Intercultural

stories

The bullfighter Manuel

Looking for the Santa Claus

A ghost in Colégio do Sardão

AN AMAZING JOURNEY

THE SECRET OF THE FOREST

Cultural Dinosaur adventure!

The bullfighter Manuel

El torero Manuel

English – Spanish

Manuel was a great bullfighter. Today

he had just had a spectacular bullfight. Also

he had been invited to inaugurate a museum

called: "Countries". As this name said, it was

about other countries. Inside were some very beautiful and valuable

things, such as:

The Mona lisa of Italy and a model of Big Ben in London.

However there was also something very strange - a small guitar,

which had a label that said:

"This guitar is called "Cavaquinho" of Portuguese

origin. It is a simple 4 metal string guitar. It's shaped like

a miniature guitar played by holding it in the air (not by

supporting it on the leg). It is held with the right arm and

left hand. It is used in folk groups of the northern half of

Portugal, and it is commonly used by strumming with

your fingers to accompany the voice".

Nobody was allowed to touch the exhibits in the museum. But

the bullfighter's curiosity to touch this small guitar grew and grew,

until he could not resist touching one of its brightest string. It caused a

great glow that nearly blinded him!!! What a surprise he had when he

opened his eyes to find....

Manuel era un gran torero. Hoy había tenido una corrida

espectacular.

El había sido invitado a inagurar un museo llamado “Países” que

como su nombre indica iba sobre los distintos países y tenía cosas muy

valiosas y bonitas como:

La Monalisa de Italia, una maqueta del Big Ben de Londres, pero

había algo muy, pero que muy extraño, una pequeña guitarra en cuya

etiqueta decía:

Esta guitarra se llama “Cavaquinho” es una guitarra de origen

portugués, tiene solo cuatro cuerdas de metal. Su forma es como una

guitarra en miniatura que se toca agarrándola en el hombro y no

apoyada en las piernas, apoyandola en el brazo derecho y agarrandolo

con la mano izquierda. Es usada por los grupos folklóricos de la mitad

norte de Portugal, usándola punteando sus cuerdas y acompañada por

voces.

Pero la curiosidad del torero por tocar aquella guitarra iba

creciendo y creciendo, el no podo resistirse a tocar una aquellas

brillantes cuerdas, y cuando la tocó un gran resplendor lo dejó casi

ciego. Qué sorpresa se llevó cuando abrió los ojos y se encontró...

... When the lights had been turned off, the bullfighter had lost

the small guitar called “cavaquinho”.

Meanwhile, the “cavaquinho” was all alone on the stairs outside,

longing to be played.

To pass the time, he decided to give a name to each of his four

strings: Domino, Reminder, Miracle, Face. He really liked the chosen

names because they all started with a musical note.

Suddenly it started to rain and he was afraid that he might be

damaged.

At that moment a Lollipop lady picked him up. She dried him

and to his great joy she started to play him. The music was wonderful

and the four strings seemed like they were alive. Even the rain seemed

to follow the rhythm.

After a while the lollipop lady tucked the “cavaquinho” under

her arm, took her black English umbrella, then she went down the

stairs and…

... Cuando se apagaron las luces, el torero perdió la pequeña

guitarra llamada "Cavaquinho".

"Cavaquinho" estaba solo en las escaleras, anhelando que alguien

lo tocara.

Para pasar su tiempo libre, decidió cambiar de nombre a cada una

de sus cuatro cuerdas: DOmino, REcordatorio, MIlagro, FAción. A él

realmente le gustaba el nombre elegido, ya que comenzaban con las

silabas de notas musicales.

De repente, empezó a llover y tuvo miedo de que pudiera dañarse.

En ese momento una señora (reguladora de tráfico) (Lollipop), se

le acercó y para su gran alegría ella empezó a tocarlo. Fue maravillosa

la música de sus cuatro cuerdas hacian como si estuviera viva, incluso

la lluvia parecía seguir el ritmo.

Después de un rato la señora Lollipop recogió el "cavaquinho",

tomó su paraguas negro Inglés, y luego se fue bajando las escaleras

y ...

To her amazement, the guitar started to play all by itself!

“What on earth is going on?” the lollipop lady thought to herself.

Suddenly an idea came to her so she grabbed the umbrella, put it up

and ran outside with the guitar. Next she hopped onto the London

underground, and then started playing it in the middle of Trafalgar

Square.

Soon a crowd had gathered around her to hear the beautiful

music from the “cavaquinho”, because the lollipop lady pretended that

she was actually playing it. But as she was playing, a strange rattling

sound started to come from the instrument until she had to stop

playing. At that moment everyone realised she was a fraud and

wasn’t playing it at all.

Everyone clapped and cheered and thought the guitar must be

magic. As the crowd cleared, the lollipop lady noticed there was a

man with a sly face, looking at her. Quick as a flash he grabbed the

guitar off of her and threw something at her feet. When she looked

down she saw a traditional game from Finland. She stared after the

man, “Moro” she shouted...

Para su asombro, la guitarra comenzó a tocar por sí misma!

"¿Qué diablos está pasando?" la señora Lollipop pensó . De repente,

una idea le vino a la cabeza. Agarró el paraguas, lo abrió, corrió fuera

del metro londinense con la pequeña guitarra, y luego empezó a tocar

en el centro de Trafalgar Square.

Pronto una multitud se había congregado a su alrededor para

escuchar la hermosa música de la "Cavaquinho", porque la señora Lollipop

hacía como si lo estuviera tocando realmente. Pero cuando ella intentó

tocarla, un extraño sonido comenzó a salir desde el instrumento hasta que

tuvo que dejar de tocar. En ese momento todo el mundo se dio cuenta de

que todo era un fraude y que ella no la tocaba.

Todos aplaudieron y vitorearon la guitarra y pensaron “debe ser la

magia”. Cuando la multitud se disipó, la mujer se dio cuenta que había un

hombre observándola con gesto astuto. Rápido como un rayo agarró la

guitarra y se la llevó, pero antes tiró algo a sus pies. Cuando ella miró

hacia abajo vio un juego tradicional de Finlandia. Ella miró al hombre y

gritó: “Boro”...

The man turned around and said:-

“MORO! My name is Kaapo. Would you like to come to Finland

with me? We could play a traditional Finnish game tonight at my

summer cottage.”

“What is a name of this game?” the Lollipop lady asked.

“It is Finnish “MÖLKKY” Kaapo answered.

A piece of wood is called the mölkky. The basic idea is to knock

down the numbered pins (made also of wood) with the mölkky. If you

knock down one pin you get as many points as it says on the pin. If

you knock down more than one pin, for example seven pins you get

seven points.

The Lollipop lady picked up the game and…SURPRISE…there

was a letter under the game.

It came from formula one driver Kimi Räikkönen. He also

wanted to play Finnish mölkky with them.

The Lollipop lady, Kaapo and Kimi were soon at Kaapo´s

summer cottage by Näsijärvi Lake, with the board game and the

guitar.

They played the funny game, but suddenly a Finnish brown bear

came from the forest. It took the guitar called “cavaquinho” and ran

away.

Later that night, the friends took a rowing boat and they rowed

over the lake Näsijärvi to the amusement park. There was a folk dance

group from Reunion. They also saw a player who was playing “a

cayamb” and…

El hombre se giró y dijo:-BORO! Mi nombre es Kaapo. ¿Le

gustaría venir a Finlandia conmigo? Podemos jugar un juego tradicional

finlandés esta noche en mi casa de campo de verano.

¿Cual es el nombre del juego? Preguntó la dama Lollipop . “En

finlandés MÖLKKY" respondió Kaapo.

Es un juego de madera llamado Mölkky, en el que hay diferentes

palos. La idea básica es derribar los palitos (también hechos de madera)

con el Mölkky. Si tumbas un palito tendrás un punto y si derribas más de

uno, por ejemplo, siete tendrás siete puntos.

La dama Lollipop recogió el juego y ... ¡sorpresa! ... había una

carta en el marco del juego. Venía la fórmula del conductor Kimi

Räikkönen. También le gustaba jugar con ellos al Mölkky finlandes.

La dama Lollipop, Kaapo y Kimi se fueron a la cabaña de verano

por el lago Näsijärvi.

Jugaron este juego divertido, pero de pronto un oso pardo

finlandés vino del bosque, tomó la guitarra llamada "Cavaquinho" y se

escapó.

Más tarde, por la noche los amigos tomaron un bote de remos y

remaron por el lago Näsijärvi al parque de atracciones. Había un grupo

de danza folclórica de Reunión. También vio a un jugador que estaba

jugando con un "cayamb" y ...

…what a surprise! The bear was also there and was playing the

“cavaquino” with them. They played all night whilst walking through

the forest. The Lollipop lady, Kaapo and Kimi decided to follow them.

Little did they know that the strange tune was magical! In the morning

there was no more forest, but instead there was very little vegetation.

They were at the border of the huge crater on the “piton de la

Fournaise”, the very active volcano. It was quiet and the group

decided to play again.

Meanwhile, at the museum, as Manuel was looking for the

guitar, he noticed a beautiful painting of a volcano on the wall so he

stopped to study it. Suddenly he heard the music of drums and the

cavaquinho, and he felt himself spinning. When the world had

stopped turning he found himself at Piton de la Fournaise, along with

the lollipop lady, Kaapo and Kimi.

As soon as the “rouleur” (big drum) the “cayamb” and the

“cavaquinho” started their rhythm they all felt a kind of vibration on

the ground. They kept on playing and the vibration was growing too.

Suddenly, the earth tore open and a big fountain of lava poured out…

... Qué sorpresa! El oso también estaba allí y estaba tocando el

"Cavaquino" con ellos. Ellos tocaron toda la noche caminando por el

bosque. La dama Lollipop, Kimi Kaapo y decidieron seguirlos.

Por la mañana ya no había más bosques, pero la flora estaba muy

baja. Ellos se encontraban en el borde del enorme cráter "Piton de la

Fournaise", un volcán activo, que hora estaba tranquilo y el grupo

decidió tocar otra vez. Tan pronto como el "rouleur" (tambor grande), la

"cayamb" y el "cavaquinho" comenzaron su ritmo todos sintieron como

una especie de vibración en el terreno. Continuaron tocando pero la

vibración fue creciendo demasiado. De repente, la tierra se desgarró y

una gran fuente de lava salió ...

