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DORINAINTHEENCHANTEDSEAOF

CAPRIbyCostanzaCerrotta

EnglishtranslationbyGiovannaVuotto

DrawingsbyCostanzaCerrotta,freelyinspiredbyCristinaLantoni’sillustrationspresentinthebookDorinaeilmareincantato,writtenbyCostanzaCerrottaandpublishedbyYoucaprint,2016.

CoverillustrationbyCristinaLantoni

ISBN:9788827826454

FacebookPage:Dorinaelemagicheavventure

E-mailaddress:dorinamagica@libero.it

1OnceuponatimeinCaprilivedalittlegirl,calledDorina.ShelovedreadingbookstellingstoriessetintheSea.

Shewishedshecould,oneday,get intooneof thosebooksandbecome itsheroine!

And…youknow…goodchildrendeservetoberewarded!

BecauseDorinawas a good child, theGreatMermaid, Queen of the Seas,decidedtopleaseher.

Itwas a grey, rainy day and, after doing her homework,Dorina decided toindulge in reading the new book she had been given as a present: TheEnchantedSeaofCapri.

All of a sudden, by opening the book and starting reading its first page, asplash of water came out so high that the little girl instinctively threw thebookaway.

Dorina was all wet and, looking at her soaked clothes, she noticed a tinystarfishamongthefolds.

Itwassmallerthanherhandandthetwotinyeyesandthemouthofthelittleanimalwereamazing.

Dorinawasn’tscaredatall!

Actually,forchildrenandtheirimagination,anythingmayoccurinlife!

Without losing courage,Dorina picked the tiny starfishwith her hands andasked:“Whoareyou?”

And,bymagic,thestarfishreplied:“IamCinquePunteandIcomefromthewonderfulBlueSeaofCapri!YoumustbeDorina! Iwassentby theGreatMermaidtomakeyourwishcometrue.Fromunderneaththewaterwealwaysseeyoureadingbooksaboutusandfancyinggoingdowntheseabedofyourbeautiful island!This isyourgreatestdesire…isn’t it?Today isyour luckyday!Holdontome!”

AndDorinaanswered:“But,howcanIholdontoyouifyouaresotiny?”

Cinque Punte smiled and exclaimed: “You are right! You must utter thenarrowingmagicformula!So,repeatwithme:“OhGreatMermaid,ohSweetMermaid, turn me into a moray… oh no, no! Wait! It’s not this! I don’tremember the formula! Let’s start again: “Oh Great Mermaid, oh SweetMermaid,turnmeintoawhale…ohno,no!It it’snotthis,either!Wait…Ineedmoreconcentration:OHGREATMERMAIDOFTHESEA,ATTHISVERYSAMEMOMENT,CHANGEMYNATUREANDME,ANDVERYVERYSMALLLETMEBE!That’stheformula!Comeon,Dorina,repeatitwithme!”

And Dorina, full of excitement, exclaimed: “OH GREAT MERMAID OFTHE SEA, AT THIS VERY SAME MOMENT CHANGE MY NATUREANDME,ANDVERYVERYSMALLLETMEBE!”

And…itwasmagic!

Dorina started getting smaller and smaller. She slipped off her wet clothesand, in awhile, she turned intoa tiny sea snail.Shewasnoweven smallerthanthestarfish!

Proudoftheoccurredmetamorphosis,CinquePuntequietlyshowedthelittlegirl,orbetter, thetinyseasnail,all thatsheneededtodo:“Listencarefully:youwillnowholdyourlittlebodyontooneofmyends.Don’tbeafraid.Wehavetogetintothebookandthendiveintothesea,but…Mindyou!It’snotaneasytask!Readagainthebookyouwerereadingbefore.Whenyouuttertheworddiving, Iwill jumpon it.Wehave toget into theworddivingandopen the littlemagic doorwhichwill lead us into theSea.Are you ready?Startreading!”

