It was a sunny afternoon, but the wind was blowing mischievously through the tree branches. The leaves were flying in circles like little crazy ballerinas.

Eletta, Ale, Viola, and Lori were sitting on the living room floor, surrounded by colored cardstock, glitter, and feathers of every color. They were making masks for Carnival! Carnival is that wonderful celebration where everyone dresses up and eats delicious sweets.

Eletta was carefully cutting a purple cardstock. She was very focused, with her calm eyes following the round-tipped scissors.

"My mask will be a butterfly!" exclaimed Viola with determination, gluing on a blue feather.

"I want to be a lion!" shouted Ale, jumping to his feet and making a roar.

"And I want to be a super-fast rocket!" said Lori, running around the table.

Grace, Ale's mom, smiled. "You're making beautiful masks, children."

Andrea, Eletta's dad, made a joke: "Lori, if you run that fast, the mask will finish itself!"

Everyone laughed.

At that moment, they heard a sound the children knew well.

"CHOO CHOO!"

Eletta looked up. Her eyes lit up.

"Toby!" they all shouted together.

The window trembled slightly, and from the garden came a cloud of colored smoke. Toby the Magic Train appeared among the bushes, with his shiny wheels and golden whistle. He was decorated with streamers and confetti: he was celebrating Carnival too!

Toby the Magic Train whistled and said in a cheerful voice:

"Hello children, what lovely little masks! I'll take you where fire makes ballerinas dance! A special bird awaits you up there, where the smoking mountain never sleeps!"

"A smoking mountain?" asked Viola, curious.

"Let's go see!" exclaimed Lori.

The four children climbed onto the train, followed by Ale's four cats: Sophie the black kitten curled up next to Eletta, Dora the daring tabby positioned herself in front like a guard, and the brothers Poldo and Milo settled in the back, ready to protect everyone.

"CHOO CHOO!"

The train departed, flying above the clouds. Below them, the houses became small like toys. Then the sky changed color. It became orange, then red, then purple.

"Look at the moon!" whispered Eletta, pointing up.

The moon had turned orange like a pumpkin! A Carnival moon, thought Eletta.

The train descended toward an enormous mountain. From the top came smoke, but it wasn't ugly gray smoke. It was a light, colored vapor that seemed to come out of a pot of magic potions!

"That's a volcano," explained Toby the Magic Train. "A volcano is a special mountain with a hole at the top. Sometimes smoke comes out, sometimes hot rocks come out. But this volcano is magical and not scary!"

The train stopped on a big, flat rock. It was warm under their feet, but not too much: like a radiator turned on.

The children got off and looked around. There were red and orange rocks everywhere. The magical vapor danced in the air, forming strange shapes: hearts, stars, Carnival masks!

Suddenly, the sky lit up.

A very strong light, yellow and orange, came down from the volcano. The children covered their eyes. Even the cats hid behind Ale's legs.

When the light calmed down, in front of them was the most beautiful bird they had ever seen.

It was made of fire! Its feathers were red, yellow, and orange flames that danced without burning. Its eyes were two golden stars. On its head it wore a little crown made of small embers, which sparkled like Christmas lights.

"A Phoenix!" exclaimed Eletta, who had seen a drawing in a book.

"What's a Phoenix?" asked Lori.

"It's a magical bird made of fire," explained Eletta calmly. "When it gets old, it turns into ashes. But then it's reborn! It comes out of the ashes like a new chick."

The Phoenix laughed, and her laughter sounded like tinkling bells.

"Ahaha! Good children! My name is Sparkle, and I'm indeed a Phoenix! Welcome to the Magic Volcano!"

Sparkle smelled like roasted chestnuts. Do you know what roasted chestnuts are? They're chestnuts cooked over fire, eaten warm when it's cold. A delicious smell!

"Did you come for the big party?" asked Sparkle, hopping on the rocks. Every time she laughed too hard, she sneezed, and colored sparks came out of her nose!

"What party?" asked Viola.

"The Volcano Carnival Party! It's the best party of the year! But..." Sparkle stopped laughing. Her feathers drooped, becoming less bright. "But there's a huge problem."

"What problem?" asked Ale.

"I promised to bring the most delicious cake in the world. But I'm missing the ingredients! And the party starts when the red moon reaches the top of the volcano!"

The children looked up. The orange moon was moving across the sky, approaching the smoking peak.

"There's not much time!" said Viola with determination. "We have to help her!"

But Sparkle shook her head, sad.

"The ingredients are in difficult places. We need Honey from the Lava Bees, who live in the warm caves. And Star Flour, which is found only on the Highest Rock. And..." Sparkle stopped, worried. "And the last ingredient is kept by the Grumpy Troll."

"What's a Troll?" asked Eletta.

"A Troll is a big and rather ugly creature that lives in the mountains," explained Sparkle. "This Troll is called Grumble, and he won't give anyone his secret ingredient: Sparkling Sugar!"

Eletta looked at her friends. Then she looked at the cats, who were close to her. Sophie rubbed her head against her leg, as if to say: "You can do it!"

"Let's go get everything," said Eletta with a calm but confident voice.