…soon after that earthquake, as the lava came out of the

volcano, Manuel took the guitar and everyone present made a wish.

They had a secret dream to get to a peaceful place, without

volcanoes… When they opened their eyes, they were in the

Carpathians, in Romania. Manuel had dropped the cavaquinho

somewhere in the forest so they all decided to search for the guitar.

But before they had found it, they came across a herd of weird animals

which looked a lot like American buffaloes.

“These are called zimbri,” said Manuel.

He noticed that the guitar was in a strange position between the

horns of one of the buffaloes.

“Someone must get the guitar” said Manuel, while the white

faced man saw something colourful on a tree branch and climbed up

to get it. It was a red, yellow and blue flag, the Romanian flag. Manuel

fought the buffalo until he made the guitar fall on the ground. When

the Cavaquinho was down, the lollipop lady took it and…

... pronto después del terremoto y que la lava saliera del volcán.

Manuel tomó la guitarra y todos los presentes formularon un deseo.

Tenían el sueño secreto de llegar a un lugar tranquilo, sin volcanes ...

Cuando abrieron sus ojos, ellos estaban en los Cárpatos, en Rumanía.

Manuel había dejado el Cavaquinho en un lugar del bosque. Y todos

ellos decidieron ir a buscar la guitarra, pero antes de que sucediera

atravesaron de una manada de animales extraños, que se asemejaban a

los búfalos americanos, “son los llamados zimbri", dijo Manuel.

Él se dio cuenta que la guitarra estaba en una posición extraña entre

los cuernos de uno de los búfalos. "Alguien debe coger la guitarra" dijo

Manuel, mientras el hombre con la cara blanca vio algo de color en una

rama de un árbol escaló para cogerlo. Era una bandera rojo, amarillo y

azul, bandera de Rumania. Manuel luchó con el búfalo hasta que hizo caer

la guitarra en el suelo. Cuando estaba abajo el Cavaquinho, la dama

lollipop la cogió y ...

Then she thought that they had better go.

Whilst turning to Kaapo and Kimi, she said,

“Come on, be quick! Let’s do the same thing again. Close your

eyes and make a wish. Maybe, we can find ourselves in another

peaceful place and enjoy the music.”

They closed their eyes and when they opened them they found

themselves in a crowded place. There was a performance of a Turkish

traditional folk dance accompanied by the traditional instruments

bağlama, drums and shrill pipes.

After watching the show for a while, the cavaquinho and cayamb

couldn’t resist joining in and to their amazement they had a unique

music show embracing different cultures.

They couldn’t believe the harmony that was coming from

different cultures. They were amazed by the music and let themselves

be taken over by the charm of it. This took them…

... pensaron que seria mejor irse.

Mientras se volvió a Kimi y Kaapo, y dijo

"¡Vamos, ser rápido!, vamos a hacer lo mismo otra vez”.

Cierra los ojos y pedir un deseo. Quizás, podemos encontrarnos

en otro lugar tranquilo y disfrutar de la música.

Ellos cerraron los ojos y cuando los abrieron se encontraban en un

lugar donde había mucha gente. Era un espectáculo de danza folclórica

tradicional turca acompañada por instrumentos tradicionales Baglama,

tambor y flauta

Después de ver el show por un rato, el Cavaquinho y el Cayamb

no pudieron resistir y se uniron a ellos. Para su asombro se fundierón en

una sola música que abarcaban las diferentes culturas.

No podían creer la armonía que venía de diferentes culturas. Se

sorprendieron por la música y se dejaron llevar por los encantos de la

misma ...

....Back to each of their countries.

The next morning, when Manuel woke up, he decided to go back

to the museum to return the cavaquinho. When he arrived at the

museum, "COUNTRIES", and saw all those objects from different

parts of the world, he headed towards the place where he had first seen

the cavaquinho. Manuel left the cavaquinho in this place, but before

that he stopped, he turned around and thought:

If I have got to know so many places, people and different things

with a single object, imagine what I could get to know if I knew the

history of each of the objects found here?

De regreso hacia cada uno de sus países. A la mañana siguiente,

cuando Manuel se despertó, decidió ir a devolver al museo el Cavaquinho.

Cuando llego al museo “Países” y vio todos aquellos objetos

reunidos de diferentes partes del mundo, se dirigió hacia el lugar donde

había estado el Cavaquinho y lo dejó allí ,pero se detuvo, se dio la vuelta y

pensó:

“Imagina si con un sólo objeto he podido conocer tantos lugares,

personas y cosas diferentes ¿qué ocurriría si me dedicara a conocer la

historia de cada uno de los objetos que se encuentran aquí?”.

The End

fin

This story was written by children from Finland,

France, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey and United

Kingdom in The Comenius project :

"We Europeans have a Bagful of Culture to Share."

Looking for the Santa Claus

Looking for the Santa Claus/Joulupukkia etsimässä

It was late February. Days were getting longer again after the polar nights, a long dark season during winter. Liisa and Matti travelled to Lapland for their winter holiday. When they finally arrived at their little cottage they decided to go to the sauna straight away, and then from the sauna they went snow swimming, many times again and again. After their sauna Liisa and Matti went to visit an old Sami man who lived in a teepee near their cottage.

The old man said to Liisa:“It´s a shame that some people don´t believe that Santa Claus really exists.”Matti laughed his head off, but Liisa wanted to believe. So Liisa left Sami´s teepee and went looking for Santa to prove to the whole world that he existed. Suddenly she found herself standing in front of a huge door which seemed to head straight into a mountain. Liisa felt exited and little scared. Then she knocked on the door. First nothing happened, but after a while the door opened very slowly…

Oli helmikuun viimeinen viikko. Päivät alkoivat taas pidentyä pitkän valottoman ajan, kaamoksen jälkeen. Liisa ja Matti lähtivät talvilomalle Lappiin. Matka oli pitkä.Kun he tulivat perille, he menivät saunaan. He kävivät monta kertaa lumikylvyssä. Saunan jälkeen he päättivät lähteä vierailulle saamelaisten majaan. Vanhin saamelainen sanoi Liisalle: ”On sääli, että monet ihmiset eivät usko joulupukkiin, vaikka hän todella on olemassa.” Matti nauroi katketakseen, mutta Liisa ei sanonut mitään. Hän halusi uskoa.Matti jäi saamelaisten lämpöiseen kotaan, mutta Liisa lähti etsimään joulupukkia, koska hän halusi todistaa koko maailmalle, että joulupukki on todella olemassa. Yhtäkkiä hän huomasi seisovansa valtavan suuren oven edessä. Se näytti johtavan suoraan tunturin sisään. Liisa oli innoissaan ja hieman peloissaan. Hän toivoi löytäneensä joulupukin suuren pajan. Liisa koputti varovasti oveen. Ensin ei tapahtunut mitään, mutta sitten valtava ovi alkoi naristen avautua…

And behind the door, Liisa met a weird character. He had a long beard, was dressed completely in green and was wearing a hat with a little spherical bell. He looked like a sprite. Behind him, she could see the sprite village. They were all busy making toys or packing small and large gifts.Liisa, having greeted him, asked if he knew where Santa Claus could be. She explained to him that she wanted to meet him to prove his existence to the whole world. The sprite told her that he was a friend of Santa Claus and that all the people of the village were making gifts that Santa Claus would pick up and distribute next Christmas. Also he explained that his friend was very tired and he had moved to a sunny place to rest. Only one of the Snow fairies knew exactly where he was.“You have to go to the Snow fairy’s house,” said the sprite to Liisa. “But to go to her home, you have to climb to the top of the enchanted mountain.”

Oven avauduttua Liisa näki sisällä omituisen hahmon. Otuksella oli pitkä parta, vihreä puku ja päässä hassu hiippalakki, jonka päässä oli kulkunen. Hän näytti ihan tontulta. Tontun takana Liisa näki kokonaisen tonttujen kylän. Kaikki olivat kiireisiä valmistellessaan leluja ja pakatessaan niitä suuriin ja pieniin paketteihin.Tervehdittyään tonttua Liisa kysyi tältä, tietäisikö hän, missä joulupukki on tällä hetkellä. Hän selitti haluavansa tavata joulupukin siksi, että voisi kertoa koko maailmalle tämän todella olevan olemassa. Tonttu kertoi olevansa joulupukin kaveri ja sanoi, että pukki hakisi tontuilta kaikki heidän valmistamansa paketit jakaakseen ne tulevana jouluna. Hän kertoi myös, että joulupukki oli tällä hetkellä hyvin väsynyt ja oli matkannut jonnekin aurinkoiseen paikkaan lepäilemään. Vain yksi lumikeijukaisista tietää tarkalleen, missä pukki olisi. Tonttu kehotti Liisaa menemään tapaamaan lumikeijukaista tämän talolle. Sinne päästäkseen Liisan olisi kiivettävä lumotun tunturin huipulle.

“Which is the way to the enchanted mountain?” asked Liisa.“Don’t you know?” asked the sprite. “The mountain is towards the light, from where the sun rises.”

“I see. I’ll follow the sunrise. I have time to rest.” Liisa sighed.Liisa returned to the little cottage to relax after such an exciting day.Early in the morning the girl woke up and left for the enchanted mountain. Reaching the foot of the mountain she was amazed by the colours of the flowers and the light gleaming on the stones. Each flower was opening its petals as if it was smiling at her. The shiny stones were genuine sapphires, emeralds and rubies. Even the birds were twittering as if wishing her “Welcome!”

The girl climbed the mountain so easily that it seemed to her she was flying. So she reached the top in no time and saw the house of the Snow fairy. She knocked at the door………………

”Mikä tie vie lumotulle vuorelle? kysyi Liisa.”Etkö tiedä? kysyi henki. ”Vuori on sillä suunnalla, josta aurinko nousee!””Ymmärrän. Seuraan auringon nousua. Mutta nyt minulla on aikaa levätä”, Liisa huokasi. Liisa palasi pienelle mökille lepäämään jännittävän päivän jälkeen.

