Once upon a time, a thousand and one years ago, there was a small dinosaur named Nosauli.
Nosauli was born in a distant land, a place with rolling green hills and flowering trees where the days calmly and freely passed by and all was harmonious among the animals that lived there.
Nosauli had many friends and enjoyed going on expeditions with them in the forest: building rafts to cross streams and chasing after a thousand colorful butterflies.
He did not know that beyond his peaceful and joyous land there was a world where other animals fought with each other everyday to prove they were the strongest. They fought so much over food that they had no time to play and have fun.
But Nosauli’s enchanted kingdom didn’t last forever. When he was only a few years old, little Nosauli was forced to leave his beloved land behind to follow his mother. Nosauli’s mother, who taught youngins to talk and count received a new job assignment located in far away town. And so, Nosauli and his mother packed their suitcases, said goodbye to their friends, and set off.
When they arrived at their new home, Nosauli had a nasty surprise: everything was different. No colorful butterflies, no perfume of flowers everywhere, no stream to play in. Even the air smelled different and the sun seemed less warm and strong.
Nosauli’s heart ached and he felt very sad. He was nostalgic for his playmates. “Nothing will be like it was before,” he thought, “no one will have time to play with me, because everyone here is always running without even knowing where they’re going. Here I will only have to study, study, study, and study some more…”
And so, the first day of school arrived. The school was built with cold gray stones instead of multicolored logs and there were very few windows to let in light. There was no little garden for Nosauli to play in and above all he couldn’t hear cheerful songs and the laughter of excited youngins sailing through the air. Not even the teacher was beautiful! She was a giraffe who was haughty and severe and never smiled.
Nosauli shyly entered his new classroom and found a seat at the only empty desk, staying clear of the other students. He had already accepted that his first day of school would be spent alone when suddenly the door opened and a tall, odd-looking little crane came in and sat down right next to him. “Hi,” he said, “I’m Nik, Nik the crane, and you must be the new kid?” “Hi,” Nosauli replied, “yeah, this is my first day at this school and I’m actually really sad about it.”
“Sad!” The crane squawked, “why is that? Don’t you see how many new playmates you’ve found in just one day? You should be very happy! You’ll have so many new stories to hear, so many new things to learn! You’re actually quite lucky!”
“But here there’s nowhere to play, no yard to run around in happily without the fear of getting hurt,” Nosauli replied sadly, “and everybody is always racing around here, there are only rules to be followed and tasks to complete.”
“Now let me explain something to you,” Nik the crane said amused, “seeing new places, learning new things, meeting new animals… that’s something to feel lucky about. Each animal you meet could be a new friend, and everything you learn today, even the most difficult or tiring things, will help you tomorrow. And when you really don’t see the point of things, just call me and I’ll take you on my plane.”
“On your plane.. what?” Nosauli asked, his eyes widening.
“On my airplane,” Nik the crane repeated.
“And what is an airplane?” Nosauli asked.
“After school, come with me and I’ll show you.”
So after the lesson, Nosauli and Nik the crane walked towards a clearing and Nosauli found himself standing in front of a strange structure built out of wood, straw and leaves, with two wings as big as those of an eagle.
“Get in,” said Nik the crane.
“Nosauli did what he said and in less than no time the two found themselves flying in the sky.
“You see,” said Nik the crane “I built this airplane because from up here, everything becomes different, magical, and even the scariest things, seen from above, become so small they don’t scare you anymore. Whenever you feel alone, like you won’t find meaning in life, just call me and we’ll fly my airplane together to explore new worlds and sing with the sun.”
Nosauli burst with joy… he had found a new friend, and he was sure that everything from that moment on with Nik the crane would be special!
