One February morning, the sky was gray like the belly of a lazy big cat, and a fine drizzle was falling. But inside Violet's house there was so much color! The four friends were sitting around the kitchen table, with round-tipped scissors, colored cardstock, and glitter glue.

"I'm making a lion mask!" said Alex, bouncing on his chair.

"I want to be a butterfly!" exclaimed Ellen in her quiet voice.

"And I'll be a super-fast dragon!" added Lori, waving her arms as if she were flying.

Violet, however, was very focused. Her blue eyes stared at the pink cardstock. She wanted to make the most beautiful mask of all. It was Carnival, the festival where everyone dresses up and throws confetti, those little pieces of colored paper that fly through the air like butterflies.

Dad Luke came into the room with a tray of cookies.

"What magnificent masks!" he said, adjusting his glasses on his nose. "You look ready for the craziest party of the year!"

"Daddy, can you help me cut here?" asked Violet, determined as always when she wanted to do something perfectly.

"Of course, my treasure!" he replied, stroking her hair with his big hand.

Suddenly, a strange sound came through the window.

"CHOO CHOO!"

The children looked at each other with wide eyes. They knew that sound!

"Toby!" they all shouted together.

They ran to the door and there, in the garden wet from the drizzle, was he: Toby the Magic Train! He was small, shiny, and colorful, with wheels turning slowly and a chimney puffing little white clouds.

"Hello lovely masked children, today you'll be in an enchanted land! Vases and colors will await you there, and lots of confetti will fill the air!"

"Where are you taking us, Toby?" asked Violet, putting her hands on her hips with a determined air.

But Toby only whistled and opened his colorful little doors.

Dad Luke came closer and said: "Go, little explorers! I'll wait for you here with more cookies!"

The four friends climbed onto the little train, which departed through a rainbow of lights. Everything spun and sparkled, and when they stopped, they found themselves in an incredible place.

It was a village full of colorful little houses, and in front of every house there were so many vases and plates painted with the most vivid colors they had ever seen. Red like strawberries, blue like the summer sky, yellow like sunflowers!

But the most beautiful thing was the sparkling icicles! Hanging from the roofs of the houses, they shone in the sun like magical crystals, reflecting all the colors of the vases. They looked like jewels hanging everywhere.

"How beautiful!" whispered Ellen, with her mouth open in wonder.

The village was all decorated for Carnival. There were garlands, masks hanging from windows, and a big square in the center where a fountain spouted colored water.

But something was wrong.

In the square, many potters were sitting on the ground with sad faces. A potter is a person who makes vases with their hands, using a special earth called clay. Clay is soft like playdough, and can be shaped to make many forms.

"Why are you sad?" asked Violet, approaching a potter with an apron full of colored stains.

"Oh, child with sky-colored eyes," sighed the potter. "Today is the great Carnival festival of our village. Every year the Flower Fairy brings us magical confetti, the kind that when it falls makes colorful flowers bloom. But this year a huge problem has happened!"

At that moment, a flutter of wings made everyone turn.

A tiny fairy, as big as an apple, flew toward them. She had transparent wings like those of dragonflies, a little dress made of pink petals, and hair green like spring grass. She smelled of fresh roses.

"Ahhhh!" exclaimed the fairy, landing on the edge of the fountain with a somersault. "Finally someone new! I was bored in an enormous way!"

Alex, Lori, Ellen, and Violet looked at each other confused.

"Enor... what?" asked Lori, scratching her head.

The fairy giggled, covering her mouth with her tiny hands.

"Oh, sorry! Enormous means very very much! Really big! Huge! I was bored in a really big way!"

"Ahhhh!" said the children, now understanding.

"I am Flametta, the Flower Fairy!" said the fairy, doing a pirouette. "I make flowers bloom wherever I go! Watch!"

She blew on an empty vase, and immediately a red tulip popped out with a little crackle.

"But then why is everyone sad?" asked Violet, crossing her arms.

Flametta's face turned red as a tomato. The fairy began to wring her little hands.

"Well... I... I played a little trick," she admitted in a small voice. "You see, I really like being mischievous. Yesterday I hid all the magical confetti in a secret place, to make a fun surprise. I wanted everyone to search for them like a treasure hunt!"

"And where's the problem?" asked Alex.

Flametta covered her face with her wings.

"I hid them so well that I can't find them anymore!"

"Oh no!" exclaimed Ellen.

The oldest potter stood up, his shoulders hunched with sadness.

"Without the magical confetti, the Carnival festival cannot begin. It's a tradition of our village. When the confetti falls, flowers bloom and spring arrives. If we don't find them, winter will last a long time still!"

Violet felt her heart beat hard. This was serious! She looked at her friends and saw that they were worried too.

"We will help you!" said Violet with a determined voice. "Right, friends?"

"Yes!" shouted Alex, Lori, and Ellen.

Flametta flew close to Violet's face and gave her a little kiss on the tip of her nose.