Aikaisin aamulla tyttö heräsi ja lähti lumotulle vuorelle. Kävellessään vuorelle hän ihasteli kukkien värejä ja kivien hohdetta. Jokainen kukka avasi terälehtensä niin, että tuntui aivan kuin ne hymyilisivät. Hohtavat kivet olivat aitoja safiireja, smaragdeja ja rubiineja. Jopa linnut sirkuttivat hänelle toivottaen hänet tervetulleeksi.Tyttö kiipesi vuorelle niin helposti, että tuntui kuin hän lentäisi. Hän pääsi vuoren huipulle todella nopeasti ja näki siellä Lumikeijun talon. Hän koputti ovelle….

And the half open door creaked as it was opened further. Liisa saw a woman standing in the room. She was wearing a pure white silk dress that seemed as if it was a reflection of snow itself

The little girl, who was enchanted with the atmosphere and music in the room, was startled by the words of the fairy.“ I was waiting for you,” she said.Then the fairy, without talking, held out a globe to Liisa which had a figure of Santa Claus and snowflakes inside it. Whilst watching the

movement of snowflakes, Liisa found herself on the white endless expanse on the top of Taurus mountains. She didn’t know what to do, but luckily her feet looked as if they were showing her the way. After she started to climb down the mountains, she passed through some extremely green, orange scented trees and found herself in a church in Antalya, Demre. She looked around inquisitively. A statue of a man, who had a bag hanging from his shoulder and down his back and had children smiling with happiness around him, caught Liisa’s eye. Quickly she started to follow the trail that might lead to Santa Claus.

Ja puoliksi avoin ovi narahti samalla tavalla kuin se oli avautunut aiemmin. Liisa näki naisen seisovan huoneessa. Naisella oli yllään puhtaan valkoinen silkkimekko ja hän näytti lumen heijastukselta. Pieni tyttö, jonka huoneen tunnelma ja musiikki olivat lumonneet, säikähti haltijan sanoja.

”Minä odotin sinua,” haltija sanoi.Sitten haltija sanaakaan sanomatta antoi Liisalle maapallon. Maapallon sisällä oli Joulupukin pienoismalli ja lumihiutaleita. Kun Liisa katsoi lumihiutaleiden liikettä maapallon sisällä, hän huomasi olevansa Taurusvuorten loputtoman valkoisella aavalla huipulla. Hän ei tiennyt mitä tehdä, mutta onneksi hänen jalkansa näyttivät tuntevan tien alas.Kun Liisa oli aloittanut kiipeämään alas vuorelta, hän ohitti joitakin uskomattoman vihreitä ja appelsiinille tuoksuvia puita ja samassa hän löysi itsensä Antalyan kirkosta Demrestä. Hän katsoi ympärilleen uteliaasti. Hän näki miespatsaan, jonka olkapäältä alas selkään roikkui laukku. Patsaan ympärillä oli onnellisesti hymyileviä lapsia. Patsas tuijotti Liisaa. Yhtäkkiä Liisa alkoi seurata tietä, joka ehkä johtaa Joulupukin luokse...

The road was becoming more and more beautiful and it was getting colder and colder, when she arrived at a huge house. There was a lot of ice around its door. It was frozen. Liisa attempted to open it, but couldn’t. So she went back along the pa

th, but suddenly she heard loud shouts, “Warhh! ¡Warhh!” Liisa was so scared, but she bravely went on. Suddenly a dragon appeared. It tried to bite her but she said: "Lag-Patug-Amect", which were the words her father had told Liisa before he died. Magically the dragon was paralyzed and obeyed everything Liisa said. Carefully Liisa climbed up onto the dragon and ordered: “Take me to the house!” Then, when they got there, the mouth of the dragon emitted a huge breath of fire and the ice melted. Slowly the door opened and there was Santa Claus tied to a chair with a rope. Liisa took it off and shrieked ....

Tie muuttui yhä kauniimmaksi ja kauniimmaksi, alkoi olla yhä kylmempää ja kylmempää. Hän saapui valtavan talon luo. Talon ovi oli yltympäriinsä jään peitossa. Liisa yritti avata ovea, muttei onnistunut. Niinpä hän lähti polkua takaisinpäin, mutta kuuli yhtäkkiä kovan karjaisun ”wrääh, wrääh”. Liisa pelästyi niin, että oli saada halvauksen, mutta jatkoi urheasti matkaansa. Yhtäkkiä Liisan vierelle ilmestyi lohikäärme. Se yritti purra Liisaa, mutta hän lausui ”Lag-Patug-Amect”, mitkä olivat sanat, jotka hänen isänsä oli lausunut kuolinvuoteellaan. Maagisesti lohikäärme lamaantui ja alkoi totella Liisan käskyjä. Varovasti Liisa kiipesi lohikäärmeen selkään ja komensi sitä: ” Vie minut talolle!” Kun he tulivat talon ovelle, lohikäärme hönkäisi valtavan tulenlieskan ja jää oven ympäriltä suli. Hitaasti ovi aukeni ja sisällä oli joulupukki! Hänet oli sidottu köydellä tuoliin. Liisa vapautti pukin köysistä ja parkaisi...

“Oh no…Santa Claus is seized!”Lisa couldn’t believe her eyes, Santa was held to a chair. Then he told Lisa that one of his elves had kidnapped him, just because he wanted to be adored more than Santa. Meanwhile the elf had gone to Serra da Estrela (Mountain Range of the Star) in Portugal for a few days of sleeping. After freeing Santa, Liisa left and went to meet Matii and Sami, and she told them that she needed help to look for the elf that had kidnapped Santa Claus. She knew that hewas in Serra da Estrela.

There they went, in a wooden boat, pushed only by the waves. After a few days, they landed on Miramar beach (next to Porto), and they took a taxi to Serra da Estrela. It was summer in Portugal, and they were not ready for such high temperatures, but then they felt a breeze coming from a valley next to a little river called Mondeguinho, where a Shepherd was walking with his sheep. Liisa and sami asked the Shepherd if he could give them three sheep to lead them to the mountain. As the shepherd was a nice man, he accepted. So there they went, through the valley to

the mountain. It was a hard walk!When they got to the top of the mountain, there was the elf with the bag full of gifts from Santa Claus. The elf realized that Santa had been found. Then he told Liisa, Matti and Samii that he was very sorry for his behaviour and that he really loved all the children of the world, and that he had only kidnapped Santa Claus because he also wanted to be loved the way Santa was.Meanwhile in Lapland the spell was broken and the dragon escaped. In a blink of an eye he arrived in Serra da Estrela and took the elf to…

”Voi ei… Joulupukki on takavarikoitu!” Liisa ei voinut uskoa silmiään, joulupukki oli sidottuna tuoliin. Joulupukki kertoi Liisalle, että yksi hänen tontuistaan oli kidnapannut hänet. Ja vain koska halusi olla ihaillumpi kuin Joulupukki. Sillä välin tonttu oli kadonnut Serra da Estrelaan Portugaliin muutamaksi päiväksi lepäämään.

Vapautettuaan Joulupukin Liisa lähti ja meni Matin ja Samin luokse kertomaan tarvitsevansa apua Joulupukin kidnapanneen tontun etsimiseen. Liisa tiesi tontun olevan Serra da Estrelalla. He menivät sinne puuveneellä, jota aallot kuljettivat. Muutaman päivän kuluttua he rantautuivat Miramarin rannalle ja ottivat taksin Serra da Estrelaan.Portugalissa oli kesä eivätkä he olleet varautuneet niin korkeaan lämpötilaan. Mutta sitten he tunsivat vienon tuulen tulevan laaksosta, joka oli pienen joen vieressä, jota kutsutaan nimeltä Mondeguinho. Joen rannalla lammaspaimen kulki lampaidensa kanssa.Liisa ja Sami kysyivät lammaspaimenelta, josko hän voisi antaa heille kolme lammasta johdattamaan heidät vuorelle. Lammaspaimen oli mukava mies ja suostui. Joten näin he menivät laakson läpi vuorille. Se oli raskas kävely.

Vuoren huipulta he löysivät tontun, jolla oli säkillinen Joulupukin lahjoja mukanaan. Tonttu tajusi, että Joulupukki oli löydetty. Sitten hän kertoi Liisalle, Matille ja Samille kuinka pahoillaan hän oli käytöksestään ja että hän todella rakastaa maailman lapsia ja että hän kidnappasi Joulupukin vain, koska halusi olla yhtä rakastettu kuin pukki.Sillä välin Lapissa lumous oli rikottu ja lohikäärme paennut. Silmänräpäyksessä lohikäärme saapui Serra da Estrelaan ja nappasi tontun mukaansa…

A place brimming with magic, both good and evil. The frightened elf looked around at the huge white castle with an enchanted lake nearby and watched nervously as two more dragons circled overhead. Quivering in fear, certain that his punishment for kidnapping santa was to be eaten by ferocious dragons, the elf fell to his knees and begged,“Oh please don’t kill me! I have learnt my lesson and I never meant any harm to come to Santa.”Unfortunately his pleas seemed to fall on deaf ears as at that moment six huge knights marched across the drawbridge from the keep and roughly seized his arms before dragging him into the Great Hall. As the elf peered up from under the brim of his hat, he saw a man wearing a golden jewelled crown, sitting at a round table.

The King looked curiously at the small man dressed all in green, before asking, “What manner of man are you? Knight or minstrel?”“N-no your Majesty. I am neither. I am an elf,” he whispered.

“Stand and pay your respects to King Arthur, you worthless elf,” commanded the nearest knight.The elf gasped in shock. What on earth had happened? Could he really have been transported back hundreds of years? He was in fact in the mystical realm of Camelot!“We have heard you work in a magical land. Merlin, our sorcerer, is away at the moment and we have an important battle soon. King Arthur has lost his mighty sword ‘Excalibur’. Can you help us find it?” asked the dragon that had snatched him.The elf scratched his head. Just as he was scared that he would be thrown into the dungeon forever, he remembered the unusual sword he had found in an abandoned workshop. Nervously, he pulled it from his toy sack and laid it on the round table.Everyone gasped with delight. “Your magic is strong,” they exclaimed. Suddenly there was a flash of blinding light and a strange old man with a long white beard and flowing robes appeared in the room – it was Merlin. He promised the elf a reward. “Please let Santa forgive me and can I go back to being a simple elf who works in Santa’s workshop?” asked the elf.Merlin waved his hands and blue dust sparkled in the air. The elf’s wish came true and of course Liisa proved Santa Claus really existed.

