It was a warm afternoon and the wind was blowing gently through the tree branches. In the garden of Ale's house, the four friends were trying to build a kite with colored paper and wooden sticks.

"I'll hold the string!" said Ale, hopping on the spot like he always did when he was happy.

"No, first we need to attach the tail!" replied Violet with her decisive tone, gripping a red ribbon tightly in her hands.

Ellen watched calmly, while Lori ran around the table pretending to already be a kite flying in the sky.

Grace, Ale's mom, watched them from the window, smiling. Ale's four cats were also there in the garden: Sophie, the black kitten, had curled up near Ellen's feet. Dora, the brave tabby cat, observed everything attentively. Chubby, nice and plump, was dozing under a bush, while Milo, his agile brother, was perched on the low wall.

Suddenly, everyone heard a distant sound.

"CHUFF CHUFF!"

The children looked up. A little cloud of colored smoke appeared at the end of the garden.

"It's Toby!" shouted Lori, clapping her hands.

Out of nowhere appeared a shiny little train, with carriages painted blue and orange. The train stopped right in front of them, whistling cheerfully.

"Hello children, what a fine destiny! Today the wind calls you far away, where the sand shines bright as hay!" said Toby the Magic Train with his singing voice.

Ale felt a shiver of excitement. He loved adventures!

"Where are we going?" asked Violet, already ready to climb aboard.

"Among tents and fires, under the moon, you'll find a friend with a fortune soon!" replied Toby the Magic Train.

Ale's four cats came closer, meowing. Sophie jumped onto the first carriage, followed by Dora, Chubby, and Milo.

"They want to come too!" laughed Ale, and he jumped onto the train with his friends.

"CHUFF CHUFF!"

The train departed, passing through a tunnel of colored stars. When they came out, the children were left speechless.

They were in a desert! The desert is a huge place made entirely of sand, where it's very hot during the day and cool at night. But something strange was there: everywhere, among the sand dunes, puddles were sparkling!

"How is that possible?" asked Ellen, who usually spoke little but was very curious.

"It rained last night!" explained a cheerful voice.

In front of them was a camp with colored tents: red, yellow, orange. Fires crackled here and there, and next to the tents were camels. Camels are tall animals with two humps on their backs, like little mountains, where they keep their fat reserves for long journeys in the desert. They have long legs, gentle eyes, and they eat plants.

But who had spoken?

A rooster appeared from behind a tent! A rooster is a farm bird with a red crest on its head and a long, colorful tail. It usually crows loudly in the morning to wake everyone up.

This rooster, however, was special: his crest sparkled like a ruby and he held a small golden seed in his beak.

"Cock-a-doodle-doo! Welcome, travelers! I'm Chester, the early-rising rooster!" he said, but immediately his stomach made a very loud noise: GRRRRR!

"Sorry," said Chester, a bit embarrassed. "I'm always so hungry. I could eat from morning to night!"

The children laughed. Chester smelled like freshly baked bread, a wonderful smell that made you want to have breakfast.

"What a beautiful seed!" said Ale, coming closer.

"Oh, this?" Chester looked at it sadly. "It's a magic seed. It should make plants grow in the desert, but I... I keep it for myself. I'm afraid of running out of food."

Violet frowned. "But if you plant it, lots of plants will grow!"

Chester shook his head. "What if it doesn't work? Better to keep it safe."

At that moment, the wind began to blow hard. The tents shook. The camels grumbled worriedly.

"Oh no!" cried Chester. "The desert wind!"

A very powerful gust swept through the camp. Sand flew everywhere, and the children had to close their eyes. When they opened them again, they saw something terrible: the magic crown that sat on top of the main tent had disappeared!

"The crown!" shrieked Chester, flapping his wings. "Without that crown, the fires will go out and the cold of the night will freeze the whole camp!"

The children looked at each other. The situation was serious.

"Where did it go?" asked Lori, looking around very quickly.

In the distance, toward the highest dunes, something was glittering.

"It's over there!" pointed Ale. "We need to get it!"

"But it's so far away!" said Ellen, shrugging her shoulders. "And the sun is setting..."

It was true. The crescent moon was already appearing in the sky, thin like a little silver boat.

"I can run fast!" said Lori. "But I don't know the way."

"I know the desert," said Chester. "But my legs are short, I can't run that much."