Without thinking thatmuch,Dorina started reading: “On that day the littlefishdecidedto…DIVE”,andCinquePuntecried:“Here’sthemoment!Let’sjumponthelittleletters:D-I-V-E…hereweare!Themagicdoorisopening!Down,down,down…Weareinthesea!Hooray!”

The magic gap was wide shut! Cinque Punte and Dorina were alreadyswimminginthefantastic,immenseBLUESEAofCapri!

Dorina felt as if she was the happiest snail-child in the world! The sea ofCapri!

Who could imagine it was so huge and welcoming and rich! How manycolours!Theseawasn’tblueonly:youcouldnotice thousandsnuancesandshades!

Stillhangingononeof theendsofCinquePunte,Dorinalookedaroudand,withherheartfullofjoy,sheadmiredthevarietyofcoloursandshapesofthecorals, the fish, theunderwater rocks, the seaweeds andmuch,muchmore!Everything, under the sea, was shining andmoved sinuously. The emeraldcolourof the seanearMarinaPiccolawas stunning, seen fromdown there!Also,theyfoundoutcoloniesofbeautifulblackseaurchinsintheseabathingthebeachofMarinaGrande!

Itwasafantasticworld!Dorinacouldn’tstopwatchinginmarvelallthatwasaroundher,atthepointthatsheexclaimed:“Ihadanideathatlifeintheseawasgreat,butIcouldn’timagineitwassogorgeous!EverythingisF-A-B-U-L-O-U-S!”

Abittiredafterthelongwalkandtheweightofthelittlesnail,CinquePuntesaid:“Dorina,let’sslowdown,let’sgoontothesand,soyoucangetoffmybodyandleanontheseabed.”

Andsotheydid.

“Well”, said Cinque Punte, “now let the current carry you… I will do thesame.”

And so, both of them, lulled by the current, were carried as far as theirdestination:theRockHouseoftheGreatMermaid,QueenoftheSea,whichwasundertheBlueGrotto.

2TheGreatMermaid was indeed on the threshold of her House, which hadbeen obtained from a huge underwater rock, just beneath the famous BlueGrottoofCapri,andshewaswaitingforlittleDorinatoarrive.

TheGreatMermaidwas lovedbyall the seadwellersofCapri: shewas sogoodandhadalwaysdoneherbest tograntorderandpeacedown there, inthelifeoftheseabed.

In that area of the sea, itwas told that, long before, theQueen had been abeautifulladylivingontheIsland.Sheusedtohavelong,goldcolorhair,andtoenchanteveryoneforhersweetnessandgentlemanners.Yet,itseemsshehadaproblemwhichdidn’tallowher towalkproperly.Therefore,oneday,theGreatEarth-Kingdecidedtotakehertoliveinaplacewhere,insteadofwalking,youonlyneededtomovesinuously.

Earth-KingturnedherintoaMermaidandmadeofheragood,lovingQueenof themarine seabeds,offeringheramagnificenthouse justunderneath thedeep-blueseaofthemagnificentBlueGrotto!

ItwasjustbecausetheGreatMermaidhadbeenachildinherpastlife,thatshenowhadthepowertocontentallthegoodchildrenwholovedtheseaandwishedtodiscoveritsamazingdepths!

SheknewDorina reada lotofbooksdealingwith theSeaand itsdwellers.Thus,shehaddecidedtosendthelittleguide,CinquePunte,toher,sothatthelittlegirlcouldenjoythemarvelsofthesea.

3The Great Mermaid, with her brilliant, long, gold hair, her emerald-greencolourtailandheramazingsmile,waswaitingforlittleDorinatoarrive.

Shehadarrangedanydetailforhervisit,sothateverythingcouldbeperfect.Yet,notalwaysdothingsgosmoothinfairytales!

EvenintheHugeBlueSeaofCapri,wheretheGreatMermaidruledinpeace,thereweresomerebelspirits.

Asamatteroffact,themulletfish,intoleranttoanykindofrules,wereusedtodoingallthattheywanted.

They were the only fish who didn’t respect the authority of the GreatMermaid.