Paikka oli täynnä taikuutta, sekä hyvää että pahaa. Pelästynyt tonttu katsoi ympärilleen. Hän näki valtavan valkoisen linnan, joka oli lumotun järven lähellä. Tonttu katsoi hermostuneesti, kun vielä kaksi lohikäärmettä ympäröi hänet.Pelosta vavisten, varmana siitä, että rangaistus joulupukin kidnappauksesta olisi tulla julmien lohikäärmeiden syömäksi, tonttu laskeutui polvilleen ja aneli:”Olkaa kilttejä, älkää tappako minua! Olen oppinut läksyni, enkä ikinä enää aiheuta mitään harmia joulupukille.”Valitettavasti hänen anelunsa näytti kaikuvan kuuroille korville.

Samalla hetkellä kuusi mahtavaa ritaria marssi yli nostosillan. He sieppasivat tonttua käsivarresta kiinni ja kiskoivat hänet suureen saliin. Kun tonttu siristi silmiään, yrittäen nähdä hattunsa lierin alta jotakin, hän näki kultaisin jalokivin koristettuun kruunun pukeutuneen miehen istumassa pyöreän pöydän ääressä. Mies oli kuningas. Hän katsoi uteliaana pientä, vihreään asuun pukeutunutta miestä ennen kuin kysyi: ”Mikä ihmeen mies sinä olet? Ritari vai trubaduuri?” ”Ei, ei teidän majesteettinne. En ole kumpikaan. Olen tonttu”, hän kuiskasi.”Osoita kunnioitusta kuningas Arthurille, sinä mitätön tonttu”, komensi lähin ritari. Tonttu veti kauhuissaan henkeä. Mitä ihmettä oli tapahtumassa? Olisiko hän todella voinut siirtyä takaisin satojen vuosien päähän? Hän oli itse asiassa Camelotin alueella linnassa.”Olemme kuulleet, että työskentelet taikuutta täynnä olevassa maassa. Merlin, meidän velhomme on tällä hetkellä poissa, ja meillä on pian tärkeä taistelu. Kuningas Arthur on menettänyt mahtavan Excalibur-miekkansa. Voitko auttaa meitä löytämään sen?”, kysyi lohikäärme, joka oli siepannut tontun.Tonttu raapi päätään. Juuri kun hän pelkäsi joutuvansa ikuisiksi ajoiksi tyrmän uumeniin, hän muisti epätavallisen miekan, jonka oli löytänyt hylätystä pajasta. Hermostuneesti tonttu otti kyseisen miekan lelusäkistään ja laittoi sen pyöreälle pöydälle. Kaikki huokaisivat ihastuneena. ”Sinun taikuutesi on vahva!”, he huudahtivat.

Äkkiä huoneen täytti sokaiseva valonleimahdus. Heidän eteensä ilmestyi vanha, pitkäpartainen, viittaan pukeutunut mies. Hän oli Merlin. Merlin lupasi tontulle palkkion. Tonttu sanoi: ”Anna joulupukin antaa minulle anteeksi. Ja voisinko minä, yksinkertainen tonttu, palata takaisin työhön joulupukin pajaan?” Merlin heilautti kättänsä ja sinistä pölyä pöllähti ilmassa. Tontun toive toteutui ja Liisalle osoittautui todeksi, että JOULUPUKKI TODELLA ON OLEMASSA.

This story has been started from Finland and is written by children from Finland, France, Portugal, Romania, Spain, UK and Turkey.This is a part from our Comenius project.

Thank you all!! It was fun!!

Tämä kertomus on aloitettu Suomesta. Sen ovat kirjoittaneet Suomen, Ranskan, Portugalin, Romanian, Espanjan, Iso-Britanian ja Turkin lapset.Tämä on osa Comenius projectiamme!Kiitos kaikille osallistuneille!

A ghost in Colégio do Sardão

On a bright sunny day, some pupils were chatting in front of the

main entrance of Colégio do Sardão…

Maria: Last night I slept so badly. I couldn’t forget what my sister

had told me...

João: What did she tell you? Don’t tell me that it’s the Colégio do

Sardão old ghost story of a man holding a big bottle of Porto wine

and a typical British umbrella in his hands? That’s a silly old story, I

don’t believe in such ridiculous gossip.

Maria: My sister swore it was true. She told me that one night while

they were having a party in the school canteen, they saw someone

at the balcony…and then suddenly the lights were turned off, and

they heard a scary scream…

The next thing they knew, Maria and João were flying through the

air holding tight to the umbrella.

They landed with a bump and looked around.

Maria : What happened?

João: Where are we? It looks like we are in a castle, and look there

is the flag of England.

A Yeoman Warder (beefeater) marched over to the children.

Beefeater: Come with me to the Tower of London and I will show

you a painting, it is of Anne Boleyn, wife of Henry VIII. She had her

head chopped off by this sword.

Maria: Look João, on the wall behind Anne Boleyn. There is a

moose head.

With that there was a scream........ a shadow of a woman passed

along the wall...

Maria and João ran away, but unexpectedly the moose’s head

sucked the children in!

Maria: Aah! I feel so dizzy, what’s going on?

João: I don’t know, but it doesn’t look as if we are in the Tower of

London anymore…

Soon they found themselves in Finland, in the middle of an art

museum in Tampere. Maria and João walked a little and looked at

some beautiful paintings which were hanging on the walls. When

they were near the painting which portrayed the Kalevala, they

stopped.

João: Look, the information board next to this painting tells us about

Wäinämöinen and his Finnish zither.

Suddenly they heard footsteps.

Guard: What are you doing here?

João and Maria: Quick, run!

The children got scared and escaped from the museum.

Outside they saw a big door which was opposite the Museum. As

the children entered through the door they found themselves in a

middle of a hockey match.

Two teams called Tappara and Lukko were playing. Tappara’s

player Jori Lehterä scored a goal.

After match children went to an observation tower called

Näsinneula. There they ate some black sausage, a traditional

Finnish food from Tampere. From the window Maria and João saw

a helicopter which was flying above the Näsijärvi…

In this helicopter the children saw that, as well as the pilot, there was someone climbing down a rope ladder. Suddenly, this person dropped herself down into the water.

Maria and João: Oh no! Come on, we must rescue her or she’ll

drown!

They used a net and when they managed to pull it up to the

surface; they saw a big ice cube.

João: Hey Maria, look at this. Something really strange is going on.

Maria: Wow! In the ice, there is a woman of mixed race wearing a

blue dress with red and yellow flowers printed on it. She looks as if

she comes from a distant island.

João: Hold on, I have an idea…

He went back and made his Finnish black sausages very hot then

put them on the ice, which quickly melted. They discovered the face

of the mixed race woman, who looked strangely like Anne Boleyn!

As soon as she managed to open her mouth she said:

Anne Boleyn: Who are you? Where am I?

Maria and João: We are Maria and João, two good friends. We are

above The Black Sea, near Constantza, a city in Romania.

Anne Boleyn: How do you know that?

Maria and João: Well, the map of Romania looks like a bunch of

flowers. There are mountains, hills, plateaus and fields. The bunch

has its stems in The Black Sea.

Anne Boleyn: What about the pelicans and the swans around us?

Where do they lead us?

Maria and João: To a magic place - The Danube Delta, the fishes

and birds’ paradise.

Anne Boleyn: Are we going there?

Maria and João: Yes, we are. We have some good friends in

Constantza. Here they are! The children from “Gheorghe Titeica”

School. They are waiting for us on “Bricul Mircea”, which is a ship.

Led by the birds and surrounded by friends, the three travellers

found out many facts about the Romanians’ history and about the

beautiful traditional folk costumes.

In the Danube Delta they danced a Romanian chain dance dressed

in traditional peasant blouses and wearing traditional leather shoes.

While dancing a Dobrudjan chain dance, called “Geampara” the

three travellers were taken by a flying carpet…….

Maria and João: Oh no! I hope we don’t fall off this carpet. Don’t look down...

Anne Boleyn: I wonder where we are going now?

The pleasant journey, which started from the Danube Delta,

finished in Istanbul. They enjoyed the view of Istanbul from one of

the hills on which the town was situated.

At that moment, they noticed a man who looked half human and

half bird.

João: Look over there at the top of that tower. What kind of strange

creature is that?

Maria: He looks like a man, but are those wings coming from his

back?

He let himself down from the tower of Galata. As they looked in

amazement at the man, they witnessed that he succeeded in flying

and they couldn’t believe their eyes. They learnt that the man was

Hazerfen Ahmet Çelebi who had managed to fly with artificial wings

that he had made.

When Anne Boleyn saw that man, she strangely likened this man to

her daughter in terms of what they had done for their countries.

Anne Boleyn: I wish I had more time to see what was happening in

the world.

Whilst trying to decide the last place that she could visit, her

thoughts were interrupted by the shouts of the children. When she

turned her head to see what Maria and João were looking at...

She saw a herd of bulls.

João: Where are they going?

Maria: I’ve no idea, but right now we might have bigger problems.

That man with wings is going to land next to us!

Hazerfen Ahmet Celebí: Don’t be afraid. Do you want to fly with me

to see where the bulls are going?

So Hazerfen Ahmet Celebí rode them on his wings and they

followed the animals.

Soon they arrived at a fortified city on the shore of the

Mediterranean Sea, it was called Melilla. Hazerfen left them in a

house where Sir Pedro de Estopiñan lived.

The house was decorated with many armors and amphoras. María

and João told Pedro de Estopiñan all their adventures whilst they

were having a cup of tea and some biscuits.

But, although they were having a good time, they told him that they

wanted to go back home.

João: Thank you for the tea and biscuits. We have really enjoyed

ourselves but now I am feeling a bit tired. I’d like to go home now.

Sir Pedro: Well I have a ship in the harbour, come with me and I’ll

sail you all home.

Sir Pedro boarded them on his ship and they sailed across the

Strait of Gibraltar to Oporto.

However, when the children arrived at Vila Nova de Gaia and they

came to the front door of their school, they awoke from their

wonderful dream and everything disappeared, including Anne

Boleyn and the Ghost.

