Well, a little bit later, the dump truck was driving along with a full load of dirt, when he hit a patch of very rough road. He went bump! bump! bump! and the dirt in the back of his truck all spilled out. He tried very hard to clean the dirt up himself, but he didn’t have any way of picking it up. So he went to where the little backhoe was helping the bulldozer, and he said, “Little backhoe, I’m sorry I said you were too little to be a helper. I need help cleaning up the big mess of dirt that fell out of my truck bed. Will you please help me?”

Because the little backhoe was a good boy, and he loved dump trucks, he forgave the dump truck. He said, “Yes, Mr. Dump Truck, I would love to help you!” Excitedly he followed the dump truck to where all the dirt had spilled out. He used his little blade to push the dirt into one small pile, and then he used his little scoop to scoop the dirt into the back of the dump truck. It took him 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 scoops to put the dirt into the truck bed — it had only taken the excavator 3 big scoops — but he was persistent and kept scooping until it was all back in the dump truck. The dump truck said, “Thank you, little backhoe! You’re a little backhoe, but you’re a big helper.”

And he was very happy. The little backhoe was a big helper for the mobile crane, the excavator, the bulldozer, and the dump truck.

Near the end of the day, the cement mixer was pouring cement when she got to a patch where the molds weren’t smooth on the bottom. They were all uneven. She couldn’t pour cement in there, and she couldn’t fix it herself, either! So he went to where the little backhoe was helping the bulldozer, and she said, “Little backhoe, I’m sorry I said you were too little to be a helper. I need help smoothing out the bottom of my molds so I can pour my cement. Will you please help me?”

Because the backhoe loved twirling cement mixers, he forgave the cement mixer. He said, “Yes, Ms. Cement Mixer, I would love to help you!” Excitedly he followed the cement mixer to where the molds were all lumpy. He used his little scoop to scoop out and smooth the bottom of the molds, and he made them all smooth. The cement mixer said,  “Thank you, little backhoe! You’re a little backhoe, but you’re a big helper.”

And that night, he told his mommy all about helping the mobile crane, the excavator, the bulldozer, the dump truck, and the cement mixer. The little backhoe’s mommy said, “Good work, little backhoe. You worked hard and you were persistent and you forgave the trucks. I’m very proud of you. You’re never too little to be a big helper.” With that, the little backhoe snuggled up with his blanky and fell asleep, and he dreamed all night about how he would help the big trucks the next morning.