ThereasonfortheirrebellionwasthefactthattheywereconvincedtheywereequallyentitledtoruleovertheSeaofCapriasTheGreatMermaidwas.

Indeed,whenEarth-KinghadturnedthefairGirlintoabeautifulMermaid,hehaddone that byofferingher a huge emerald-green color tail taken fromamulletfish.

Therefore, they demanded a half of the authority the Great Mermaidpossessed,sinceitwasalsothankstothemthatshewassobeautiful!

Earth-Kingdidn’t share theirbelief, sohehadmade theGreatMermaid theonlyMistressoftheSeas.

Thelatter,onherturn,becauseofherimmensegoodness,acknowledgedthemulletsthemeritforherbeautifulemerald-greencolourtail.Yet,shedidhave

torespectthewillofEarth-King,whohadcrownedherthesoleQueenoftheSeas.

When the mullets got to know that a little snail-child, called Dorina, wasabout toarrive in thenearbyarea, theydevisedaplan todoawrong to theGreatMermaid: they decided to stop the child before she could reach herdestination.

4Astheywentpastahuge,flexuous,goldcoral,brightenedbyredreflections,the starfish announced they were going to get to the Rock House of theMermaid.At thatverysamemoment,anemerald-greencolour tailedmulletgotnexttothemand,withastrangekindness,hesaidhellotothestarfishandthe little snail in a very polite way: “Good morning!What are you doingroundhere?”

CinquePuntewassurprisedtohearsuchanunexpectedfriendlinessfromthemullet.Shewasusedtoalwaysseeingthatkindoffishinrudeandarrogantattitudes!

Anyway,justbecauseshedidn’twanttoappearill-mannered,sherepliedwiththesamecordiality:“Goodmorning,Mr.Mullet,Iamtakingthislittlesnail-child,calledDorina,totheGreatMermaid,whoiswaitingforher.”

The mullet, who was aware of everything, pretended to be surprised andexclaimed: “Really? Are you going to the Rock House? I am just comingback from that place and, to my regret, I witnessed a very disappointingscene.TheGreatMermaidwasthereand,inarageoffury,shecriedoutthat,assoonasthechildintheshapeofalittlesnailarrived,shewouldcaptureandtrapherinaseaurchinshellforever!”

Andthestarfishinastonishment:“Whatareyousaying?TheQueenwouldneverdosuchathing!”

But the mullet, once again prepared to that reaction from the starfish,promptlyreplied:“Dearstarfish,youdon’tknowwhathappenedhere,whileyou were away. A large fishing-net belonging to Capri fishermen caught

thousands of fish, big and small, off the Faraglioni Rocks area. The GreatMermaidisveryangryforthis,sosheislookingforsomeonetopunish.ShehasdeliberatelydecidedtocatchlittleDorinawho,beingaCapridweller,willhavetoimmolateforalltheCapripeople!”

LittleDorina,hertinyeyeswideshutinfear,heldtightontooneoftheendsofCinquePunte.Shedidn’tknowwhattoexactlydo:FLEE!

“CinquePunte,please,takemeawayfromhere,Idon’twanttostayintheseaforever!Ihavetoreturnhome!”

CinquePuntedidn’tknowwhattosay.Howcoulditeverbethatthemulletwastellingthetruth?Wasitwisetobelieveinthatstory?Stilluncertainaboutwhat todosheaskedagain:“Mr.Mullet,areyoutellingthe truth?Whatdoyousuggestweshoulddo?”

Themullet, who had nearly reached his goal, replied: “Cinque Punte, howcouldIdeceivetwotiny,helplesscreaturesasyou?Ofcourse,Iamtellingthetruth!Don’t take littleDorina to theGreatMermaid.Goaway.At least thelittlegirlwillbesafe!”

Now Cinque Punte was certain it was time to go back. Therefore, turningaroundthemselves,withoutsayinggoodbyetothemullet,CinquePunteandDorinawalkedagainonthesand:theywereleavingthatplace.