ROMANIA’S INTERCULTURAL STORYAN AMAZING JOURNEY

Once upon a time there was a little country on the Black Sea

Coast. Ana and Matei were two friends who enjoyed playing on the

beach and collecting all kinds of things brought ashore by the sea.

Ana was a dreamer, who liked inventing stories for the objects they

found. Matei was the practical type, who analyzed the materials and

the structure of everything around him. Although they were very

different, they got along very well and did everything as a team.

One day, as they were digging a ditch to protect their

sandcastle, they touched something hard. What could it be? They

asked in unison. Their hearts were pounding as they were removing

the sand covering the object. When they finally took it out, they saw

it was an old, rusty metal box. Inside it there was an odd looking red

hat: a turban. Ana was sure a magic world would open for them

once they put it on, but Matei laughed at her. She put the hat on

and immediately something extraordinary happened! The beach

disappeared and they found themselves …

A fost odată ca niciodată o ţară mică şi frumoasă pe litoralul

Mării Negre. Ana şi Matei erau doi prieteni cărora le plăcea să se

joace pe plajă şi să colecţioneze tot felul de obiecte aduse de mare

pe mal. Ana era o visătoare, căreia îi plăcea să inventeze poveşti

despre obiectele pe care ei le găseau. Matei era tipul practic, care

analiza materialele şi structura lucrurilor din jurul lui. Deşi erau

foarte diferiţi, cei doi se înţelegeau foarte bine şi făceau totul ca o

echipă.

Într-o zi, pe când săpau un şanţ pentru a-şi proteja castelul de

nisip, ei au atins ceva tare. Ce-ar putea fi? s-au întrebat ei curioşi.

Inimile le băteau în timp ce îndepărtau nisipul care acoperea

obiectul. Când l-au scos la iveală, ei au văzut că era o veche cutie

ruginită, de metal. În ea era o pălărie roşie, ciudată: un turban. Ana

era sigură că o lume minunată se va deschide pentru ei dacă îşi vor

pune turbanul pe cap, dar Matei a râs de ea. Ana şi-a pus totuşi

turbanul şi imediat s-a întâmplat ceva minunat. Plaja a disparut şi ei

s-au trezit...

CHAPTER 2- TURKEY

In a photographer’s studio in Istanbul. The studio was in

Sultanahmet square. Whilst the photographer was taking Ana’s

photo she was dressed in clothes of the old Ottoman Sultans’ times,

complete with a turban on her head, a caftan and a sword. After the

children left the shop, they started to walk in the street. Looking

around through curious eyes, they were fascinated by the beauty of

the place, especially the Blue Mosque facing Hagia Sophia,

Topkapı Palace and the great Bosphorus view. While they were

walking in the street, Ana and Matei suddenly realized a dog was

about to chase after them. They started to run. Ana and Matei ran

so fast that they were nearly out of breath, but he dog was still

chasing them. As they were running, they caught sight of a little girl

in front of them. She was holding her mum’s hand and wearing a

red cape. The cape was swinging in the wind as she was walking.

Suddenly, the wind threw the cape towards them and they were in

…….

...în studioul unui fotograf din Istanbul, în piaţa Sultanahmet,

chiar în timp ce artistul îi făcea Anei o fotografie într-o rochie veche,

de pe vremea sultanilor din Imperiul Otoman, cu turbanul pe cap,

cu caftan şi sabie. După ce au plecat de la studio, ei s-au dus să se

plimbe pe străzi, privind în jurul lor cu ochi curioşi, fascinaţi de

frumuseţea locurilor. Ei au văzut Moscheea Albastră, Hagia Sofia,

Palatul Topkapi şi minunata privelişte a Bosforului. În timp ce se

plimbau, ei şi-au dat seama că erau urmariţi de un căţeluş şi au

început să fugă. Ana şi Matei alergau necontenit şi căţelul îi

urmărea. La un moment dat, au văzut o fetiţă în faţa lor. Ea o ţinea

de mână pe mama ei şi purta o pelerină roşie care flutura în vânt

atunci când mergea. Trecând pe lângă ea, vântul a umflat pelerina

spre ei şi i-a învăluit. Când au deschis ochii, copiii erau în...

CHAPTER 3- SPAIN

... Spain, in Andalusia. In

Jaen, Ana and Matei visited the

castle of Santa Catalina and

saw the extensive olive groves.

Then they went to Sierra

Nevada (Granada) to ski, and

also visited the Guadalquivir River in Seville. At last the two friends

arrived in Madrid, the capital of Spain, where they saw “La Puerta

del Sol” and many more famous sights. Matei paid particular

attention to the bullring, “Las Ventas”, in Madrid, which was called

the Mosque of bullfighting by the Spanish people. Ana imagined

herself being a bullfighter with the red cape she had found. They

decided to go to watch the bullfight. Once inside they noticed many

people were waiting for a great man wearing a black hat, a light suit

and very shiny shoes. People cheered “torero, torero, torero!”. A

huge cheer went up as a big black bull entered the ring with the

man. Each time the “matador” took the bull in front of him,

everybody said olee!. They loved the performance. People, wearing

flamenco costumes, sang with powerful voices and Spanish guitars.

The Bullfight is a traditional ‘art’ in Spain!.

When the show ended Ana and Matei went to visit the bullfighter

but he wasn’t in his dressing room. Matei became impressed by a

magnificent picture of the Monastery of “Jerónimos” in the hallway.

However, when they approached the picture they were transported

to....

...în Spania, Andaluzia, în Jaen, vizitând castelul din Santa

Catalina şi admirând crângurile de măslini. Apoi au mers în Sierra

Nevada (Granada), la schi, şi au poposit pe malul râului

Guadalquivir din Sevilia. În cele din urmă, cei doi prieteni au ajuns

în capitala Spaniei, unde au văzut „Las Ventas” din Madrid, care

mai este numit şi Moscheea coridelor. Ana îşi imagina că este un

toreador cu o capă roşie. Mulţi oameni îl asteptau pe cel care purta

o pălărie neagră, un costum subţire şi pantofi lucioşi. Mulţimea

aclama: „toreador, toreador, toreador!”. Un taur mare şi negru a fost

eliberat. De câte ori toreadorul păcălea taurul, toată lumea striga:

„olee!”. Tuturor le plăcea spectacolul. Un grup de oameni purtând

costume flamenco cântau cu voce puternica acompaniaţi de

chitarele spaniole. Arta se afla în rădăcinile acestei ţări!

Când spectacolul s-a terminat, Ana şi Matei au mers să-l vadă

pe toreador, dar acesta nu era în camera lui. Matei a fost însă

impresionat de o minunată pictură a Mânăstirii Jeronimos din hol şi,

când s-au apropiat de tablou, ei au fost transportaţi în ...

CHAPTER 4 - PORTUGAL

…the place in the picture!

The children, Matei and Anna were in Jeronimo’s Monastery, when

an old man wearing the robes of a king suddenly appeared in front

of them and said, “Children, you are in a very important building. In

the year 1496, the King Manuel the 1st, asked the Vatican to build a

big monastery just at the entrance of Lisbon, right next to the Tagus

River, so now this building is one of the most important landmarks

in Lisbon and the whole of Portugal.”

“We didn’t ask you anything, and by the way, who are you?” said

Anna.

“I am the ghost of the 1st Portuguese king, Afonso Henriques,”

laughed the man.

“A ghost? We are not afraid of ghosts,” said Matei.

“I am not a real ghost, just a guide of this monastery. Do you want

to come with me to visit the beautiful and historical city of Évora?”

asked the man.

“Sure we do!” said the children.

The man embraced the children and with a blinding flash of light

they were transported to Évora. They visited the temple of Diana, a

remarkably well-preserved Roman temple in the city center, and

also the chapel of bones. Matei and Anna were thrilled with that

chapel. When they both tried to get a bone from the chapel…

... Mânăstirea Jeronimos, şi un bătrân îmbrăcat în port de rege

apăru în faţa lor şi le spuse:

„Copii, în anul 1496, Regele Manuel I a rugat Vaticanul să

construiască o mânăstire mare la intrarea în Lisabona, chiar lângă

râul Tagus; astfel, mânăstirea este acum unul dintre cele mai

importante momumente atât din Lisabona, cât şi din Portugalia.”

„De ce nu ne-aţi întrebat nimic şi cine sunteţi dumneavoastră?”

întrebă Ana.

„Eu sunt fantoma primului rege portughez, Alfonso Henriques”,

a râs bărbatul.

„O fantomă? Nouă nu ne este frică de fantome”, a spus Matei.

„Nu sunt o fantomă adevarată, sunt doar ghidul mânăstirii.

Vreţi să veniţi cu mine să vizitaţi frumosul oraş istoric Evora?”,

întrebă ghidul.

„Desigur că da”, au răspuns copiii.

Bărbatul i-a îmbrăţişat pe copii în pelerina sa şi într-o clipită ei au

ajuns în Evora. Acolo au vizitat templul Dianei, un templu roman

foarte bine păstrat din centrul oraşului şi Capela oaselor. Ana şi

Matei au fost încântaţi de acea bisericuţă. Când Matei a încercat să

ia un os din capelă...

CHAPTER 5 - ENGLAND

A very strange thing happened!

As Matei lifted the bone from the floor a

bright white flash illuminated the chapel.

As their sight returned, they realized they

were at a completely different place!

“Where are we?” asked Ana.

But as Matei was about to answer, they were approached by one of

the Queen’s beefeaters.

“You two are at The Madame Tussauds Wax Museum,” replied the

Beefeater as Matei went over to one of the wax models.

Ana looked at Matei as he examined one of the model’s hands. He

scanned the name plate reading “Sami Hyypia,”

“Wow! Look at this Ana!” exclaimed Matei, waving his arms about

wildly.

“Look out!” screeched the Beefeater, but it was already too late.

Sami Hyypia started to wobble until it finally collapsed, knocking

Princess Diana who started to judder. One by one they all began to

slip, knocking the one next to it. Matei and Ana watched in horror as

the models fell and the beef eater panicked and went bright red in

the face.

“RIGHT YOU TWO! GET OUT OF HERE NOW!!!!” screamed the

Beefeater, his hat falling over his face. He began to chase after

them going even redder.

