It was a cold February afternoon, and small snowflakes were falling from the sky, looking like white confetti. Ale, Viola, Eletta, and Lori were sitting on the living room floor, surrounded by round-tipped scissors, glue sticks, colored feathers, and lots of glitter.

"Look at my mask!" said Ale, showing off a lion mask with a mane made of ruffled orange paper.

"I'm making a butterfly!" exclaimed Viola, carefully gluing purple wings onto her mask. Her blue eyes sparkled with concentration.

Eletta was working silently on her kitten mask, while Lori had already finished and was running around the room pretending to be a masked superhero.

Ale's four cats were watching the scene. Sophie, the black cat, was curled up near the radiator. Dora, the brave tabby cat, was curiously sniffing the glitter. Poldo, big and sturdy, was sleeping on the armchair, while Milo, his agile brother, was jumping from one piece of furniture to another trying to catch the feathers flying around.

"Carnival is in three days!" said Grace, Ale's mom, bringing a bowl of popcorn. "Your masks are beautiful."

It was at that moment that everyone heard a familiar sound.

CHUFF CHUFF CHUFF!

The children jumped to their feet. The cats pricked up their ears. Through the window, they saw a cloud of colored steam, full of pink and blue confetti.

"Toby!" they all shouted together.

They ran outside into the garden, followed by the four cats who didn't want to miss the adventure. The magic train was there, shiny and sparkling, decorated with garlands and streamers for the occasion.

Toby whistled cheerfully and said in his singing voice:
"My dear children, climb aboard with me, tonight the moon is orange, you'll see what surprise there'll be, in a villa full of things so strange!"

"A villa?" asked Lori excitedly.

"With surprises?" added Viola, already ready to climb on.

Everyone got on the train: Ale, Viola, Eletta, and Lori, plus the four cats who settled on the red velvet seats. Milo immediately found the spot by the window to look outside.

The train departed, and the world around them began to change. The sky became dark, but it wasn't an ordinary darkness. The moon, big and round, was shining an intense orange color, just like a giant pumpkin hanging in the sky.

"Look at the moon!" whispered Eletta, her eyes wide open.

"It's orange like my lion mask!" said Ale.

The train stopped in front of a large iron gate. Behind the gate was an enormous villa, with many windows, pointed towers, and a garden full of statues that seemed to be wearing Carnival costumes.

"Welcome to the Villa of Surprises," announced Toby. "Go right in, don't be afraid, someone awaits you, arrangements have been made!"

The children got off the train. The cats followed them, with Dora in the lead, bravely sniffing the air, and Poldo walking slowly behind everyone.

The gate opened by itself with a long creak.

Ale felt a shiver down his spine. The villa was beautiful, but also a little spooky under that orange moon. The shadows of the statues seemed to move.

"I... I'm not scared," he said, but his voice trembled a little.

Viola took his hand. "Let's go together."

They entered the garden. The statues were really dressed for Carnival: one wore a pointed hat, another a golden mask, yet another a velvet cloak.

Suddenly, they heard a noise.

THUMP THUMP THUMP.

"What was that?" whispered Lori, hiding behind Ale.

THUMP THUMP THUMP.

The noise was coming from behind a bush. The children stopped. The cats got into position: Dora with her fur standing up, Sophie next to Ale, Milo ready to pounce.

"We need to go see," said Ale, trying to be brave.

They approached the bush. Ale pushed aside the branches and...

"AAAH!" shrieked a high-pitched little voice.

A white bunny jumped out of the bush, soft as a cloud, with two very long ears. But the strangest thing was that he was wearing a crooked little Carnival mask, with blue feathers and silver glitter.

The bunny was trembling like a leaf.

"Please, don't hurt me!" he whimpered. "I'm just a timorous little bunny!"

"Timorous?" asked Viola. "What does that mean?"

The bunny adjusted his mask and explained: "Timorous means I'm afraid of lots of things. It means being a bit of a scaredy-cat, always having your heart beating fast."

"Oh, I understand!" said Viola. "Like when I was afraid of the dark?"

"Exactly, just like that," nodded the bunny.

"What's your name?" asked Eletta with her sweet voice.

"My name is Cottonball. And I smell like cotton candy, can you tell?"

The children came closer. It was true! Cottonball smelled like pink cotton candy, the kind you eat at festivals.

"Why were you hiding?" asked Ale.

Cottonball sat on his hind legs and let out a long sigh. "Tonight there's the Grand Carnival Party at the villa. But I... I'm afraid to go in."

"Why?" asked Lori.

"Because inside there are shadows. When the moon is orange, the shadows in the villa become huge and make strange shapes. I'm afraid of shadows."

The children looked toward the villa. Indeed, through the windows, they could see shadows moving, long and swaying.

