The story begins with a fair called Gaiety Land in Malgudi. From all across Madras, different store owners have arrived. The entrance fee to the store is two annas. There are shooting ranges, lotteries, performing parrots, and the looping loop in the Dome of Doom. Numerous prizes including cameras, sewing machines, and pin cushions are given. The narrator’s ticket with the number 1005 wins a road engine. The owner of Gaiety Land agrees to keep the road engine until the fair ends. Later the Municipality asked him either to move it or to pay rent of Rs.10 per month. He paid Rs.30 by keeping his wife’s jewels in pledge.
To solve the problem, the narrator tries to sell the road engine to various people, including the cosmopolitan club's secretary and the municipal chairman, but faces rejection. As a cattle show is being organized on the Gymkhana Ground, he hires Joseph who was fired to drive the engine to his friend’s field. In desperation, he accepts the local priest’s proposal of using an elephant and hiring 50 coolies each for 8 annas to move the engine. As the road engine zigzags, collides with a wall, and some parts crumble. The chaotic scene causes the elephant to react angrily, breaking free and damaging the wall further. Panic-stricken coolies cause chaos and result in his arrest.
After getting released from prison, the narrator faces
additional tasks and bills including fixing the wall, paying the coolies, and treating
the elephant. Unable to find a solution, he becomes a subject of mockery in the
town. Frustrated, he sends his wife to her mother’s home and decides to leave
Malgudi.
In a turn of events, a Swamiji appears and showcases extraordinary feats achieved through yoga, including eating glass, lying on nail-studded boards, swallowing and biting sharp nails, licking hot iron rods, stopping breathing, and sustaining himself underground. Furthermore, he claims to have survived being run over by a road engine. His assistant is good at operating road engines. He plans to lend the engine to Swamiji. But it fails due to legal restrictions. Finally, nature comes to his rescue when an earthquake causes the road engine to disappear.
The road engine is found in a well, and the owner asks the narrator to keep the engine in the well, relieving him of complaints, expenses, and debts. Months later, the narrator discovers that the well's mouth has been sealed, bringing an end to his troubles. The story highlights the narrator's struggles with the road engine and the unexpected resolution through natural events, showcasing the unpredictable and humorous twists of fate.
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