“Quick! Run!” Ana screamed and they ran to the London eye.

“In here!” shouted Matei as they scattered through the crowd and

pounced into the carriage. As they went up, they spotted a hot air

balloon (empty for some unknown reason). As they neared the top,

they came nearer the balloon.

“It’s our only way,” Ana said, feeling worried, and they pounced onto

the rope hanging from it. Reluctantly, they clambered up the rope

and waited. The air was getting colder as they found themselves

in…

... o lumină puternică a inundat capela. Când au deschis ochii, ei şi-

au dat seama că erau deja în alt loc!

„Unde suntem?” a întrebat Ana.

Dar când Matei se pregătea să-i răspundă, s-a apropiat de ei un

soldat din garda reginei.

„Sunteţi la Muzeul de Ceară Madame Tussauds”, a răspuns

soldatul, în timp ce Matei se apropia de unul din modelele de ceară.

Ana se uita la Matei, care examina mâinile unei statui. El citi

numele de pe plăcută: „Sami Hyypia”.

„Wow! Uită-te la asta, Ana!”

exclamă Matei, fluturându-şi mâinile

agitat.

„Ai grijă!” strigă soldatul, dar era

deja prea târziu.

Sami Hyypia se clatină şi se prăbuşi,

lovind-o pe Prinţesa Diana, care începu

să se mişte şi ea. Una câte una, statuile

au început sa alunece, lovindu-le pe cele

de lânga ele. Matei si Ana se uitau cu

groază cum statuile cădeau şi soldatul se

înroşea de furie.

„Voi doi! Ieşiţi afară imediat!” strigă soldatul furios, cu pălăria

căzută pe faţă. Începu să alerge după ei, înroşindu-se şi mai mult.

„Repede! Fugi!” ţipa Ana şi copiii fugiră spre Ochiul Londrei.

„Aici!” strigă Matei şi se amestecară în mulţime, apoi săriră

într-o cabină a Ochiului Londrei. Pe când urcau, au văzut un balon

cu aer cald (gol din motive necunoscute). Cu cât se apropiau de

vârful Ochiului Londrei, cu atât mai mult se apropiau de balon.

„Este singura noastra şansă!”, spuse Ana îngrijorată şi săriră,

prinzându-se de funia balonului. Încet, se căţărară pe funie şi

urcară în balon. Aerul se răcea din ce în ce mai mult, pe măsură ce

se apropiau de...

CHAPTER 6 - FINLAND

… a much colder climate.

The Hot-air balloon had landed in Helsinki in the yard of the

presidential palace.

“Where are we?” asked Ana.

“I don´t know,” Matei answered.

So Ana turned around and saw a huge castle.

She said, “Let´s go in and find out, who is living in the castle.”

As they entered the castle, they saw a big spiral staircase and on

the ceiling there were beautiful paintings.

Suddenly they heard woman´s voice.

“This castle is mine,” She said.

“Who are you?” Ana and Matei asked.

“I´m the president of Finland, Tarja Halonen. Welcome to the

castle!” She said. Tarja Halonen offered them buns, juice and hot

chocolate.

The next day, Ana and Matei travelled by train to a city called

Tampere. They went to the Näsinneula Tower. There was a good

restaurant and they ate a delicious dinner.

Then they went to the Ratina athletics stadium where they saw a

man throwing a javelin.

Matei shouted, “Who are you?”

The man answered, “I am Tero Pitkämäki. I am a Finnish javelin

thrower. Do you want to see around the stadium?”

“Yes, please,” the children answered.

They followed Tero. In the locker room Matei noticed a huge mirror.

Ana and Matei went towards the mirror and suddenly the mirror

sucked them in!

…Helsinki, unde au aterizat în curtea palatului preşedintelui.

„Unde suntem?” întrebă Ana.

„Nu ştiu”, răspunse Matei.

Ana se întoarse şi văzu un castel uriaş.

„Să intrăm şi să aflăm cine locuieşte în acest castel”. Au pătruns în

acea cladire şi au văzut o scară mare în spirală şi picturi minunate

pe tavan.

Deodată, au auzit vocea unei femei:

„Acest castel este al meu”.

„Cine sunteţi dumneavoastra?”

întrebă Matei.

„Eu sunt preşedintele

Finlandei, Tarja Halonen. Bine

aţi venit în castel!”, le-a spus

ea. Tarja le-a oferit prăjituri,

suc şi ciocolată.

Apoi, Ana şi Matei au călătorit

cu trenul până într-un oraş

numit Tampere. Au vizitat aici

turnul Näsinneula. Acolo era

un restaurant minunat unde au luat o cină delicioasă.

După aceea, au mers la stadionul de atletism Ratina. Au văzut un

om aruncând suliţa. Matei a strigat:

„Cine eşti tu?”

Omul i-a răspuns”

„Eu sunt Tero Pitkämäki. Sunt aruncător cu suliţa finlandez. Vreţi să

vizitaţi stadionul?”

„Da, te rugăm”, au răspuns copiii.

Ei l-au urmat pe Tero. În vestiare, Matei a observat o oglindă

uriaşă. S-au îndreptat spre ea şi deodată aceasta i-a tras spre ea ...

CHAPTER 7 – REUNION ISLAND

They arrived on the top of the highest mountain on a wonderful

island, where they met a jogger.

They asked him, ‘Please Sir, can you tell us where we are?’

The jogger replied, ‘Oté mounoir! Ou la fin arrivé en haut lo piton

des neizes! Ou vien pou entraine à ou pou lo grand raid?

Ana and Matei looked at each other in surprise. He was speaking a

kind of French, but with a special accent. After trekking along the

mountain for ages, they managed to reach a big city in the south of

the island, called Saint Pierre. There, they went into a big library

and began browsing between the rows. They chose one book

called “Poems of the world”. While they were going from one text to

another one, they found a poem written by Mihai Eminescu. They

were absorbed by the words and felt a little cold…

Suddenly they woke up on their beach. It was night and the children

realized that they had fallen asleep while they were learning the

poem for tomorrow’s lesson at school. They raced back home, so

pleased to have travelled so far… thanks to a text…

Hey guys! You have just arrived at the top of the Piton des neiges!

Have you also come to train to race “the grand raid”? (a famous

international trekking race in Reunion Island)

...şi au ajuns pe

vârful celui mai

înalt munte al

unei insule

minunate. Au

întâlnit un jogger

şi l-au întrebat:

Domnule, ne

puteţi spune unde

ne aflăm, vă rugăm?

El le-a răspuns:

Oté mounoir ! Ou la fin arrivé en haut lo piton des neizes ! Ou vien

pou entraine à ou pou lo grand raid ?(1)

Copiii s-au uitat unul la celălalt, puţin surprinşi. Omul vorbea într-o

limbă care semăna cu franceza, dar avea un accent special.

Au reuşit apoi să ajungă într-un oraş mare, din sudul insulei, care

se numea Saint Pierre. Acolo, au intrat într- o mare librarie şi,

căutând printre rafturi, au ales o carte intitulată „Poezii ale lumii”. În

timp ce răsfoiau cartea, au găsit o poezie scrisă de Mihai

Eminescu. Au fost absorbiţi de cuvintele magice ale poetului, au

simţit puţină răcoare şi… Deodată s-au trezit pe plaja lor. Era

noapte şi copiii şi-au dat seama că adormiseră în timp ce învăţau

poezia pentru a doua zi. S-au întors acasă, fericiţi că au călătorit

atât de departe…în locuri atât de minunate…datorită unei poezii…

− Bună, copii! Tocmai aţi ajuns pe vârful Piton des Neiges! ţi voi vă

antrenaţi pentru cursa „The grand raid”? (o cursă faimoasă de

maraton din Insula Reunion)

This story has been started from Romania and it was written by children from Finland, France, Portugal, Romania, Spain, UK and Turkey. This is a part from our Comenius project.

Thank you all!! It was fun!

Această poveste a fost începută de copiii din Şcoala Gheorghe Ţiţeica - România şi a fost continuată de copiii din Şcoala Sans Souci-Insula Reunion- Franţa, Colégio do Sardão - Portugalia, C.E.I.P. Reyes Católicos - Spania, Şcoala Mutalan Koulu – Finlanda, Springfield Primary - Marea Britanie şi Tevfikbey Primary - Turcia.

Aceasta este o parte a Proiectului Comenius „We Europeans have a bagful of culture to share”.

Vă mulţumim tuturor!!! A fost distractiv!!!

THE SECRET

OF THE FOREST

ORMANIN SIRRI

“Wow, this place is great! It’s so good that we have decided to come

here” said Ayşe.

Ayşe and Mehmet had come to Çatalca to have a picnic with their

families and friends from their school. It was May and the weather was

great.

“Look! everybody is having fun” said Ayşe pointing out their friends

who were playing with a ball and making a fire.

“I know even more enjoyable things to do,” uttered Mehmet in a mood of

excitement. They exchanged glances for a while and Mehmet said,

“let’s explore the forest.”

While they were walking through the depths of the forest, Mehmet tripped

over a stone and was about to fall. When he looked back, he realised that it

wasn’t a stone but castanets. He held them in bewilderment and with the

rhythmic sound that came from the castanets , everything began to change

and they found themselves …….

“Burası harika bir yer. İyi ki buraya gelmeye karar verdik” dedi Ayşe.

Ayşe ve Mehmet aileleri ve okuldan arkadaşlarıyla Çatalca’ya pikniğe

gelmişlerdi. Mayıs ayıydı ve hava harikaydı.

Bak! “Herkes eğleniyor” dedi Ayşe top oynayan ve ateş yakan

arkadaşlarını göstererek.

“Bundan daha eğlenceli şeyler biliyorum” dedi Mehmet heyecanla. Bir

süre bakıştılar ve Mehmet

“Hadi ormanı keşfedelim” dedi.

