It was a gray and cloudy morning. Lori, Ale, Viola, and Eletta were sitting on the carpet in Lori's bedroom, building a long line of toy cars. Each child had chosen their favorite: Lori had a super-fast red car, Ale had a blue one with yellow stripes, Viola had a bright green one, and Eletta had a pink one with glitter.

"Mine goes faster!" said Lori, making his little car race back and forth.

"No, mine does!" laughed Ale, pushing his hard.

Cristina, Lori's mom, watched them smiling from the kitchen. "Children, be gentle, don't run too much!"

But right at that moment, a familiar sound came from the window: "CHOO CHOO!"

The four friends looked up quickly. "Toby!" they all shouted together, running to the window.

Toby the Magic Train was there, shiny and colorful, with his white smoke rising toward the gray sky. His locomotive moved a little and said in a cheerful voice:

"Good morning little ones, what a lovely surprise,
today I'll take you where the water lies!
There are boats, sails, and dancing fish so bright,
get ready for moments of pure delight!"

"Let's go, let's go!" shouted Lori, running toward the door.

Cristina helped everyone put on their shoes and, after saying goodbye to Lori's mom, the four children climbed onto the magic train. They sat in their soft little seats: Lori in front, all excited, Ale next to him already looking out the window, Viola and Eletta in back holding hands.

"CHOO CHOO!" went Toby the Magic Train again, and off he went fast as the wind.

The houses became smaller and smaller, then trees appeared, green fields, and finally... the sea! A beautiful blue sea that sparkled under the clouds that were opening up. And there in front was a harbor full of colorful boats: red, yellow, green, blue. Some had their sails puffed up, others were still near the wooden docks.

"Wow!" they all said together.

Toby the Magic Train stopped right next to a long wooden walkway. The children got off carefully, looking around with wide eyes.

There were sailors walking back and forth, carrying ropes and nets. The air smelled of salt and sea. Some seagulls flew above their heads going "SQUAWK SQUAWK!"

"Look at all the boats!" said Viola, pointing with her finger.

"They're beautiful!" added Eletta, with her sweet little voice.

But Lori had already started running toward the dock. "Come on, let's go see the water!"

"Wait!" shouted Ale, running after him. "Don't go too fast!"

But Lori ran and ran and ran. He was so fast that he wasn't watching where he put his feet. And just as he got near the edge of the dock...

"SPLASH!"

A dolphin jumped out of the water! A beautiful gray and shiny dolphin, with dark and clever eyes. He did a super high jump in the air, spun around, and fell back into the water splashing droplets everywhere.

Lori stopped suddenly, almost falling. His heart was beating very, very fast.

"Hello children!" said the dolphin, coming back up and resting his fins on the edge of the dock. "My name is Dindo! Do you like to play?"

"You're a dolphin!" shouted Viola, arriving running with Eletta.

"Yes, and I love to jump and play!" said Dindo, doing another jump and falling back with another big SPLASH.

The children all laughed, but Lori seemed a bit restless. He kept moving, hopping, touching everything he saw on the dock.

"Hey, look at this!" he said, touching a rope. "And this!" touching a net. "And this boat!" running toward a little red boat.

Dindo the dolphin watched him carefully. "You're very fast, little human! But why are you in such a hurry?"

Lori stopped for a moment. "I... I want to see everything! And do everything! Right now!"

Right at that moment, a small sound was heard. "Help... help..."

It was such a tiny little voice that you could barely hear it.

"Who is it?" asked Ale, looking around.

"Help..." repeated the little voice.

The children moved closer to the edge of the dock and looked down. There, on a wet rock, was a tiny red crab. He was so small that he could fit in one hand. His little eyes were shiny, as if he was about to cry.

"Hello, little crab!" said Eletta sweetly. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm lost!" cried the little crab. "I can't find my beach anymore! I was carried here by the waves last night, when the moon was all orange like a pumpkin! And now I don't know where to go!"

"Oh no!" said Viola, putting her hands on her hips. "We have to help him!"

Lori, super fast as always, said right away: "Come on, let's go! I know where to take him! I saw a beach over there!" And he pointed to the right.

"Wait," said Dindo the dolphin, with a calm voice. "First we need to be sure. The right beach for this little crab has golden sand and there are pink shells. We can't take him to the wrong beach."

But Lori wasn't listening. He had already run to the little red boat, the one he had seen before. "Let's get on this boat! It'll be super fast!"

Ale followed him, a bit worried. Viola and Eletta climbed onto the little boat too.

