MASCOTS’ ADVENTURE IN EUROPE

At the break of dawn, the five friends Molly, Lars, Cheeky Monkey, Vitaminka and Sisu were packed up in their toy boxes, ready to be shipped to an unknown destination, somewhere in Europe. With only the light from a crack in the box and the sound of waves lapping against the boat, the friends were feeling very nervous.“We need to get out of here,” whispered Molly“I’m really cold,” complained Sisu“Don’t worry,” remarked Vitaminka reassuringly, “we’ll be ok.”“Hold on tight,” shouted Lars, “it’s an iceberg!!!!!”As the friends tumbled from their box, Cheeky Monkey made the smart move of holding on tight to all of the friends.“I recognise exactly where we are, follow me!!!” called Cheeky Monkey. “Let’s climb on that iceberg.”They climbed on top of the iceberg and enjoyed the view. “Look, a ship, Sisu shouted happily. “It says Suomi Finland. That’s my home country. Let’s go to Finland.”

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They managed to jump onto the passing ship and next day they arrived in the harbour. Sisu showed them around Helsinki. They went to Korkeasaari Zoo. Cheeky Monkey giggled with his counsins and Molly met friendly bears. They also visited Fazer chocolate factory and ate so much chocolate that they couldn’t move until the next morning!“Christmas is coming. Can we meet Santa Claus?” Lars asked when they finally left the chocolate factory.“Of course,” Sisu said. “Let’s take a train to Lapland.”The trip took the whole day but it was worth it. They visited Santa’s house and got some early presents. They also met Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

“So much snow! Can we go skiing?” Vitaminka asked and jumped happily in the snow.So they went to Ruka Ski Center and took the lift to the top. But oh no – just when they were getting off the lift they all fell off and started rolling down the snowy slope. When they reached the bottom, they looked like five giant snowballs.“I’m cold and I miss my warm home,” said Cheeky Monkey and looked really sad.“Don’t worry,” comforted Sisu. “There is an airport in Kuusamo. We can fly to Catalonia.”

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After a four hour flight, the group arrived at Reus airport, and there they took a bus to Cambrils.When they arrived in Cambrils it was dark and the streets were bare and they could only see the Christmas lights.There are no people in the street! Said Lars a bit scared.Cheeky Monkey was very surprised, because in Cambrils by Christmas time the streets are crowded with people. But suddenly he remembered….“Today is Christmas Eve!” Shouted Cheeky Monkey.“People are at home tonight, they hit a log, while singing, to make him give sweets to the children”, explained Cheeky Monkey.Molly wanted to see it and they all went to a house where children were hitting a log and singing…. Caga Tió, caga torrons, si no et donaré un cop de bastó.

They all went to visit Cheeky Monkey’s family to spend Christmas holidays there. They ate the typical Christmas lunch -a kind of soup, vegetables and

meat- and after that they all went to see a nativity scene. Sisu was very excited, -Look, it’s full of sheep, ducks, and even a baby!The next day was Boxing day, but there weren’t any boxes or a stocking with presents. Lars was a bit sad.

“You haven’t got any presents!” said Lars in tears.Days passed by and the five friends were very happy to have such wonderful sunny days.Vitaminka and Lars were making sand castles on the beach. Molly and Sisu were flying a kite.

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Cheeky Monkey took them to the market to buy some grapes, because it was New Year’s Eve.“Grapes? Why do you want to buy grapes?” Asked Molly.“In Catalonia we eat a grape at every bell stroke at midnight”, said Cheeky Monkey. They ate the grapes together and had a great party to celebrate the arrival of 2017!Some days later, they went to the Harbour, because Cheeky Monkey said three Kings were coming. Not ordinary Kings, but the three Wise Men. They could see three full decorated boats approaching.“Who are they?” Molly asked“They are the Three Wise Men, they bring toys and presents every 6 th of January to all kind children”, explained Cheeky Monkey.“And what about the nasty ones?” Asked Vitaminka“They get coal!” Laughed Cheeky Monkey.They watched the parade passing by and the three Wise Men throwing sweets to the people. The five friends happily ended up with their pockets full of sweets.

The next morning, they woke up and saw a good number of presents: a football, some toy spades, buckets and rakes for the beach, and some paddles. All of them were very happy with their presents.“Lovely presents… but I’m homesick”, said Vitaminka. So, the whole group decided to fly to Tychy.

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They landed in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, because there is no airport in Tychy."What a nice place!," said Sisu. "Shall we stay here for a while?""All right," Witaminka agreed. "I will show you some interesting places."Witaminka leaded its friends around the town. They were walking, laughing and looking around. Finally they got to Wisła river – the most famous river in Poland. They found there an impressive monument showing half woman, half fish carrying a shield and a sword."What is it?", asked Lars, Molly, Sisu and Cheeky Monkey."This is the Warsaw Mermaid," answered Witaminka.

"According to the legend, a little Mermaid was trapped by a rich man. He wanted to sell her. Fortunately a young fisherman heard the Mermaid’s cry and with the help of his mates, released her. She was very grateful and she declared her readiness to offer fishermen her help whenever it

would be needed. Ever since, the Mermaid, armed with sword and shield, has been ready tohelp protect the city.

