text Maria Karo, illustrations Irona Djonkova

children’s book project

excerpt:

Santino’s birthday present

Tomorrow was Santino’s birthday and Aye-Aye kept asking him what present he wanted and he kept saying nothing. Then, about late afternoon, after the two friends had eaten some of the chocolate Norah had left for them in the secret hiding place for candy and chocolate (I won’t tell you where it is), Santino said:

“Just don’t you laugh at me, Aye-Aye! This is a very special wish, I don’t know if it can be fulfilled, but I can at least confide it in you since you are my best friend. I want to have my little spider web in the sky. It has to be small and thin and capture a ray of sunshine. Or several of them,” Santino looked at his friend, almost ashamed.

“Oh!” Aye-Aye scratched behind his ears, “Very pretty, a spider web and a sunbeam in it. It should work, there are plenty of sunbeams, but how to bring them into your spider web, we have to figure it out…” And the hedgehog curled his head down onto his belly and fell even deeper in thought.

The little spider, who had been delighted by his friend’s words, now, seeing him so serious and thoughtful, began to worry.

“Look, Aye-Aye, I don’t necessarily want it, only if it’s easy to happen.”

While the hedgehog thought, ‘It’s sunny today, so it’ll be sunny tomorrow. The sun, as far as I know, likes to shine, and I don’t think it’s likely to take a day off exactly tomorrow, although I’m not aware of anyone who likes to go to work every day!’ This was what the hedgehog had heard people say about work when they went to the sweet shop. ‘But where does sunshine fall in such a way that a whole ray would somehow get entangled in Santino’s web? I’ll ask Tita, the bee, who flits from flower to flower on the balcony. Surely, the sun would gape at the most beautiful flower and there, right between its leaves, Santino could weave a cradle of spider webs. He won’t be able to catch it forever, but he’ll swing it for a while, I don’t think he’ll be disappointed. What a nice birthday wish!’ thought Aye-Aye.

 “It will happen! I have an idea! Titaaaaah!’ The hedgehog ran off to find the bee, and Santino, who had been huddled worriedly in one corner of the room, suddenly brightened and thought, ‘I have the best friend in the world!’