Ale was playing in the garden with Viola, Eletta, and Lori. The sky was full of gray clouds covering the sun, and it was a bit cold. The four friends were building castles with sand buckets, filling them to the brim and then flipping them over to make towers.

"Look at my castle!" shouted Ale, jumping happily. "It's the tallest of all!"

"Mine has five towers!" said Viola, putting her hands on her hips.

At that moment, from the corner of the garden came a familiar sound: "CHUFF CHUFF!"

"Toby!" all the children shouted together.

Toby the Magic Train stopped in front of them, with his colorful carriages that shone even without sun.

"Hello dear and lovely children, today I'll take you to wonderful places! White sand and sparkling water, come with me, what a beautiful glitter!" said Toby the Magic Train.

Ale called his four cats. Sophie, the black kitten, arrived first and rubbed against his legs. Then came Dora the brave tabby, Chubby all fat and massive, and Milo who made a big jump to get on the carriage.

Everyone climbed onto the magic train, and with another "CHUFF CHUFF" they set off on their adventure.

The journey was short but exciting. When they got off, the children's eyes widened. They were in a secret bay, hidden among large gray rocks. The sand was very white, like flour, and the sea made small waves that sounded "splash splash."

"Wow!" said Eletta, looking around.

But there was something strange in the sky. Even though it was still daytime, the moon had already appeared and it was all orange, like a big round pumpkin.

"Look at the moon!" said Lori, pointing at the sky.

"It's red!" added Viola.

Ale's cats started sniffing the sand, curious. Sophie meowed softly.

While they were walking on the beach, they heard a noise. It was like a little gallop. From behind a rock appeared a very small horse, perfect for their height. It had cream-colored fur with a golden mane.

"Hello!" said the little pony. "I'm Starlight. Welcome to my bay!"

Starlight had a very particular personality: he always spoke as if he were very wise, like an elderly grandfather. And he had a special smell, he smelled of sweet honey.

"What a beautiful bay!" said Ale, running toward Starlight.

"Yes, it's magnificent," replied Starlight with a serious voice. "But I have a big problem that afflicts me."

The children looked at him curiously. Viola asked: "What does afflicts mean?"

Starlight explained patiently: "Afflicts means it worries me, it makes me feel bad. It's a problem that makes me sad."

"Oh!" they all said together.

"You see," continued Starlight, "here in the bay there was another pony named Grumpy. But Grumpy always made fun of everyone. He told me I was too small, that I couldn't do anything by myself. And in the end he went away, taking all the bay's supplies with him: the hay, the fresh water, the buckets, everything! Now I've tried to do everything by myself to get food, but I can't manage. The tide is rising and will soon cover the little hay I found."

The children looked toward the shore. It was true! The seawater was slowly approaching the beach, where there was a small pile of golden hay.

"We have to help Starlight!" said Ale decisively.

"But how?" asked Eletta, who was very calm but also worried.

Starlight sighed: "I tried to get enormous buckets to collect fresh water from the spring among the rocks, but they were too heavy. I tried to eat all the hay at once, but I wasted half of it which fell into the sea. I tried to carry all the supplies together, but I couldn't move."

"Maybe you tried to do too many things at once," said Viola with her strong character. "And maybe you used more things than you really needed."

Lori, who was very fast, ran toward the hay. "The water is coming! We have to hurry!"

It was then that Ale had an idea. "Starlight, you don't have to do everything alone! And you don't have to take all the supplies at once! You only need what you really need!"

"But I thought I needed a lot," said Starlight sadly.

Ale's cats meowed, as if they wanted to help. Chubby, the fat one, sat on the hay to protect it from the approaching water.

"How much water do you drink per day?" asked Eletta gently.

"Mmm... a small bucket," replied Starlight.

"And how much hay do you eat?" added Viola.

"Two small bundles," said the little pony.

"Then you don't need enormous buckets or mountains of hay!" explained Ale. "You only need what you can use! The rest would be a waste!"

But the water kept approaching. Now it was almost lapping at the hay where Chubby was standing guard. The children watched tensely as the waves grew.

"Quick! We have to save the hay!" shouted Lori.

Milo, Ale's agile cat, made a big jump and grabbed a small bundle of hay with his teeth, carrying it safely onto a rock. Dora, the brave tabby cat, did the same. Sophie, the affectionate one, guided Starlight toward the fresh water spring among the rocks.

The children all ran together. Viola and Ale each took a bundle of hay, just what Starlight needed for a few days. Eletta and Lori found a small bucket, perfect for the right portion of water.

"Let's work together!" said Ale, smiling.

The seawater reached the beach, but by now the important hay was safe. The rest, the extra that Starlight had accumulated thinking he needed it, was carried away by the waves.

Starlight looked at the saved hay, then looked at the children. "You were right. I didn't need all that hay. And most importantly, I couldn't do everything alone. You helped me, and together we saved what I really needed."

"See?" said Viola. "Nobody can do everything alone!"

"And you shouldn't waste," added Ale. "You should only take what you really need."

Starlight nodded with his little muzzle. "Grumpy was wrong when he made fun of me. It's not shameful to ask for help. And now I understand that collecting too many supplies was really wasteful. I needed much less!"

The orange moon in the sky shone even brighter, illuminating the secret bay with a warm and special light.

"Thank you, my friends," said Starlight. "Would you like to take a ride on the beach? Now that I have the right supplies safe, I can play with you!"

The children took turns riding on Starlight's back, who carried them for little rides on the white sand. Ale's cats followed them, jumping joyfully on the sand.

After a while, Toby the Magic Train made his "CHUFF CHUFF" heard from far away.

"It's time to go home," said Eletta, who was starting to get tired.

They all said goodbye to Starlight, who now seemed much happier.

When they climbed onto Toby the Magic Train, he said: "You did well, brave children, not wasting was precious! Together you can do anything, alone instead it's tiring!"

During the journey back, Ale held Sophie in his arms. The other cats dozed off, tired but happy.

When they arrived in the garden, they found Max, Ale's dad, waiting for them.

"How was the adventure?" he asked with his gentle tone.

"We helped a little pony!" Ale told him, all excited.

"And we learned not to waste!" added Viola.

"And that nobody can do everything alone!" concluded Lori.

Eletta, who was tired, leaned against her mom Elisa who had come to pick her up. Marti was also there for Viola, and Cristina for Lori.

Grace, Ale's mom, picked up her child and hugged him tight. "I'm very proud of you," she told him.

That evening, before sleeping, Ale thought about Starlight and the secret bay with the orange moon. He had understood that wasting is not good, that you should only use what you really need. And that together with friends, you can do anything.

His four cats slept at the foot of the bed, tired but happy from the beautiful adventure they had experienced together.

**THE MORAL OF THE STORY:**

Children, today we learned something important: we shouldn't waste! Wasting means using more things than we really need, or throwing them away without using them. Like Starlight who wanted to accumulate lots and lots of hay, when he only needed a little. Sometimes we think we need many things, but actually we need much less. When we use only what we need, we don't waste and we make nature happy too! And remember: nobody can do everything alone, it's okay to ask friends for help!