Themullethad reached thepeakof satisfaction, sincehehadaccomplishedhisgoal:hehadbeenabletodoawrongtotheGreatQueen!

5TheGreatMermaidhadbeenwaitingonthethresholdofherRockHousefortoolong.Shewaswonderingaboutthecauseofsuchadelaywiththearrivalofthegirlandthestarfish.Whyhadn’ttheycomeyet?Theonlywaytogettoknow something was to go personally and see what was happening in themarinedepthsofCapri.

So, theGreatMermaid left herhouse in searchof the starfish and the littlesnail.

Theseawasstrangelyrough.WhenshereachedthestretchofseajustdownundertheNaturalArch,shenoticedthat thelittlefishwereallverynervousandtheywereswimminginahurry.Thecoralsweren’tmovingintheirusualsinuosity.Itratherlookedasif theyweredeeplyupset.ThelittleshrimpsinMatermaniaCovedidn’tmanagetomoveastheynormallydidandtheywerepushedforthandback.Also,toostrongmarinecurrentswererising.And,tomakemattersworse,CinquePunteandDorinahadn’tarrivedyet!

Somethingwasn’tgoingright.TheGreatMermaidrealized thathersea, thesea of Capri, usually quiet and well organized, was undergoing radicalnegativechanges.

SincethetimeshehadbeenappointedtheGreatQueenoftheSeabyEarth-King,nothingsimilarhadeveroccurred.

Nevertheless, she remembered that, when she was turned into a mermaid,Earth-Kinghad toldher: “Fromnowon,youwill beQueenof theSeaandbecauseofyou,everythingwillgoforthebest.But,mindyou:if,onedayoranother,youshouldwitness turmoil in thesea, thiswillmean that someoneamongitsdwellersisdoingsomethingunfairtoyou.Inthatcase,Iwillmakeeverybodypuzzledandnervous:onlybydoingso,willyouunderstandthatitistimetotakeactionandwarnwhoisbehavingbadly.”

Oh,yes!Maybe thatmomenthadarrived!Someone in the seawasplottingagainstherperson,theGreatMermaid!

Andnow,whattodo?Well,itwasnecessarytohurryupandregainthelostorder.ShewastheQueenoftheSeasandthankstoherinnatecalmeverythingcouldbere-arranged!

6Togoback,CinquePunteandDorinawouldhavepreferredwalkingon thesand and follow their previous footprints. Unluckily, a sudden, violent,impetuoussubmarinecurrenthadwipedoutthemarksonthesand.Theywerefeelingscared,becausearoundthemtherewasgreatturmoilanditseemedasifnolittlefishwishedtohelpthem!Everyonewasrunninghereandthereinthegripofastrangeexcitedmove.

It is true,Dorinawasabravechild: thatsea,atfirst,hadappearedtoherassomethinggorgeous,butnow…allwasdifferent!

Shesaidtoherselfthatshe’dbetterreturnhome.

CinquePuntewastryingtounderstandwhatwasgoingon,butshecouldn’t!Everythingwassostrange!

The Mullet who had deceived the two little animals, had come backtriumphantlyamonghisequalsandhewasnowexplainingthewholemattertohisfellows,butherealizedthatnoneofthemwaslisteningtohim.

Boththebigandthesmallmulletswerenervous:theyweremovingtheirfinsvigorouslyanditlookedasiftheydidn’tknowwhichdirectiontofollow.

Thecheatmullettriedtostopthemandtalkabouthissuccessfulplan,thatis,doingawrongtotheGreatMermaid.But,hecouldn’tspeak.Therewastoomuchchaosallaround.

NowitwasuptotheGreatMermaidtore-arrangeeverythingandeverybody.Shewas theonlyonewhoknewwhat todo.Shesimplyhad to identify themakerofallthatmess.Whomighthavebeensorudeastobringsuchamess

everywhere?

Besides being violent, the underwater currents had become whirling. TheGreatMermaidknewthatthosemarinecurrentswerepushingalltowardstheone who had committed the mistake of betraying her. She followed thecurrent and found out that, strongly blown forward, she had arrived at RioCove,wheretheentrancetothemullet-fishShelterwaslocated.