"Will you really help me?" Sparkle started to shine again. Her feathers became bright again. "You're jubilant!"

"Jubi-what?" asked Lori, confused.

"Jubilant!" repeated Sparkle laughing. "It means you're full of joy! Happy! When someone is so happy they could almost burst, they're jubilant!"

"Jubilant!" repeated Ale, jumping. "I like this word!"

Sparkle pointed to a cave from which orange light was coming.

"The Lava Bees are in there. But be careful: they don't like people who run! You have to move calmly."

Eletta nodded. She was very good at staying calm!

They entered the cave. It was warm, but not too much. The walls glowed red and orange. And the bees... they were incredible! They were made of small flames, they flew buzzing, and they produced a golden honey that sparkled like gold!

Ale wanted to run toward the honey, but Eletta stopped him gently.

"Slowly, Ale. We have to walk slowly."

The four children walked slowly, without making sudden movements. The bees watched them, but they didn't get angry. Sophie and Dora walked on tiptoes.

They reached the big honeycomb. Eletta took a jar that Sparkle had given her and filled it carefully.

"We got it!" whispered Viola.

They left the cave, and Sparkle hugged them with her warm wings. It was like being wrapped in a blanket just taken from the dryer!

"Now the Highest Rock!" said Sparkle, pointing to an enormous rock at the top of a hill.

But there was a problem. To reach the rock, they had to cross a very narrow stone bridge!

The bridge was over a river of lava. Below them, the bright red flowed slowly. It wasn't dangerous, because it was far away, but it was a little scary!

Lori looked at the bridge. He wanted to run fast, but the bridge was too narrow!

"I'm scared," admitted Lori.

Eletta took his hand.

"Let's go together," she said with a sweet voice. "One step at a time. Let's not look down."

The four children crossed the bridge holding hands. Poldo and Milo walked in front, and Dora brought up the rear, brave as always.

When they reached the other side, they all let out a big sigh of relief!

On the Highest Rock there was a white powder that sparkled like stars. Eletta collected it in a bag.

"Two ingredients!" exclaimed Viola, clapping her hands.

But the orange moon was getting closer to the top of the volcano. Time was running out!

"And now the Troll," said Sparkle, a bit worried.

They walked to a dark cavern. Inside they could hear a noise: "GRUMBLE GRUMBLE GRUMBLE!"

It was Grumble the Troll! He was as big as a wardrobe, with skin gray like rock, and an always angry face. He held tight a jar of Sparkling Sugar.

"Go away!" shouted Grumble. "This sugar is MINE! I won't give it to anyone!"

Sparkle trembled. Ale hid behind Viola. Lori took a step back.

But Eletta stood still.

She approached the Troll with calm steps. Her eyes were peaceful.

"Why don't you want to share it?" she asked with a gentle voice.

The Troll looked at her, surprised. No one ever spoke to him with kindness!

"Because... because if I give it away, I won't have any more for myself!"

Eletta smiled.

"But if you give us the sugar, we can make a really big cake. And you can eat it with us at the party! It will be much nicer than eating the sugar alone."

The Troll thought about it. Then he thought about it some more. Then he said:

"No one has ever invited me to a party."

"Now you're invited!" said Viola.

"And we can have a race to get to the party!" added Lori.

The Troll, for the first time, smiled. It was a slightly crooked smile, but it was real.

"All right," he said, handing over the jar. "Take it."

Sparkle shone so brightly that she lit up the whole cave! She gathered the ingredients and, with her fire magic, baked the cake in an instant. The cake was enormous, with orange frosting and golden sparkles on top!

The orange moon touched the top of the volcano right at that moment.

"The party can begin!" shouted Sparkle.

From the volcano came other magical creatures: dancing salamanders, little flame birds, and even butterflies made of embers! Everyone celebrated, ate cake, danced, and laughed!

Grumble the Troll ate three slices of cake and laughed for the first time. He didn't seem angry at all anymore!

Lori had a race with the salamanders and won! Ale jumped with the fire birds. Viola danced with the butterflies. And Eletta... Eletta smiled, happy to see everyone so content.

She felt a bit tired. She leaned against Sparkle, who was warm and soft like a blanket.

"Thank you, little Eletta," said Sparkle. "You understood something important: happiness grows when you share it."

The whistle of Toby the Magic Train echoed in the air.

"CHOO CHOO!"

The children said goodbye to Sparkle, Grumble the Troll, and everyone else. Then they climbed onto the train.

Toby the Magic Train said:

"You shared joy and yummy cake, and happiness now echoes in your wake! Who gives a smile receives a hundred more, and the heart becomes a treasure to adore!"

The train flew away, through the starry sky.

When they arrived home, Eletta was so tired that she fell asleep right away in her dad Andrea's arms.

"How was the adventure?" asked Andrea smiling.

Eletta, already almost asleep, whispered: "We made a cake... and happiness... multiplies..."

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**The moral of the story:** Happiness multiplies! The more you share happiness, the more there is for everyone. Like Sparkle's cake: divided among many friends, it made everyone happy. And Grumble the Troll discovered that sharing is much better than keeping everything for yourself.

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