Ormanın derinliklerine doğru yürürlerken Mehmet bir taşa takıldı ve az

kalsın düşecekti. Geri dönüp baktığında onun bir taş değil kastanyet

olduğunu fark etti. Şaşkınlık içinde onları eline aldı ve kastanyetlerden

gelen ritmik sesle her şey değişmeye başladı ve kendilerini

in a country called Spain. The children discovered the beauty that was

there. But Mehmet was not distracted, and was thinking about the power of

these strange giant castanets. Initially the castanets were red in Turkey and

now they had turned yellow. Why was that?. The children visited many

communities all over Spain, even Madrid, the capital of Spain, but the kind

of rocks shown on the castanets were in Catalonia, Girona, so the children

tried to go there. Mehmet and Ayse wanted to go back home.

In the AVE (train) they met a man called Juan.

He told them: "In Catalonia there is a strange forest. These rocks have so

much moss that it is not difficult to find the place they come from."

The children climbed on top of the mountain, Monserrat. They started to

hear the same sound as before. It was the castanets, and suddenly they

were transported

İspanya denen ülkede buldular. Çocuklar oradaki güzelliği keşfettiler.

Ama Mehmet şaşırmamıştı ve bu muazzam kastanyetlerin gücünü

düşünüyordu. Başlangıçta Türkiye’de kastanyetler kırmızıydı ve şimdi

sarıya dönmüştü. Niçin böyle olmuştu? Çocuklar İspanya’da birçok yeri

İspanya’nın başkenti Madrid’i dahi gezmişlerdi ama kastanyetlerin

üzerinde görülen bu tarz taşlar sadece Girona, Katalonya’ da vardı. Bu

yüzden çocuklar oraya gitmeye çalıştılar. Mehmet ve Ayşe eve geri

dönmek istediler.

Trende Juan adında bir adamla karşılaştılar.

Onlara “Katalonya’da garip bir orman var. Bu kayalarda öyle çok yosun

var ki onların geldiği yeri bulmanız zor değil” dedi.

Çocuklar Monserrat dağına tırmandılar. Aynı sesi duymaya başladılar. Ses

kastanyetlerden geliyordu ve aniden …

Portekize götürüldüler.

When they heard the sound of the castanets that had changed

colour (on one side green, on the other side red and yellow in

middle), they were transported to Portugal. But there was an error in the

transporting process. Instead they went to a beautiful place, whose name,

in Portuguese, means “planted” by the sea. They met in a huge labyrinth

garden. And now? They wondered which way they should go? Everything

was like an enigma to solve. But calmly they were answered those big

earth enigmas: why do we have the seasons of the year? Why don´t the

stars fall from the sky? ...And so many others. Step by step they came to

the end of the labyrinth, and surprise, surprise, a wonderful, coloured and

typical Portuguese cockerel was expecting them, with a large smile. It was

the Portuguese “Barcelo’s cockerel.”

He happily sang:

-Congratulations! You were amazing! That’s why I gave

you these blue and red castanets.

When the children picked up the castanets, instead of the

traditional sound, they heard a big ‘dlim! Dlam!’ and a sound of a bell

clanging. They looked carefully and they saw, in the middle of the

castanets, a wonderful English monument - Big Ben.

Quickly they were teleported to another country…

Renk değiştiren(bir tarafı yeşil bir tarafı kırmızı ve ortası sarı)

kastanyetlerin sesini duyduklarında, Portekize ışınlandılar. Fakat ışınlanma

sürecinde bir hata vardı. Gidecekleri yer yerine, Portekizcede denizin

yetiştirdiği yer anlamına gelen güzel bir yere gittiler. Büyük, labirent

şeklinde bir bahçeyle karşılaştılar.

Ve şimdi? Hangi yoldan gitmelilerdi? Her şey çözülecek bir bulmaca

gibiydi. Fakat sakin bir şekilde dünyanın büyük bulmacalarına cevap

veriliyordu: niçin mevsimler var? Niçin yıldızlar gökyüzünden düşmüyor?

Ve daha birçokları. Adım adım labirentin sonuna geldiler ve büyük

sürpriz… onları renkli ve harika tipik bir Portekiz horozu bekliyordu.

Portekiz “Barcelo horozuydu.” Ve neşeli bir şekilde;

Tebrikler! Harikasınız! Bu yüzden size bu mavi ve kırmızı kastanyetleri

veriyorum. Kastanyetleri aldıklarında geleneksel ses yerine, büyük bir “tik

tak!” sesi ve bir çanın tıngırtısını duydular. Dikkatlice baktıklarında

kastenyellerin ortasında harika İngiliz eseri Big Ben’i gördüler.Ve

birdenbire başka bir ülkeye ışınlandılar.

As they landed on the ground they realised that they were in

London, England’s capital city. What a fabulous place it was!

In front of them was a huge tower with a clock on it and when it was time,

a beautiful sound of bells could be heard all over the city.

Mehmet and Ayşe couldn’t believe how busy London was with big red

buses and black taxis zooming past.

They walked around the crowded streets and were amazed

by the lights and sounds of the city. In the distance, near the

flowing river Thames, they could see a strange wheel

turning in the sky. It had coloured lights and pods where

people sat to look at the view. As they got to the top of the

wheel, they noticed a thing rolled up like a treasure map.

They opened it and saw that it was a white flag with a blue cross on it.

They heard the tapping sound of the castanets and they found themselves

in a strange and foreign land....

Yere indiklerinde İngiltere’nin başkenti Londra’da olduklarını fark ettiler.

Ne şahane bir yer. Önlerinde, üzerinde saat olan büyük bir kule vardı ve

zaman geldiğinde zillerin güzel sesi tüm şehirden duyulabiliyordu.

Ayşe ve Mehmet Londra’nın kırmızı otobüsler ve siyah taksilerin

geçişleriyle bu kadar yoğun oluşuna inanamadılar. Kalabalık sokaklarda

yürüdüler, şehrin ışık ve sesleriyle büyülendiler.

Uzakta, akan Thames nehrinin yanında gökyüzünde dönen garip bir

tekerlek görebiliyorlardı. Renkli ışıkları ve insanların manzara izlemek

için oturdukları bölmeler vardı. En tepeye çıktıklarında, hazine haritası

gibi sarılmış bir şey fark ettiler. Onu açtılar ve üzerinde mavi haç olan

beyaz bir bayrak gördüler. Kastanyetlerin tıkırtısını duydular. Kendilerini

garip ve yabancı bir diyarda buldular.

Mehmed and Ayse stood in the market place. It was full of noisy, happy

people. Some people had the same kind of white hats, some people had

wigs on their heads and some people had a funny mask on their face. The

finnish flag was flying in the flag-staff. There was a lot of things to buy;

balloons, t-shirt, masks, food, sweets etc..

Mehmed and Ayse felt hungry so they bought some mead and donuts. The

salesman told them that the finns were having their May celebration.

Mehmed and Ayse decided to buy a balloon. They chose a blue balloon

with a picture of Moomin on it.

The market place was crowded. Suddenly Mehmed stumbled and their

beautiful balloon escaped into the sky...

Mehmet ve Ayşe markette durdular. Burası neşeli ve gürültücü insanlarla

doluydu. Bazı insanlar aynı tip beyaz şapka giyiyorlardı, bazılarının

başlarında peruk ve bazılarının yüzünde komik maskeler vardı. Fin bayrağı

gönderde dalgalanıyordu. Satın alınacak çok şey vardı; balonlar, tişörtler,

maskeler, yiyecek, tatlılar…

Mehmet ve Ayşe acıktıklarını hissettiler. Biraz bal likörü ve çörek satın

aldılar. Satıcı onlara Finlandiyalıların Mayıs kutlamaları yaptıklarını

söyledi.

Mehmet ve Ayşe balon almaya karar verdiler. Üzerinde Moomin(Fin yazar

Tove Jansson’ın yarattığı çizgi kahraman) resmi olan mavi bir balon

seçtiler. Market kalabalıktı. Aniden Mehmet sendeledi ve güzel balonları

gökyüzüne doğru uçtu.

Suddenly, the balloon exploded and the castanets fell down from the sky.

They heard the familiar sound of the castanets and everything began to

change…

They were next to a stream of ice water. When they looked around them,

there were only mountains. Mehmet was disappointed. Where was the

road?They took a small trail and arrived in front of a house with a red roof.

It was a school where they saw pupils learning multiplication.

Ayse asked one pupil: “Hello! What’s your name?

“My name is Jean-François. Where do you come from?”

They told him their story and asked,

“Where is the nearest road?

- « o té marmail! Na point de route! »

Mehmet and Ayse didn’t understand anything. Then the teacher explained

to them that there was no road to Mafate, but they could take the

helicopter.

They got into the helicopter which flew over the island. During their

journey they saw a volcano, Cilaos, Salazie… The helicopter left them in

Etang Salé’s forest. They heard some music and headed towards the

musicians.

“Would you like to play some music?” asked one musician, giving them a

package.

When Ayse and Mehmet opened the package they were surprised to see

the castanets. They were blue, red and white. Suddenly, the white became

yellow and everything began to revolve around them and the forest

disappeared…

Aniden balon patladı ve kastanyetler gökyüzünden yere düştü.

Kastanyetlerin tanıdık sesini duydular ve her şey değişmeye başladı.

Akıntının yanındalardı, etrafa bakındılar. Sadece dağlar vardı. Mehmet

hayal kırıklığına uğramıştı. Yol neredeydi?

Bir patikadan yürüdüler ve kırmızı çatılı bir evin önüne vardılar. O bir

okuldu, çarpma öğrenen öğrencileri gördüler. Ayşe bir öğrenciye sordu.: “

Merhaba! Adın ne?”

- Benim adım Jean-François. Nereden geliyorsunuz?

Ona hikayelerini anlattılar ve sordular

“en yakın yol nerede?

- « o té marmail! Na point de route! »

Mehmet ve Ayşe hiçbir şey anlamadılar sonra öğretmen onlara

Mafate’ye yol olmadığını ancak helikoptere binebileceklerini açıkladı.

Helikoptere bindiler ve adayı geçerek uçtular.

Yolculukları boyunca Cilaos, Salazie volkanını gördüler. Helikopter onları

Etang Salé’nin ormanına bıraktı. Bir yerden müzik duydular ve

müzisyenlere doğru yöneldiler.