7CinquePunteandDorinacouldn’tmoveforwardanylonger.Thecurrentwastoostronganditwaspushingthem,butalsotherestoftheseadwellers,toaprecisespot:themullet-fishShelter.

Big and small fish alike, corals, shrimps, seaurchins, had all beendraggedthere and, among them, besides Cinque Punte and Dorina, was the GreatMermaid!

Thecheatmulletwasastonished:attheverysamemomentinwhichhewasmaking a last effort to tell his fellow friends about his successful plan, theShelterwasfilledwiththeentirepopulationoftheseaofCapri!

The mullet didn’t know whether to flee or to try to understand what wasoccurring!

Actually,hehadverylittletimetoreflect.Infrontofhim,inallhermajestyand beauty, was the GreatMermaid! The fish would have wanted to haveanyoneelsebeforehiseyes,excepther,themermaidwhomhehadtriedtodoawrongto,bydeceivingCinquePunteandDorina.

AftershehadlandedinthatcrowdedshelterwithCinquePunte,LittleDorinastartedshiveringwithfear: infrontofhertheGreatMermaidhadappeared:

theonewhowantedtocaptureandtrapherintheshellofaseaurchin!

8Luckily, the Great Mermaid didn’t look so fierce and revengeful as thecreature depicted by the mullet. Contrariwise, after gaining room in thatincrediblemess,shegotascloseaspossibletothemulletandspoketohimina calm, sweet voice: “Dear mullet, of course I am very disappointed. AsQueen of the Sea who knows everything and who can everything, I haverealisedthatYOUarethecauseofallthisturmoil.YOUwantedtodomeawrongbydenying the littlegirl thechance to reachme.That’snot thewayonemust behave and Iwould appreciate if you apologized for your action,firstofallwithDorina.”

Thelittlesnail-child,nestledinhershell,wasstilltrembling,whenthecheatfish,fullofshameforbeingunmaskedbeforeeverybody,gotclosetoherandaskedforgivenessforunfairilydepictingtheMermaidasamean,revengefulcreature.

But themullet felt compelled to reply to theQueen: “OhGreatMermaid, IadmitIwaswrongtellingliestothechild,butletmeaddthis:mulletsshouldbeequallyentitledtohaveanauthorityoverthesea.Itmustbeso,sincethemarvellousemerald-greencolourtailthatyouhave,belongstous,themulletsofCapri!”

TheGreatMermaidalreadyknewhowtocopewiththatstatement.Actually,shewasthebestQueeninthewholeworld!

Therefore,turningtothemullet,shesaid:“Youareright,dearmullet.Mytailbelongstoyourspecies.SoIwanttoassignyouandtheothermulletsareallyimportanttask:anytimeIdecidetowelcomeagoodchildinthesea,exactly

as I did today with little Dorina, you will be the official guides of thesechildren,andyouwillletthemfindoutallthebeautyofourgorgeousseabed!And,sinceweareallhere,dearMr.Mullet,YOUwillstart today:youwillleadDorinatothemostbeautifulplacesofoursea!”

Themullets were overjoyed! After so long they had been acknowledged arole:theOfficialGuidesoftheChildrenintheSeaofCapri!

The Cheatmullet, whowas now grateful and full of emotion, thanked theGreatMermaidanddecidedtostartworkingonbehalfofDorinarightaway.

But, before the guided visit started, the beautiful Queen talked to the littlesnail-child:“Dorina,Iletyoubeturnedintoalovelylittlesnailsothatyourjourneyundertheseacouldbemorecomfortable.Iknowyouareagoodchildandyoulovereading.It’sforthesereasonsthatIdecidedtorewardyouwithavoyagein theseaofCapri.Unfortunatelyyouexperienceda timeofgreatchaos,whenMr.Mulletbehavedbadly.Butit’sallfinished,now!Everythinghasgoneforthebestandorderhasbeenrestored.Youknow,littleDorina,allofusmaymakeamistake,butwhatreallycountsistoregaintherightpath,trying to learn from our own faults and avoid repeating them. Our mulletfriendwascunningandwantedtodispleaseme,buthewasveryintelligent,too, in theend,becausehedecided to listen tomewhen I tried tomeethisneeds.Andnow,littleDorina,enjoytheguidedtouracrossthewonderfulbluseaofCapri.Youareagoodchild!”