Violet had an idea. "Ale, you're great at jumping! And your cats are fast. You can follow the crown together!"

Ale looked at his cats. Sophie rubbed against his legs. Dora stared at him with her brave eyes. Milo stretched, ready to make big leaps. Even Chubby, the lazy one, seemed determined.

"Let's go!" said Ale.

But Chester wasn't moving. He was still clutching his golden seed in his beak, trembling.

"I'm scared," the rooster admitted. "What if something happens to me? Who will feed me?"

Ale stopped. He looked at Chester with his bright eyes. "Come with us. We'll protect you. And when we find the crown, we'll all celebrate together!"

Chester hesitated. Then he did something unexpected: he put the golden seed in the ground, right there in front of the tents.

"If I don't come back," he said, "at least this will grow for the others."

Violet, Ellen, and Lori stayed at the camp to protect the fires from the wind. They used blankets and cushions to shelter them.

Ale set off running with his cats and Chester. They jumped over puddles one after another: SPLASH! SPLASH! Ale's little boots filled with fresh water.

Dora ran ahead, sniffing out the path. Sophie stayed close to Ale. Milo jumped on rocks to see far away. Chubby, even though he struggled, didn't give up.

"Over there!" cried Chester, pointing with his wing.

The crown was wedged between two rocks, at the top of a very high dune. But the wind was still blowing hard, and the crown was wobbling. It was about to fly away again!

"We can't make it!" panted Ale.

Chester closed his eyes. He thought about all the times he had kept food just for himself, never sharing. He thought about the seed he had planted. And he understood something important.

"Ale!" said Chester. "Climb on my back! I'll launch you toward the top!"

"But you're tired! You're hungry!" protested Ale.

"It doesn't matter!" replied the rooster. "Sometimes you have to give everything you have!"

Chester bent down. Ale climbed onto his warm feathers. With all his strength, the rooster made a great leap, flapping his wings. He couldn't fly, but that effort was enough to launch Ale upward.

The boy flew through the air, stretched out his arms... and grabbed the crown!

"I GOT IT!" he shouted, landing on the soft sand.

Milo reached him with a bound and purred at him. Dora barked with joy (yes, sometimes cats make strange sounds!). Sophie licked his hand. Chubby rolled on the sand, exhausted but happy.

Chester lay on the dune, breathless. Ale ran to him.

"Chester! Are you okay?"

The rooster opened one eye. "I gave everything... and I feel... wonderful!" he said, smiling.

They returned to the camp while the moon shone in the sky. Violet, Ellen, and Lori were waiting for them, worried.

"You have the crown!" yelled Lori, running toward them.

Ale placed the crown on the main tent. The fires burned brighter, warming the whole camp.

But the biggest surprise was yet to come.

There where Chester had planted the golden seed, something was sprouting! A little green plant, with small colorful fruits, was growing before their very eyes!

"But... but..." stammered Chester, incredulous.

"You gave away your seed," said Violet with a smile. "And look what happened!"

From the little plant grew many fruits: apples, pears, apricots! There was food for everyone, for a long time.

The camels came closer happily. The children and the cats ate together with Chester, sitting around the crackling fire.

"I kept that seed for years," said Chester, chewing happily. "I was afraid of losing it. But now I have much more food than before! And also many new friends!"

Ale smiled and hugged Sophie, who was purring.

"CHUFF CHUFF!"

Toby the Magic Train arrived gently, lit by the crescent moon.

"It's time to go back," said Ellen, who was starting to yawn.

The children said goodbye to Chester with big hugs.

"Come back soon!" said the rooster, who now smelled not only of bread, but also of fresh fruit.

Everyone climbed onto the train. The four cats curled up on the seats.

Toby the Magic Train whistled and said: "A seed given with love so true, has made a real garden bloom for you!"

The journey back was sweet. When they arrived in Ale's garden, Grace was waiting for them with a cake.

"How was the adventure?" asked Max, Ale's dad, in his usual calm tone.

"We learned something important!" said Ale.

"What?" asked Grace, picking him up.

"That when you give something to others, you receive much more than what you gave!"

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**The moral of this story is:** Giving is better than receiving. When we give something to others with our heart, we don't lose anything. In fact, just like Chester's seed that became a tree full of fruit, what we give with love comes back multiplied. Sharing makes us happier and helps us find new friends!

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