It was a late January morning with a gray sky and a few raindrops pattering against the windows. In Lori's house there was a great commotion. The four friends were all together in the living room, sitting around the low table, with glue, round-tipped scissors, colorful feathers, and glitter scattered everywhere.

"Look at mine!" exclaimed Lori, holding up a crooked little mask full of red and blue feathers sticking out everywhere. "I'm a space bird!"

Violet looked at him with her blue eyes and shook her head. "The feathers go on top, not on the side!" she said in a firm voice, while carefully gluing pieces of golden paper onto her mask.

Alex was bouncing on his chair, too excited to stay still. "I want to be a cat! Like Sofia and Dora and Poldo and Milo!" He had already drawn black whiskers on his orange mask.

Ellie, instead, worked quietly with her slender little hands. She had chosen soft colors, pink and light blue, and her mask looked like a soft cloud.

Fred, Lori's dad, came into the living room and saw the mess. "Lori, be careful with that glitter! Don't put it in your mouth!" he said worriedly.

"But Dad, I know!" replied Lori, laughing. It was so funny to see his dad getting worked up about everything.

Christine, Lori's mom, arrived with a tablecloth. "Let's put this underneath, so we protect the table," she said, arranging everything carefully.

Suddenly, through the window came a sound the children knew well.

"CHUFF CHUFF!"

Alex stopped bouncing. Violet set down the scissors. Ellie looked up. Lori ran to the window so fast he almost tripped on the rug.

"Toby the Magic Train!" they all shouted together.

The magic train was out there, in the garden, wrapped in a cloud of colorful steam. Today his smoke was all rainbow-colored, like flying confetti.

Toby the Magic Train whistled cheerfully and said in his sing-song voice:

"Hello masked children, today you'll be transported! Under the waves of the blue sea, where Carnival is even more fun, you'll see!"

The children looked at each other. Under the sea? But how would they breathe?

"Can we go?" asked Lori to his parents with shining eyes.

Fred hesitated. "Underwater? It's dangerous, I don't know if..."

But Christine smiled. "Toby the Magic Train is a magic train. He'll protect them, you'll see."

The four friends ran outside, still holding their masks, and climbed into the polished wooden carriages. Toby the Magic Train puffed happily and set off, first slowly, then faster and faster, until everything around them became blue light.

The train was no longer running on tracks. Now it was gliding gently through the water, but inside the carriage the children stayed perfectly dry. It was like being inside a giant soap bubble.

"Look!" whispered Ellie, pointing outside.

Below them spread the Underwater Village. It was wonderful. The houses were all made of transparent bubbles, big as real rooms, that sparkled with a thousand colors. Little fish with glittering fins swam from bubble to bubble, carrying streamers of golden seaweed. Glowing jellyfish floated like lanterns, and everywhere there were Carnival decorations: starfish wearing pointed hats, seahorses with little masks, octopuses waving streamers with all their tentacles.

The train stopped on a pink coral platform. The children got off and discovered they could walk underwater just like on land, and breathe normally. It was real magic!

"Welcome to the Bubble Carnival!" shouted a cheerful voice.

The children turned and saw a white rabbit with long ears hopping toward them. But it wasn't a normal rabbit. This rabbit wore a mask made of colorful seaweed and, strangest of all, had little transparent fins instead of back paws. A rabbit is a furry animal with very long ears that usually lives on land and hops in meadows. But this one was special.

"I'm Bubbles!" said the rabbit, and burst out laughing. When he laughed, real bubbles came out of his mouth and floated upward. "Laughing makes me make bubbles! It's dazzling, isn't it?"

Violet frowned. "What does dazzling mean?"

Bubbles did a somersault and laughed again, producing more bubbles. "Dazzling means it sparkles so much, it's so beautiful it takes your breath away! Like stars, like glitter!"

"Oh!" said Alex. "Like my mask full of glitter! It's dazzling!"

"Exactly!" confirmed Bubbles, smelling of mint candies as he hopped around them.

Lori was so happy. He ran toward the village, wanting to see everything. The others followed, with Bubbles doing somersaults beside them.

But as they walked among the bubble-houses, Lori noticed something strange. A little brown leaf was floating alone, away from the party. It wasn't moving toward the streamers or toward the lights. It stayed still, and seemed sad.

"Hey, what's that leaf doing here?" asked Lori.

Bubbles stopped laughing. "Oh, that's Frond. She arrived yesterday, carried by a strong current. She comes from the world above, from a big tree. She wants to go home, but doesn't know how. And she's scared."

Lori ran to the little leaf. It was small, delicate, with edges a bit worn from the journey. It was trembling slightly.