Dorinahadcompletely forgottenall that shehadbeen thinkingof theGreatMermaid and also the fear that she could remain trapped in the shell of anurchin!

That gorgeous Queen, with her sweet, convincing words, had literallyenchantedandcharmedthelittlegirl!

Itwas time to leave,but,before that,Dorinawished to talk to thebeautifulMermaid:“Ihavealwaysimaginedthatthesealifewasbeautifulandrichofcolours.Today, I foundout that it is all true!As soonas Igethome, Iwillwrite down a tale about this wonderful adventure. Goodbye, beautifulMermaid!”

And, by saying that,Dorina held tight onto the fin of themullet,whowasreadytoguideherallaround.

But,therewassomeonewhowantedtogreetthechild…CinquePunte:“Bye,littleDorina. It’s up to themullet to take youbackhome.Mindyou: don’tforgettheformulatomakeyoubigagain!Youcan’tcertainlygobackhomeintheshapeofaseasnail!Herearethewordsof themagicformula,whichyoumustlearnbyheart:

OHBLUE SEA,OHBLUE SEA, IWASTOYOUBUT IHAVECOMEBACKNOW.FORNOLONGERBEINGASNAIL,LETMEBEACHILDAGAIN!”

Dorinamadeabigeffort to learn thosewordsandwentawayfollowing themulletandgreetingloudly:“Byebye,wonderfulMermaid!ByeBye,friendlyCinquePunte!Ithankyouallforeverything!”

9Theguidefishprovedhimselfuptothetask.HeknewtheseaofCapriverywellandshowedDorinaallthetiniestdetailsoftheunderwaterlife:whattheshrimps, dwelling off the Lighthouse of Punta Carena, ate; how the crabs,living in the narrow creeks under themajestic FaraglioniRocks, took theirnaps. Going past Punta Tragara, they let themselves be carried by a hugeCarettaCarettaturtle,whichwaspassingby,andofferedthemalittlerestonherbeautiful,comfortablecarapace!ThemulletshowedDorinatherangeofcolours of the corals beneath theMonaconeRock aswell as the variety ofstarfishrightunderthemajesticWhiteGrotto.Andmuch,muchmore!

WhentheywereofftheBagnidiTiberio,afamilyofhappyoctopusgreetedthem: the tentacles which moved simultaneously made little snail-Dorinasmilewithjoy:“Hello,niceoctupus!Youaresocute!”

Thetourwas,indeed,alongone,andDorinawasverypleased.Shetriedtomemorize as many details as possible because, she was certain that, oncehome,shedidhavetowriteastoryaboutallthatshehadexperienced!

When they reached thewonderfuldeepblueseaof theBlueGrotto,DorinaaskedMr.Mullet:“CanIputmyheadout,insidethecave?“Please,Mullet!

Letmeriseupthewaterjustforawhile!IwanttoseeinsidetheGrotto!”

“That’s fine, Dorina! But just for a while! I am a fish! Of course, I can’tbreatheintheopenair!Andyou…youarestillalittleseasnail,actually!”

Therefore,themulletletDorinahaveaquicklookwithherlittleheadoutofthewater,insidetheBlueGrotto.

“Wowwwww!Whatenchantingcolours!”, tinyDorinaexclaimed,“But let’sgodown immediately!Quickly!Quickly!A small boat is approachingwithsomeonein,singing‘OSoleMio…!”

Ad so… they ran away! With a fast jump they returned down under theseabedtocompletethetour.