"Thank you, brave child! But there's a little problem. I only remember that I put them in a really big vase, near the tower with the bell. But that tower is very tall!"

The children ran toward the tower. It was really tall, with a silver bell at the top that shone in the sun. And all around there were enormous vases, as big as Ellen!

"But there are so many!" said Lori, looking around.

"How will we know which one is the right one?" asked Alex, who had started bouncing from excitement.

Flametta flew around the vases, thoughtful.

"I remember... I remember that the vase had flowers painted on it! Red and blue flowers!"

The children split up and started searching. They checked every vase, but there were painted flowers everywhere! Yellow flowers, purple flowers, orange flowers...

"I found it!" called Ellen in her quiet voice.

Everyone ran to her. She was right! An enormous vase with beautiful red and blue flowers painted on it.

But there was a problem.

The vase was very tall, and the opening at the top was narrow. Too narrow for a child to get inside to take the confetti.

"Now what?" said Lori, worried.

Flametta had an idea.

"I could transform little clay balls into new confetti! But you have to throw them inside the magic vase, the special one that transforms things!"

She pointed to a distant vase, with a colored circle painted on it.

"If you throw the clay balls inside that vase, they will become magical confetti! But you have to hit the target!"

A potter brought a basket full of colored clay balls. They were small and soft.

Alex tried first. He threw the ball, but it went too far right. Nothing!

Lori tried second. The ball flew high, but then fell too short. Nothing!

Ellen tried gently, but her ball bounced on the edge of the vase and fell outside.

Now it was Violet's turn.

Her heart was beating very fast. Everyone was watching her. The potters, Flametta, her friends. What if she couldn't do it? What if she made a mistake?

Violet threw. The ball flew... and missed the vase.

"Oh no," she whispered.

She tried again. She missed again.

And again. And again.

Violet felt tears stinging her eyes. She couldn't hit the target!

"I can't do it," she said, her voice trembling.

Alex came close and took her hand.

"Come on Violet, you're super strong! Remember when you learned to ride your tricycle? You fell down many times, but then you became really good!"

Lori nodded: "It's true! You never give up!"

Ellen smiled at her sweetly: "Try again. We believe in you."

Violet wiped her eyes with her sleeve. Her friends were right. She was determined! She didn't give up!

She took a deep breath. She looked at the vase. She raised her arm. And she threw.

The ball flew through the air, spinning on itself, and... PLOP!

It went into the vase!

A golden light exploded from inside, and a cascade of magical confetti flew up high, filling the sky with colors!

"Hooray!" everyone shouted.

Violet couldn't believe it. She had done it!

But then Flametta made a face.

"Oh dear... there's not much confetti. It's not enough for the whole village!"

The potters looked at each other sadly.

"I want them all!" said a fat potter.

"No, me!" said a potter with red hair.

"They're mine!" shouted another.

They started fighting, trying to grab as much confetti as possible.

Violet stamped her feet on the ground.

"STOP!" she shouted with her strong voice.

Everyone froze, surprised by this little girl with such determined blue eyes.

"If you fight it's not good!" said Violet. "The confetti is little, it's true. But if we divide it into equal parts, everyone will have some! A little for everyone is better than everything for one!"

The potters looked at each other, feeling a little ashamed.

"The child is right," said the old potter. "Let's divide it fairly."

Flametta flew among the people, distributing the confetti to everyone, one equal to another. And when the last piece of confetti was given, something extraordinary happened!

Each piece of confetti, even though small, shone with very strong light. And when everyone threw them together into the air, they seemed to multiply! The sky filled with colors, and wherever the confetti touched the ground, beautiful flowers bloomed!

Roses, tulips, daisies! The whole village smelled of spring!

"When you share with your heart, the magic becomes greater!" said Flametta, doing a happy pirouette.

The Carnival festival began! Everyone danced, sang, and the children received beautiful masks made of colored clay.

When it was time to return, Toby the Magic Train arrived with his cheerful whistle.

"CHOO CHOO!"

The children said goodbye to everyone with big hugs. Flametta gave Violet a magical flower that never wilted.

"Thank you, child with a big heart," she said.

They climbed onto the little train, and Toby departed gently.

"You've learned a great lesson, sharing is the true connection! When you give with a sincere heart, the world becomes a truer part!"

And as the little train crossed the rainbow to return home, Violet held her magical flower, happy.

When they arrived, Dad Luke was waiting for them with warm cookies and hot chocolate.

"How was the adventure?" he asked, hugging Violet.

"It was wonderful, daddy!" said Violet. "I learned that when you divide things into equal parts, everyone is happy. And the magic becomes greater!"

That evening, as she fell asleep, Violet thought about the colorful festival, the magical confetti, and her friends who had helped her not to give up.

And she dreamed of flowers blooming everywhere.

The moral of this story is: when we divide things into equal parts, no one is left without anything and everyone is happy. A little for everyone is better than everything for just one!

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