"Hello," said Lori softly. "I'm Lori. Why are you sad?"

The little leaf spoke in a tiny voice like the rustling of wind. "My name is Frond. The wind tore me from my tree, and now I'm here under the sea. My tree is up there, on land. I miss it so much. And I'm afraid of the dark currents."

Violet approached with a determined step. "We'll help you get back!"

"But the dark currents..." whispered Frond. "They pass through the Black Tunnel. It's dark in there. Even the fish don't want to go there."

Alex stopped bouncing. Ellie wrapped her arms around herself. Even Lori felt a shiver. The Black Tunnel didn't sound fun at all.

Bubbles looked upward, where a dark passage could be seen between the rocks. "The Black Tunnel leads up, toward the surface. It's the only way to reach the world above. But it's true, in there it's all dark."

"It doesn't matter," said Lori, clenching his fists. "Frond has to get back to her tree. We'll take care of it!"

The four friends, with Bubbles and Frond, headed toward the Black Tunnel. As they got closer, the light of the Carnival fell behind them. The happy sounds of the party became more and more distant. The water grew colder.

When they entered the tunnel, darkness wrapped around them like a heavy blanket. Lori couldn't see anything anymore. He only felt Alex's hand reaching for him, and Violet's voice saying: "Stay close to me!"

Frond was trembling harder. "I'm scared, I'm scared..."

Lori was scared too. The darkness was so thick it felt like having your eyes closed. He felt his heart beating hard in his chest.

"What do we do?" asked Ellie with a worried voice.

It was then that Bubbles, also a bit scared, said: "My grandmother used to say that when you're afraid, you should think of something beautiful. Something that makes you feel safe."

Lori thought about it. What could he think of? Then it came to him: the smile of his dad Fred when he said "be careful," which really meant "I love you." The tight hugs from his mom Christine. The laughter with his friends.

"I'm thinking of my friends," said Lori out loud. "I'm thinking that we're together."

"I'm thinking of my mom Grace hugging me tight," said Alex.

"I'm thinking of my dad Andrew making jokes," whispered Ellie.

"I'm thinking that we're brave," said Violet with a firm voice.

And something incredible happened. From each child's heart came a small light. It wasn't a real light, it was something more magical. It was the warmth of their beautiful thoughts shining.

The tunnel lit up just enough to see. And the most beautiful thing was that Frond, the little leaf, stopped trembling.

"You're thinking of me," said Frond in amazement. "You're worrying about me. This makes me feel less alone!"

"Of course we're thinking of you!" said Lori. "You're our friend now!"

Together, with that soft light in their hearts, they crossed the Black Tunnel. The passage seemed less scary when you thought about others, when you stayed together.

Finally they saw a real light above them. The surface! They rose upward, inside magic bubbles that Bubbles created while laughing, and emerged from the water.

They were in a small lake surrounded by a meadow. And right there, near the shore, stood a big tree with bare winter branches. Frond recognized it immediately.

"My tree!" she cried happily.

A gentle breeze lifted her softly and carried her among the branches, where she settled next to the other dry leaves waiting for spring.

"Thank you!" said Frond from above. "Thank you friends! I'll never forget you!"

Lori waved his hand, and the others waved too. Bubbles did a final somersault, sending bubbles into the air like little confetti, then headed back toward the water.

"Happy Bubble Carnival!" said the rabbit. "Come visit me again!"

At that moment Toby the Magic Train arrived, puffing along the shore of the little lake. The sun had finally come out from the clouds and made every drop of water on the children's clothes sparkle, though they dried in an instant, as if by magic.

Toby the Magic Train whistled and said:

"In the darkness you found the light, because friendship always guides you right! Those who think of others with a sincere heart, find the truest courage from the start!"

The children climbed onto the train, tired but happy. Lori looked at his friends and smiled. He had been scared in the Black Tunnel, but thinking about others, thinking that he wasn't alone, had helped him be brave.

When they returned to Lori's house, Fred ran to meet his son. "Everything okay? You didn't hurt yourself?"

Lori hugged him tight. "Don't worry Dad. I'm perfectly fine."

That evening, while finishing their Carnival masks, Lori told his parents everything. The leaf Frond, the Black Tunnel, Bubbles and his bubbles.

"And you know what I learned?" said Lori. "When you think about others, when you worry about someone who isn't you, you become stronger. And everything becomes more beautiful."

Christine stroked his hair. "That's a very important thing, Lori."

The moral of this story is exactly this: when we also think of others, when we worry about a friend, about someone who needs help, everything becomes more beautiful. We're never alone if we have someone we love, and fear becomes less scary if we face it thinking about those beside us.

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