"But shadows can't hurt you," said Ale. "They're just... shadows."

"I know," said Cottonball, with glistening eyes. "But my heart doesn't know that. My heart is scared anyway."

Sophie, the black cat, approached Cottonball and rubbed her little nose against his fur. The bunny seemed to calm down a little.

"We can help you!" said Ale. "Let's go into the villa together!"

Cottonball shook his head, making his long ears sway. "No no no. It's too scary."

"But if you don't go in, you'll miss the party," said Viola, with her determined nature. "And I know you want to go."

Cottonball pulled out of his fur a small golden carrot that glowed in the dark. "This is my magic carrot. I always carry it with me to feel safe. But even it doesn't give me enough courage to enter the villa."

Ale thought about all the times he had been scared. When there was that big thunderstorm. When he saw that large spider in the basement. When he went to preschool for the first time.

"You know what, Cottonball?" said Ale. "I'm sometimes timorous too. But I discovered a secret."

"What secret?" asked Cottonball, coming closer with his ears standing straight.

"Fears become smaller if you face them. If you run away, the fear keeps getting bigger. But if you look at it, it becomes tiny."

"Really?" Cottonball seemed uncertain.

"Really!" confirmed Viola. "When I was afraid of the dark, my mom Marti had me turn the light on and off many times. And I saw that the dark was just... dark. Nothing bad."

Ale had an idea. "Let's follow the shadows! Instead of running from them, let's go see what they really are."

The children, the cats, and Cottonball approached the villa's door. It was an enormous door, made of dark wood, with a handle shaped like a mask.

Dora, the brave cat, went in first. The others followed.

Inside, the villa was incredible. There were rooms full of mirrors, hallways with crystal chandeliers, and Carnival decorations everywhere: garlands, balloons, masks hanging on the walls.

But the shadows! The shadows were truly gigantic. The orange moonlight came through the windows and created enormous shapes on the walls.

Cottonball hid behind Poldo, the big, sturdy cat.

"Look at that one!" said Lori, pointing to a shadow that looked like a monster with three heads.

The children approached. Ale turned on a small flashlight he had in his pocket and pointed it toward the source of the shadow.

"It's just a coat rack!" he laughed. "With three hats hanging on it!"

Cottonball peeked out from behind Poldo. "A... coat rack?"

"Yes! And what about that one that looks like a dragon?" Viola pointed to another scary shadow.

Eletta, silently, walked toward it. "It's a curtain moving in the wind. Look, Cottonball."

The bunny slowly came out of his hiding spot. Milo, the agile cat, hopped beside him as if to encourage him.

Room after room, the children showed Cottonball what really created the shadows. A flower vase became a monster with long fingers. A chair looked like a witch with a hat. A chandelier created tentacles on the ceiling.

"But they're all normal things!" Cottonball finally exclaimed, his eyes shining.

"Exactly!" said Ale. "Shadows are just the shape of things when light hits them. They can't do anything to you."

Cottonball made a little hop of joy, then another, then started jumping around the room. "I'm not scared anymore! I'm not scared anymore!"

At that moment, a door opened and a very warm light appeared. It was the party hall! There were other little woodland animals dressed for Carnival: squirrels with masks, hedgehogs with pointed hats, little birds with colorful cloaks.

"Cottonball!" they all shouted. "You made it! We were waiting for you!"

The bunny turned to Ale and his friends. He had tears in his eyes, but they were tears of happiness.

"Thank you," he said. "Thank you for helping me face my fear."

The party was wonderful. The children danced, ate sweets shaped like little masks, and played chase among the garlands. The cats found a basket full of soft pillows where they could rest.

When it was time to go back, Cottonball gave Ale his golden carrot. "You keep it. I don't need it anymore. My courage is inside me."

Outside the villa, Toby the Magic Train was waiting for them, puffing steam that sparkled under the orange moon.

"You were brave, my dear children," said Toby. "Fears faced head-on, no longer make you shake, the night has come and gone, and your hearts no longer ache!"

Everyone climbed onto the train. Eletta fell asleep almost immediately, leaning against Viola. Lori was looking out the window. Ale was holding the golden carrot and smiling.

The train took them back home, where their parents were waiting.

Grace hugged Ale tightly. "How was the adventure?"

"Wonderful, Mom. I helped a bunny not be scared anymore."

The children said goodbye, tired but happy, with their hearts full of new courage.

And Cottonball? That night he slept without fear of shadows, holding onto a precious memory: the friendship of four brave children.

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**The moral of the story:**
Sometimes the things that scare us seem very big and frightening. But if we face them, we discover they're not so terrible after all. Like the shadows in the villa: they looked like monsters, but they were just ordinary objects! When you're afraid of something, try looking at it closely. You'll see that the fear will become smaller, and you will become braver.

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