Once upon a time, in a beautiful and sunny station,
there was a group of modern and dynamic trains which crossed the wonderful Italian towns proud and fast.
Many of them were husband and wife and they did the same journey in order to come back home together at night.
Among them there was a very nice newly-married couple, Mrs PinkTrain and Mr BlueTrain, born and grown up in the same station, they had been friends since their childhood.
One day they discovered that they loved each other and they got married in the general happiness because they were loved by everybody too.
One Spring morning Mrs PinkTrain informed her husband and the stationmaster that she would not go to work that day because she was expecting a visitor.
To tell you the truth, Mrs PinkTrain spoke in a very mysterious way so Mr BlueTrain exchanged a doubtful glance with the stationmaster.
But no one dared to cross Mrs PinkTrain because she has always done her job punctually and precisely.
In the evening , when Mr BlueTrain was back home, he told his wife something about his work day and then he asked what she had been doing.
"Nothing." Mrs PinkTrain replied.
"But ... shouldn't you have seen someone?" Mr BlueTrain asked.
"No, nobody came." she said in a sad voice.
Mr BlueTrain was so disconcerted that he did not dare to ask more and he thought that maybe Mrs PinkTrain was very tired and she needed to go on holiday.
He puzzled his brains to find a place where they could go and he concluded that the sea-air would have been good for Mrs PinkTrain's health.
"Tomorrow", he said talking to himself, "I will discuss the matter with the stationmaster and next Sunday I will take her there to relax."
Mr BlueTrain loved his wife so much that he would have done anything to see her happy,
he would have also ... flown!
The following day Mrs PinkTrain asked to stay home again because she did not feel very well, at least, that is what she said.
Mr BlueTrain, seriously worried, got ready to go to work, but while he was going out of the station he was stopped by a voice that asked him:
"Could you tell me where I can find Mrs RedTrain?"
"I'm sorry, but, as far as I know, there isn't any Mrs RedTrain here." replied Mr BlueTrain.
He turned toward the voice and discovered that it was a stork bringing a big bundle, as storks usually do.
"Perhaps I wrote the wrong name ... Is this Coloropoli station?" the stork asked.
"Yes, sure." Mr BlueTrain confirmed.
"Maybe the lady I am looking for is called VioletTrain or LilacTrain or PinkTrain ... I don't know ..." he wondered.
"PinkTrain! She's my wife!" Mr BlueTrain cried and he felt very happy because he eventually understood the reason of his bride's strange behaviour.
She knew that the stork was about to come and she wanted to give him a surprise.
Mr BlueTrain took the stork to their house. (continued ...)
(...) On Harlequin's birthday, Mrs PinkTrain, with Miss DeepBlueTrain and Miss WhiteTrain agreement, arranged a party in the school garden.
While the pupils were in the class, Mrs PinkTrain, laid a white and blue square table cloth on a long table and she put a lot of delicacies on it; she decorated all the trees with coloured balloons and she fixed up on top of two of them a banner, which she had secretly prepared with the following legend:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LITTLE HARLEQUIN TRAIN
Just a few seconds before the little trains came out, she put on the middle of the table a big cake for the gourmand's joy.
At break time, the first one to go out was just the Little Harlequin Train who had no idea of the surprise which was awaiting him.
All his friends held him and kissed him, then it was the teachers' turn, then his mum's and last but not least it was his dad's turn who had joined them.
The Little Harlequin Train did not expect such a wonderful surprise and he was really very happy. He received many beautiful presents, but his favourite ones were the drawing albums, the felt pens and the pastels because he loved drawing very much.
Food was plentiful and every thing was so good, that they run out very early. At the moment to blow out the candles, all the babies sang the birthday song:
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday Harlequin
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday Harlequin
and the cake to me
A baby called DearTrain, son of an English High Speed Train who had moved to Coloropoli a few months before, sang the birthday song in the English manner:
Happy birthday to you
happy birthday to you
I saw a fat monkey
and I thought it was you.
The cake was scrumptious, stuffed with soft cream and a lot of chocolate; many little trains asked for a second piece and also Miss WhiteTrain had another helping. The party was successful and everybody enjoyed himself.
Some little trains dirtied their faces and their hands with cream and teachers hurried up and cleaned them. There were chips and pop-corn everywhere in the garden; a little train buried a biscuit believing that a tree would have grown and another one poured a whole glass of fruit-juice on himself.
When the party finished, everybody was tired but happy. The Little Harlequin Train went home with his parents looking forward to playing with all the presents.
By now he had become a little man, so Mr BlueTrain and Mrs PinkTrain decided to give him more freedom. (continued ...)
(...) "Where will we go now?"
"I don't know. We would need someone to ask directions."
"Look, that one! Ask him!"
"Who?"
"That one!"
"It's a cat."
"That's better than nothing!"
The cat, who was quietly strolling, turned when he heard someone calling him.
"Pussy ... Ehy ... Excuse me, pussy ..."
Martin approached him and the cat came towards the boy.
"Hi, pussy, excuse me, could you be so kind and give me some information? My friend and myself are going to the sea, but we went in a wrong direction and now we do not know where we are."
"Of course I know the way. I'm a real sea-dog."
"What?"
"Sorry ... a sea-cat!"
"Do you mean that you're half a cat and half a fish".
"No, I was born in a sea-country and I live on the beach."
"How lucky we were to meet you. So tell me: where will we have to go?"
"You must go staight on until you meet a pine-wood. Then turn right and go straight on again until you see the sea in front of you."
"Is it far?"
"No, ten minutes more or less."
"Are you sure? We are beginning to feel a bit tired."
"Sure: I live there. If you want, I will come with you myself"
"Oh, yes, come on!" cried Martin coming towards the Little Harlequin Train together with the cat.."
"This cat knows the way very well because he lives just on the beach. He will come with us to show us the way."
"Well." said the Little Harlequin Train "Hi! My name is Little Harlequin Train."
"And my name is Martin."
"My name is Crumbsy!"
"Crumbsy! What a funny name!"
"People call me that way because I like eating crumb very much." the cat explained "But my real name is Callisto."
"What a difficult name!"
"No, it isn't a difficult name. It's a foreign name: I'm Greek, I was born on the island of Santorini."
"Where is that?"
"In the Aegean sea. Close to Greece. It begins on the Cyclades' archipelago."
"What is an arphi... arphipelago?" asked the Little Harlequin Train.
"Archipelago." said Martin and Crumbsy in chorus "It's a group of islands." (continued ...)