« çalmak ister miydiniz » dedi bir müzisyen onlara bir paket

uzatarak.Pakette kastanyetler vardı ve mavi, kırmızı ve beyaz

renkteydiler. Aniden, beyaz sarıya dönüştü ve etrfalarındaki herşey

farklı şeylere dönüşmeye başladı ve orman ortadan kayboldu.

they found themselves on a little ship on the Black Sea. The journey

continued on one of the three arms of the DANUBE. They reached the

DANUBE DELTA, an enchanting land with pelicans’ voices and the

gentle caress of the reed. Then the ship took them further along the

Danube.

Suddenly they heard music so they left the ship. To their delight, Ayse

and Mehmet discovered the fascinating and spectacular dance of the

CĂLUŞARI.They were in OLTENIA.

In the distance the tall mountains seemed inviting. A winding road, the

TRANSFĂGĂRĂŞAN, cut through the mountains and could carry them to

wonderful places. Here, history was hidden in palaces, castles and

monasteries. BRAN CASTLE, the PELEŞ CASTLE and the VORONEŢ

MONASTERY, they all talked about the sensitivity and bravery of this

little country.

After following the road through the mountains and discovering all the

wonderful places along the way, a melancholic Romanian folk song led

them back to the seaside. Here, stood the statue of the great poet MIHAI

EMINESCU, as if whispering a love poem to the sea. Near the statue, the

children found the colored castanets, which were now red and had a white

half moon and a little star on them. With their clicking sound, they seemed

to accompany the sea’s love poem an the children began to feel dizzy.

Magically the children found themselves in the forest of Çatalca, again, in

the middle of their friends. Mehmet and Ayse rushed over to their

families. They hoped they hadn’t missed the picnic!

Kendilerini Karadeniz’de küçük bir gemide buldular. Yolculukları

Danube’nin üç kolundan birine kadar devam etti. Pelikan sesleri ve

kamışların nazik okşayışlarıyla mest olarak Danube Deltasına ulaştılar.

Gemi onları daha uzaklara götürdü.

Aniden, müziği duydular ve gemiden ayrıldılar. Etkileyici ve harikulade

CĂLUŞARI dansını keşfettiler. OLTENIA’dalardı.

Uzaktan yüce dağlar davetkar gözüküyordu.. rüzgarlı bir yol,

TRANSFĂGĂRĂŞAN, dağları aşarak onları harika yerlere götürdü.

Burada, tarih saraylarda, kalelerde ve manastırlarda gizliydi. Bran

Kalesi, PELEŞ Kalesi, ve VORONET Manastırı, hepsi bu küçük ülkenin

kahramanlığını ve hassasiyetini anlatıyordu.

Hüzünlü bir halk şarkısı onları deniz kıyısına geri götürdü. Burada, büyük

şair Mihai EMINESCU’nun heykeli denize bir aşk şarkısı fısıldıyordu.

Heykelin yanında, çocuklar renkli kastanyetleri buldular. Kastanyetler

şimdi kırmızıydı ve üzerinde yarım ay ve küçük bir yıldız vardı.

Kastanyetlerin sesiyle denizin aşk şarkısına eşlik ettiler ve kendilerini

yeniden Çatalca ormanında arkadaşlarının arasında buldular.

Cultural Dinosaur adventure!

Cultural Dinosaur adventure!

One day, Elizabeth, and her younger brother Harry were excited

as they were going to visit the Natural History Museum in

London.

When they got to the museum, Harry found a dinosaur exhibit

and ran off!

He ran past the tyrannosaurus – rex and got a

massive scare!

Then he ran so fast he bumped into one of the

dinosaur bones and he knocked it all down to the

floor.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth was looking at rosy red rubies, shiny green

emeralds and lots of very pretty diamonds.

Harry came running back to Elizabeth and she asked him, “Would

you like an ice-cream?”

“Yes please!” Harry replied, “I would like chocolate!”

After they finished their delicious ice creams, the children went to

a new part of the museum.

On the wall they saw a photograph of the northern lights with a

reindeer standing in the snow.

As they look curiously, the Northern lights seemed to move.

Suddenly the picture shot out a blinding light and the children felt

soft snow on their face.....

They found themselves in Finland. Elisabeth and Harry lay on the

snow. They made a snowangel and a snowman.

A little later the children saw some iceskaters on the lake.

Someone drilled a hole in the ice and started ice-fishing. The

temperature was -10 celsius (14 farenheit).

Suddenly Elisabeth saw a sturdy man. The man was dressed in a

red jacket. “Father Christmas!” Elisabeth yelled. Carefully, Father

Christmas sat on the sledge before six reindeers pulled it.

The sledge with the reindeer moved beautifully like a swan. Its

glide brought to mind a warm summer breeze. Because it was

cold outside, the children dreamed about a warm place, an island

in the Indian Ocean.

As soon as they looked each other right in the eyes, they felt

themselves vacuumed into the air. All was black around them and

when they stopped, they were laying on something warm and

soft. As they had their eyes closed they were wondering what this

hot wind on their face could be. They opened their eyes and

discovered a wonderful golden sand beach with a marvellous

lagoon. They were so pleased that they got completely naked and

jumped into the 30° water…The colours of the fishes and the

corals made such a contrast between the white landscapes they

had come from. When they came back from their bath, they

noticed strange footprints on the sand going into the forest just

beside the beach. Harry’s face turned grey and when Elisabeth

asked him what the problem was, he stammered:

“It looks like the footprints of the T-rex I saw in the museum...”

“Do you mean one of them could have come back into life and

had followed us?” she asked.

They decided to be sure of this and entered bravely into the dark

forest…

A while after they went into the forest Elisabeth and Harry

reached the gates of a huge castle. They looked closely and

discovered that the T-rex footprints were leading inside. They

followed the footprints and they stopped in front of a wall on

which a colourful portrait was hanging.

The man in the portrait seemed imposing and distant and

somehow frightening.

Elisabeth recognized the man and she told Harry,

“This man in the picture was the king of this castle. He was very

harsh and feared, but also honest and fair. He was also named

Vlad Dracul (Devil); because he punished his enemies badly.”

Harry leaned against a wall quite bored by his sister’s detailed

explanation. Suddenly, the wall moved and Harry slipped on a

slope before sliding through a dark corridor, with a few lights

from torches here and there. The walls were covered in paintings

of battles and men hanging on the top of some big, strong sticks.

Harry could not take it anymore, so he closed his eyes in fear.

When he opened them again, he was sitting on a soft,

comfortable pillow, in front of a small, low table. There, on a

golden plate there was a weird dessert with honey and nuts. All

of a sudden, Elisabeth was next to him, on another cushion. She

saw the cake and exclaimed: “It’s a baklava!”

While Harry was enjoying baklava which was filled with nuts,

Elizabeth thought that each fold of it was kneaded with affection,

tolerance and goodwill. As the kids started to eat the dessert they

noticed a man in the room. The man, who had been standing

there for a while, told them that they were in the city of

Gaziantep and this city was famous for its baklava and known as

the sultan of baklava.

The man (afterwards they learnt his name was Mustafa)

suggested that they take a walk in the city and Harry and

Elizabeth accepted his offer with great excitement. Whilst walking

in the streets of the city they realised some special preparation

was happening in the yard of a nearby house. Mustafa told them

that it was the preparation for henna night which was the

ceremony held before a wedding.

When the ceremony started, they were thrilled by the music

which was accompanied by drums and shrill pipe. Then, they

focused on the girl whose face was covered with red tulle and the

women holding candles in their hands and singing a song while

turning around her. Harry and Elisabeth learnt that the girl in the

circle was the bride. They were both turning around the girl and

felt impatient about what was going to happen in the next step.

After a while, a woman stood next to the bride and rubbed

something green on her palm before covering her hand with a piece

of cloth.

Then, the women offered the guests thee same green wet thing to

put on their palms.

The green thing on Harry and Elizabeth’s palms turned into red.

While they were examining it inquisitively, the red colour became

more and more reddish and it took them away to ....

.... the reddish lands of “Las Medulas” in Leon, Spain.

“Why are we here?” Harry asked.

“Maybe we imagined something hot and red and... here we are,”

answered Elisabeth.

The children began exploring that wonderful rugged landscape.

There was something strange about the place; it was like a huge

maze of caves, tunnels and galleries inside high cliffs eroded by

the water and the wind. But when they got to this place, Harry

and Elisabeth discovered that they were old Roman gold mines

dug by slaves for two hundred years.

It could have been a good place for the dinosaurs to live if they

had still been alive, Harry thought.

“How are we going to leave this place?” Harry asked nervously.

“I Know!!” Elisabeth exclaimed.

“We must imagine another place and we’ll get there,” Elisabeth

answered.

“It’s funny!!” Harry replied.

“Imagine - Imagine the wonderful and beautiful beaches on Ilha

de Tavira in Portugal,” Harry said.

And then.....

Suddenly ... a hidden force shook them and carried them to

“Póvoa de Lanhoso”, in Minho, Right into an adventure park

called “DiverLanhoso”!

When Harry and Elisabeth stood up and shook off the dust, they

could hardly believe they were surrounded by so much adventure

play equipment.

Elisabeth said, “Let's try the slide?”

Harry was a little scared but said yes.

When they were on the slide, they heard a great roar. They

Looked back to find themselves pursued by the T-Rex. Screaming

and scared, they let go of the rope and fell in a labyrinth mine.

Walking through dark tunnels, full of obstacles and spider webs,

all of a sudden Elisabeth remembered a story about the legend of

Barcelos Cockerel. She knew that, if she could light a match, the

cockerel would sing and the T-Rex would disappear.

Suddenly, Harry screamed because T-Rex had caught him! Just in

time, Elisabeth lit the match, and the cockerel sang making the

T-Rex disappear.

Immediately, the earth began to tremble and they felt

themselves tumbling. When they stopped, amazingly they were,

once again, in front of the dinosaur exhibition in the Natural

History Museum.

Harry and Elisabeth

looked at each other

and start ed to

laugh - The T-Rex

was still there,

static...!

This story was written by children from:

Mutalan Koulu Finland

Ecole Primaire Sans Souci, Reunion, France

Colégio do Sardão, Portugal

Şcoala Gheorghe Ţiţeica, Romania

C.E.I.P. Reyes Católicos,Melilla, Spain,

Tevfikbey Primary School, Istanbul, Turkey

Springfield Primary school, United Kingdom

in The Comenius project :

"We Europeans have a Bagful of Culture to Share."