"Kids, wait!" Dindo tried to say, but the children were already trying to make the boat move.

Lori pulled one rope, then another, then pushed an oar. "It won't move!" he said, frustrated.

"Maybe you need to pull that rope there," said Ale, pointing to another one.

Lori pulled it super fast and... SWOOSH! The sail opened all at once! But it was the wrong one!

Right at that moment, a strong wind came. It was a nice warm wind coming from the sea. The wind hit the sail and the little boat started to move... but in the wrong direction!

"Help!" all the children shouted together.

The little boat went faster and faster, away from the harbor, toward the open sea. The waves started getting bigger. SPLASH, SPLASH, SPLASH!

"I'm scared!" said Eletta, holding tight to Viola.

Lori had sat down, with wide eyes. "What have I done?"

Dindo the dolphin jumped into the water and started swimming super fast toward the little boat. In a few seconds he reached it. "Don't be afraid! But now you have to listen to me! Lori, you need to go slowly. If you pull that small rope there, slowly, the sail will close a little!"

Lori looked at the rope. His hands were shaking a bit. He really wanted to pull it fast, like he always did. But then he looked at his friends, looked at the rough sea, and took a deep breath.

"Slowly..." he said to himself.

He pulled the rope slowly, carefully. A little bit at a time. The sail started to close, and the little boat slowed down.

"Good job!" said Dindo. "Keep going like that!"

Lori continued, slowly, until the sail was closed enough. The little boat stopped racing super fast and started moving more gently.

"You did it!" shouted Ale, hugging his friend.

Dindo gently pushed the little boat with his nose, helping it return toward the harbor. It took a while, but finally they arrived back at the dock.

The little crab was still there, on the rock. "Were you scared?" he asked with his tiny little voice.

"Yes," said Lori, honestly. "Very scared. And I learned something important."

"What?" asked Viola.

"That when I do everything in a rush, things go wrong. If I had listened to Dindo, and if I had looked carefully before getting on the boat, nothing bad would have happened."

Dindo smiled (as much as a dolphin can smile). "Very good, Lori! Now, let's calmly look for the right beach for this little crab. I know these waters. We need to go more to the left, not to the right. Do you see that bay over there?"

The children looked. There was a small bay with sand that sparkled golden under the sun, which had finally come out from the clouds.

"It has golden sand!" said Eletta.

"And look, there are pink shells!" added Ale.

Dindo gently took the little crab on his back. "Climb on too, children. I'll take you, but swimming slowly."

The four friends sat on Dindo's wide and smooth back. The dolphin swam slowly, calmly, making sure no one fell. The water was calm now, and the sun warmed their faces.

When they arrived at the bay, the little crab started laughing happily. "It's my home! It's my home! I see my family!"

On the beach there were many other little red crabs walking on the sand. When they saw the little crab, they ran toward him going "Click clack clack" with their claws.

"Thank you, thank you so much!" said the little crab, before sliding into the water and running toward his family.

Dindo brought the children back to the harbor. There, Toby the Magic Train was waiting for them.

The train spoke in his singing voice:

"You learned something important today,
that rushing around leads us astray!
With calm and patience you'll go far,
remember it well, wherever you are!"

The children climbed onto the train, tired but happy. Lori looked out the window and saw Dindo doing one last jump to say goodbye.

"Thank you, Dindo!" he shouted, waving his hand.

During the trip back, Lori was calmer. He wasn't jumping on his seat, he wasn't looking at everything in a rush. He had sat next to Eletta, who had almost fallen asleep resting her head on Viola's shoulder.

"It was a wonderful adventure," said Ale.

"Yes," replied Lori. "And I learned that I don't always have to rush. Sometimes, going slowly is much better."

When Toby the Magic Train brought them back home, Cristina was waiting for them.

"How was the adventure?" she asked.

Lori ran to meet her, but this time he didn't go too fast. He stopped in front of her and said: "Mom, I learned that I shouldn't be in a hurry. Things done calmly turn out better!"

Cristina hugged him tight. "I'm proud of you, sweetheart."

And that evening, Lori ate dinner calmly, brushed his teeth calmly, and went to bed calmly, thinking about the sea, about Dindo, and about the little crab who had found his home again.

**The moral:** When we do things in a hurry, without thinking, problems can happen. But when we take our time, listen to others, and do things calmly, everything turns out better. We don't always have to rush: sometimes, going slowly helps us get where we want in a safer and happier way.