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"Interesting story," said Molly."Will you tell us another legend, Witaminka?" asked Lars."Yes, sure, but we need to go to another town."They didn’t waste time, they caught a train and move on to Krakow. "It’s very cold here," complained Cheeky Monkey."Let’s have a walk to the Wawel Castle," – suggested Witaminka. "We won't be cold if we walk."They did what they agreed. The trip was very pleasant. They were walking, chatting with each other, until scared Sisu shouted:"Help! A dragon! Let’s get out of here!""Relax Sisu! It’s just a statue of the Wawel dragon," – said Witaminka with a big smile. "I know an interesting story about the dragon.""Can you tell us this story?""Once upon a time, in a cave in Cracow, near the Vistula River lived a giant fire-breathing dragon. The local people were afraid of it because it was eating all their sheep and cattle and also young girls, from time to time. King Krak, who ruled in the city, became desperate especially since he had one beautiful and lovely daughter who could be the dragon's next victim. He promised to reward the dragon slayer with his daughter`s hand and half of the kingdom.Many knights tried to kill the beast, however, none was successful.One day a poor shoemaker Skuba appeared before the king and volunteered to kill the horrible creature. Skuba knew that he did not have any chances in a one-on-one battle. Instead he came up with an idea to poison the beast. He decided to prepare a special dish for the dragon - a sheep stuffed with tar

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and sulfur. At dawn Skuba placed prepared sheep at the cave's entrance. The dragon greedily devoured the sheep for its breakfast. Soon it felt like its stomach was on fire. The dragon stood on the bank of the river and started to drink more and more water, and its belly grew bigger and bigger and finally the dragon blew up in a powerful explosion. Residents of Krakow were very happy to see the end of their troubles. The brave and smart shoemaker married the beautiful princess and after King Krak's death became a ruler of Krakow."

"Can we go to Tychy now?", asked Lars.Everybody agreed that it was a good idea. They caught a train, and after a short journey they were in Silesia region. They spend a long time in Tychy. They were walking, skating, and they even took part in an ice hockey match. They also met a bunny called Fluffy - it was all made of chocolate!

One day Fluffy told to everybody: "Today is Great Saturday! According to Polish tradition we need to get food to the church

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to be blessed. First we need to find some eggs, and colour them! Let’s do it!"They took necessary equipment and got started. They had a lot of fun experimenting with various colours and patterns. Later on they put the coloured eggs into the basket, together with bread, sausage, butter, salt and a piece of cake. They took all of these things to the church, where a priest sprinkled the basked with holly water.

"When shall we eat this?" asked Cheeky. "Tomorrow," answered Witaminka. "It will be our breakfast."The next day they prepared delicious Easter’s breakfast. They were eating, chatting and laughing together. Later on, they exchange Easter presents and they went for a walk. Suddenly when they were coming back home, strong wind appeared and it got dark."I have an idea!", shouted Sisu. "Let’s have a cup of hot cocoa. It is a really great way to get warm." Only Lars looked sad."What happened?", asked Witaminka."The cocoa reminded me about the Netherlands, my home.", said Lars. "We are abroad quite a long time… "

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All friends said “Good-bye” to Fluffy, went to the airport and flew to the Netherlands.

They took off in Amsterdam (4 metres below sea level!), rented bikes and started exploring the city. They saw many canals - there are 165 of them in Amsterdam. "I like this place very much," shouted Molly cycling fast on a wide pavement. "Let's race!" Soon they felt tired and decided to rest.

"I think that we should go to school, " said Lars. "Why don't we go to Vianen? There is a great place for learning," he added with a big smile. No one hesitated. "OK!, " they shouted happily.The next day they all woke up early, had some yoghurt with fruit for breakfast and went to De Rank school. It was crowded with children and they didn't know where their classroom is. Fortunately two kind teenagers, Niek and Isa, helped them to find the right classroom. Molly, Sisu, Cheeky Monkey, Vitaminka and Lars spent almost two hours adding, subtracting and dividing numbers but at the

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end of the lesson they were very proud of themselves because they did it correct.After maths there was lunch time. Isa and Niek opened their lunchboxes and share with the mascots homemade sandwiches and delicious biscuits. "What do you usually do after school?" asked Vitaminka with his mouth full of chocolate biscuits."I play tennis," said Isa. "And I play football," answered Niek. "We usually play sports after school. Would you like to play football with me today?""Yes, yes!" shouted excited Cheeky Monkey. They spent all the afternoon kicking the ball and scoring goals. Molly, Sisu, Lars and Cheeky Monkey had a great time. Only Vitaminka looked sad."Are you OK?" asked Molly."I've got a toothache," said Vitaminka. "You should go to the dentist's," advised Sisu. "But don't be afraid. We can go with you." "You shouldn't have eaten too many sweets, " said the dentist."Remember to brush your teeth regularly," she recommended.After this very pleasant visit they felt hungry so they went to the Lars' house to have dinner. At 6 o'clock they had delicious meal with many vegetables and at half past seven they were all in beds."It was a great day," said Lars yawning. "And you know... I like school.""And I like dentists," added Vitaminka.Everybody laughed.

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The days were passing quickly. The five friends were attending school from Mondays to Fridays and spending the weekends with their new classmates. They were also travelling around Holland as there are many picturesque places to visit. Among others they were in Zaans Museum at the Zaanse Schans and admired very first windmills and green wooden houses.

They learnt a lot about friendship and about countries they come from. They made many smart moves to keep fit and be healthy. At the end of this story Molly, Sisu, Cheeky Monkey, Vitaminka and Lars decided to split up and come back to their home countries. But they will meet soon again as Molly invited everybody to Northern Ireland - the country that built the Titanic, has the world-famous Giant's Causeway and world-class golf. The five friends will spend their holidays in Derry.

Remember: "True friends are never apart. Maybe in distance but never in heart".

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