Fromplacetoplacetheyhadnowarrivedattheentranceofthemagicdoor:itwas time togobackhome.So themullet said: “Doyouknowhow topassthrough themagic door? It ismy very first experiencewithmagic doors. Idon’tknowwhattodo,that’scertain!”

Dorinalookedatthemulletinmarvelandanswered:“Hum…Idon’tknow,either…whenIgothere, therewasCinquePunte tohelpme. Idon’tknowwhattodo,now.Also,there’sthemagicformula,uhm…Idon’trememberitthatwell…andNOW?Whatarewedoing?”

Themulletdidn’t losecourage.Hestoppedtoreflect, thenheadded:“Well,firstofall,trytorememberthemagicformula.Ithinkyouhavetoutteritonourcrossingthroughthemagicdoor,sothat,assoonasyouturnintoachildagain, Iwill be able to step back, before themagic door closes.Come on,Dorina!Getfocused,focused,focused!”

AndDorinastarted:“Ohbluesea,osweetsea…no!That’snottheone!Ohbluestar,oredstar…no,no!Help!Idon’trememberthewords!Wait…wait:OBLUESEA,OBLUESEA…hereweare!Irememberallthewords!Iamready,andyou,Mullet,areyouready?”

Andthemullet:“Yes,yes,Iamready!Let’sdoasIsay:youwillnowstartutteringtheformula.Whenthemagicdooropensup,keepwalkingaheadandproceed with the formula. When you complete the whole sentence, passthrough the door.As forme, Iwill run back as far as I can. Is everythingclear?”

AndDorina:“Yes, it is! It’sallclear!ThankyouMullet.Mindyou:behaveproperly,always!Andnow…Iamready!Iamgoingtouttertheformula:OBLUESEA,OBLUESEA”,thedoorstartedmoving.Dorinasteppedahead,“IWASTOYOUBUTNOW”,thedoorcontinuedopeningup.Dorinawas

passing through it! “I HAVE COME BACK”, Dorina had now crossed itcompletely,“FORNOLONGERBEINGASNAIL,LETMEBEACHILDAGAIN!”

And, pluf! It was magic! Dorina kept her eyes closed and said to herself:“ShallIopenmyeyes?”Done!Iwillopenthem.”

Dorina opened her eyes: shewas in her room, sitting at her desk. Shewasholdingapeninherhand.Anotebookwasinfrontofherandalotofpageshad already been written. So, she exclaimed: “When did I write all thesepages!?!”

Sheflippedthenotebookbacktothefirstpage,onwhich,whoknowswhen,sheherselfhadwrittendownatitle:

DORINAINTHEENCHANTEDSEAOFCAPRI

“Ofcourse!Gotitnow!ThisisthestoryIwasgoingtowrite!Well!IknowwhatIneedtodo:Ihavetokeeponwritingmytale!”

She leafed through thenotebookagainup to the lastpage.The latestwordsshehadwrittenwere:ShallIopenmyeyes?

Dorina smiled and decided to continue writing about her adventure.Whenhadshestartedthattale?Thebookentitled:TheenchantedseaofCapriwasnolongerinherroom!Whoknows!?!Itwassostrange,orbetter…somagic!

Ontheotherhand,theadventureshehadexperiencedinthewonderfulseaofherCaprihadbeenkindofmagic!Andbytheverysamemagic,thetalehadbeenwrittenonthatnotebook,whoknowswhen…allwasmagic!

Dorinasmiled,then,withoutthinkingthatmuch,shelookedinsidethepocketofherdress:onecouldneverbesurprisedtoseeinthatpocketatinyshellofalittleseasnail!

But, it iswellknown thatanythingcanhappen in the imaginaryworldofachild!

Thisisme:

CostanzaCerrotta,fromCapri,Italy.

I graduated in Educational Sciences. I live on my Island where I dedicatemyself towriting stories for children. I have always supported the psycho-pedagogicalfunctionofcreative/fantasticnarration.

The magical adventures that Dorina, the protagonist of my tales andillustratedbooks,enjoyswithherfriends,areneverlackingdeepeducationalvalues.