Volume i part 2

Looking for a star in Spain

Volume I

2012/2013

Spain

By Students of 2nd cycle of Primary level 4

Main characters: Núria, Xavier, Daniela, Salma, Jordi, Nil, Daniel, Marc, Ilyass, Natàlia and Rut.

2 Write a book together: The 12 stars have disappeared

We are the students of level 4 of FEDAC-PRATS school in Prats de Lluçanès and we would like to tell you about our great adventure.

We were working on a school project about the European Union when we watched a report on the breaking news of TV that will change, in a surprising way, our school routine for a few days.

That day our teacher said: “Did you hear the news about the robbery of the stars of the European flag yesterday? The presenter said there is one of the lost star in Catalonia!”

“Yes,” the children answered. “It seems incredible! We will search the hidden star!!” all said in chorus.

“All right, but you have to be aware: it will be a hard work and we must ask permission to your parents,” the teacher explained.


All they agreed with the conditions and that was how we began our extraordinary adventures in searching the lost star in our country, Catalonia.

“Are you ready?,” asked the teacher. “Let’s go to find our lost star!”

First of all we searched it in Barcelona. We went to Nou Camp to see a match of FC Barcelona team and look for the lost star. There were lots of stars on the football field!.

“When the match finishes we can go to meet Messi,” Jordi said.

“Great idea,! he's the best football player in the world and maybe he can help us!” agreed Marc.

“It’s Ok,!” we all said.


Messi gave us a signed ball but he told us that he didn’t know anything about the lost star.

“Thank you very much , Messi!” said Xavier. It was a magic time for all us!

“Now we could go to Aquarium,!” said Nil and Ilyass.

“All right!” all agreed.


When we arrived at the Aquarium we asked to the responsible if we could dive in the tank by searching the lost star. What an incredible adventure diving among the sharks and other fish but we didn’t find anything.

“Perhaps it is hidden at the zoo, let’s go there!”, suggested Natàlia and Núria.

“Yeah, why not,?” all said at the same time.


First we went to see the reptiles. It wasn’t there. Then we went to see the lynx, the lions, the tigers, the elephants ...and finally we went to the pet corner’s zoo. We couldn’ find it anywhere but we had a fantastic time at the zoo.

“Where will the star be hidden?” asked Rut and Daniela.

Later we decided to go to the airport of Barcelona to try a new search. There were many people going up and down along the airport. They were from all over the world. It was interesting but we were unlucky, the star wasn’t there either.


That evening we had tickets to go to the concert of Bruce Springsteen in Palau St. Jordi. It was really cool! He is our favourite singer. We are fans of him!


The day after Daniel said :

“Why don’t we go to the Sacred Family? Perhaps the thieves hid it on the top of the highest tower so nobody can find it.”

“To the Sacred Family?” asked Nil. “The wonderful church disigned by the famous architect Antoni Gaudí?”


“Yes, it is” aswered Daniel.

“And he designed other important buildings as La Pedrera and la casa Batlló,” added Jordi and Marc.

We visited the Sacred Family. We were all amazed by its beauty. It was the most beautiful church we have ever seen! Although unfortunately, we did not find what we wanted.


In the afternoon we went to buy some clothes at El Corte Inglès. They were on sale! We bought a lot!

Then we took the bus at Catalonia Square, in the centre of Barcelona, to go to the monastery of Montserrat. It is in a mountain called Montserrat. It is a symbol for Catalan people.

We got there by cable railway. What a beautiful landscape! When we were at the top, we had a stroll around the mountain. Then, we went into the monastery which was full of people listening to the choir of Montserrat. They were singing the song ‘Virolai’ that is very special for Catalan people. The choir sang beautifully and everyone clapped them when they finished singing.


The next day, we went to ‘Valls’, the capital of the region ‘Alt Camp’ to try a new search. We would like to see the ‘Castellers de Valls’, they do human towers, but we couldn't see them in the morning because it was raining a lot.

12

Write a book together: The 12 stars have disappeared

Later, in the afternoon, the sun shone again so it was possible to make the human towers contest. That day the ‘Xiquets de Valls’ competed with others ‘Castellers’ from around Catalonia. We were very excited about the contest. They were our favourites.

“Come on ! You can win, ‘Xiquets de Valls’!” Xavier, Natàlia and Núria shouted.

After being waiting for two hours…

“Hooray, they have won!” all shouted very excited.

All children were very happy. But suddenly we noticed that we were wasting too much time so we asked the ‘anxaneta’ –he/she is the boy/girl at the top of the human tower- about the lost star. He told us that he was also searching it but he didn’t find it anywhere. Then he said:

“Why don’t you go to ‘Port Aventura’ to try a new search?

“All right! What a fantastic idea,!” all said in chorus.


‘Port Aventura’ is an amusement park near Tarragona. It’s very funny.

We went up to the most popular rides: ‘Dragon Khan’, ‘Shambhala’, ‘Furius Baco’, ‘Stampida’,..

We were on the ‘Dragon Khan’ when Nil ,Daniel and Ilyass saw something very bright at the top of the roller-coaster and they said:

“Look at that, perhaps is the star!”

“Oh! No, it isn’t. It is just a golden ring with a big diamond!” said Rut, Daniela and Jordi sadly.

Then we went to the ‘Stampida’.

“Wow! It is lots of fun! It’s incredible!”14


But suddenly, Salma and Marc saw something strange.

“Look at those dressed guys! do they seem suspicious to you?”

