Let me tell you a story about a chicken.
His friends call him Polletto Carletto.
Polletto Carletto lives in a normal little house
in a normal little town.
He is neither tall nor short.
He is neither thin nor fat.
He is neither smart nor stupid.
Polletto Carletto is a completely normal chicken.
One completely normal morning
Polletto Carletto is eating his breakfast in the kitchen.
He eats toast with butter and drinks coffee with cream.
He is reading the news
Suddenly he sees a terrifying story with a terrifying headline.
"THE SKY IS FALLING!"
He is so scared that he drops his toast into his coffee.
Plop !
The sky is falling!
THE SKY IS FALLING!
shouts Polletto Carletto
I have to tell everyone!
He immediately sends an email with the story to one thousand of his dearest friends.
Then runs into the street to tell everyone else.
The first person he meets in the street is Gallina Pina (gallina = "hen")
who is coming back from the supermarket.
"Good morning, Polletto Carletto!" says Gallina Pina.
"Where are you going? Why are you so scared?"
THE SKY IS FALLING
says Polletto Carletto.
"Really? How do you know?" asks Gallina Pina.
"I saw it on the internet!" says Polletto Carletto.
"Holy moly! (Literally: "Pig scoop") It must be true!" says Gallina Pina.
Let's go!
And so Polletto Carletto and Gallina Pina then run together down the road.
When they get to the pond, they meet Paperella Lella. ("Paperella" = "little duck")
She is having a bath.
"Hello, you two!" says Paperella Lella.
Where are you going?
Why are you so scared?
THE SKY IS FALLING!
say Polletto Carletto and Gallina Pina together.
"Really? And how do you know?" asks Paperella Lella.
"I saw it on the internet!" says Polletto Carletto.
"Oh no! It must be true!" says Paperella Lella.
Let's go!
So Polletto Carletto, Gallina Pina and Paperella Lella run together towards the farm.
When they reach the farm they meet l’Oca Giulia (l'oca = goose),
who is reading poems for Piccione Paolone. ("piccione" = pigeon)
"Hello everyone!" says l’Oca Giulia.
"Where are you going? Why are you so scared?"
THE SKY IS FALLING!
everyone yells.
"Really? And how do you know?" asks Piccione Paolone.
"WE SAW IT ON THE INTERNET!" they all say.
"Goodness gracious! It must be true!" says l’Oca Giulia.
"Now we don’t have time for poetry. Let's go!"
And Polletto Carletto, Gallina Pina, Paperella Lella,
l’Oca Giulia and Piccione Paolone run into town.
On the main street, they meet Volpe Rossana. ("Volpe" = fox)
She is sitting at a cafe, writing on her laptop.
"Hello everyone!" says Rossana.
Where are you going? Why are you so scared?
THE SKY IS FALLING!
THE SKYYYY IS FAAAALLING!!
everyone yells.
"Really? And how do you know?" asks Volpe Rossana.
"WE SAW IT ON THE INTERNET!" they all shout.
"Wow! Well then it must be true!" says the fox.
But don’t worry, friends
I know where we can go to hide.
Follow me!
Volpe Rossana leads everyone through the village...
down the road...
across the field and up a hill.
At the top of the hill there is a big, dark cave.
"Come in! Come in!" says Volpe Rossana.
"There is enough space for everybody!
In here the sky won't fall on us.
We are safe.
And so, one after another...
Polletto Carletto and all of his friends follow the fox into the cave.
The next morning, Polletto Carletto and his friends have disappeared.
The cave is empty.
Where did they go?
We don't know for sure.
But I will tell you one thing...
Volpe Rossana is very happy.
She has a very big and very round belly.
"Silly animals," she says.
And she sits under a tree, gets her laptop...
... and begins to write again.