“Yes, that’s right! Maybe they are the thieves of the stars” said Natàlia and Daniel,“Let’s follow them”

We followed them for a while until we realized they were actors of one of the shows of PortAventura. We all had a great disappointment. It was very late and we were very tired so we went to the hotel. It was a five-stars hotel but none was the star we wanted…

The next day, after a great breakfast we decided to go looking for the star somewhere in Catalonia. Daniela and Rut have an idea:

“What do you think about trying to look for the lost star in the Costa Brava?”

“Yeah, let’s go!” all said at the same time.

“Could we go by train, couldn't we?” said Salma and Nil.

We went to the train station. We bought the tickets to Figueras. So we could go through the Costa Brava and get to Figueras to see the museum of the famous artist, Dalí. The train moved very close to the coast and that allowed us to see beautiful beaches and the Mediterranean sea.

15


“The Costa Brava is so pretty!” thought Xavier and Natàlia.

“The landscapes are amazing!” all agreed.

“Phew! It’s very hot, isn’t it? said Núria and Ilyass, “We could get off the train in Platja D’Aro to go to the beach and have a swim, What do you think?


“Yes, we are going to have a great time!”

We all accepted the idea. We spent a fun time on a beach and we played volleyball too. After that, it was time to go to the town hall to meet up with the Mayor. He received us and he heard our story carefully.

“Wow, this is very important! If we know something we will let you know, don’t worry” he told us.

“Ok, thank you very much” we thanked him.

We came back to the train station to continue our journey to Figueras. It was in the train when Daniela and Rut saw something very bright. They approached to the light and...it was only sunlight reflected in a piece of mirror. It wasn't our desired lost star!


We had just arrived in Figueras and we saw a man carrying a suitcase with a star on it.

“Perhaps the star is in the suitcase” said Jordi and Marc.

“Let’s follow him” Daniel suggested.

We couldn't believe it. He was a magician. He was working in a big circus. Furthermore he invited us to see the circus show. Our adventures seemed endless!

After that we went to visit Dalí’s museum. We liked it very much. Dalí was an extraordinary artist! He made amazing pictures and sculptures.


In the evening we were absolutely exhausted. We went to hotel and we went to the jacuzzi before having dinner. It was funny but we wondered if we could find the lost star...

So at the next day we decided to try a new search to the North, to the Pirineus.

First we went to climb Pedraforca. Then we went to the ski resorts, La Molina and La Masella. We love skiing there in winter but it was June and there wasn’t any snow.

We were asking everyone if they had seen the lost star.


Núria, Jordi, Daniela and Nil suggested we spend the afternoon in Puigerdà. It’s a nice town near ski resorts. It has got a beautiful lake.

We were walking around it when Xavier and Salma said:

“Look! There is some bright in the lake”

“Where?” all said.

“Look, over there!” Xavier and Salma said.

We approached a bit to the lake shore. It was a terrible disappointment! It was only sunlight reflected on the lake!

Suddenly,

“Hey, children!” said an old man. He was feeding the ducks and the swams of the lake.“What are you looking for?”


“We are searching a lost star of the European flag” answered Natàlia and Marc. “Do you know where is it?”

“I think I can give you a clue” said the old man, “The wanted star is very close to you”.

We were all very surprised and when we would like to ask more about it the mysterious old man had disappeared.

Ilyass, Daniel and Rut were very hungry so they proposed us to go to a café to have some bread with spreaded tomato and ham. We all agreeded their proposal. It was delicious!! Then we went to sleep.

“Remember what the old man has said!” “Let's all look for the star at every room” said Salma and Jordi.


We searched it under the bed, in the wardrobe, in the bathroom,…but it wasn’t there.

Time went by, we had to come back to Prats de Lluçanès. We were a little bit sad because although we looked for the star throughout Catalonia, we could not find it. Where would it be?

The next day, before coming back to Prats de Lluçanès, we went to Berga. It celebrated an important festival, La Patum. The Patum of Berga is a popular and traditional festival that is celebrated each year during Corpus Christi. It consists of a series of "dances" accompanied by the rhythm of a drum (the Tabal) and their use of fire. It was declared a Traditional Festival of National Interest and as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

We had a great time! While we were dancing among els turcs i cavallets, la guita, l’àliga, el salt de plens,…more than once we believed we saw the star, however we couldn't find it!


Our adventure is coming to an end and we must return to our town Prats de Lluçanès. We were a little sad and very tired.

“We must not give up hope of finding the star” said Daniel and Xavier, “Remember what the mysterious old man told us”.

So we got excited about the new search in our town. Moreover it was the summer’s Major Festivity and there were lot of people in Prats de Lluçanès. We could ask them for helping us. That made us more hopeful.

“I am going to search the star in the park” said Marc.

“I am going to the library” said Rut.

“We are going to look for it at the sports centre” Núria and Ilyass said.


“And the others could try to search it around the town” suggested Natàlia.

“That’s all right! We will meet all in an hour in front of school” agreed all in chorus.

We searched around les Tres Fonts, la plaça Vella, la plaça Nova, el Passeig, the church and even in the swimming pool.

We were very sad. The star had disappeared without a trace!

It was then when Daniela and Nil said:

“Have anyone searched the star in the sanctuary of Lourdes?”

“Oh, no” we all said, “Perhaps it is hidden there! Hurry up, let’s go”.

There it was! The lost star was on the top of the tallest tree near the sanctuary. And was it was shining a lot!

The mysterious man we found in Puigcerda was right, the star was very close to us!

Everyone was glad and excited because we have finally found the lost star of the European flag.


But it was too high for us and we couldn't get it. Then we had a fantastic idea: climbing one over the other as 'The musicians of Bremen' and as the human towers of Vilafranca we finally got the star!

“Hooray, we have found the lost star!” we all shouted very excited.

“Finding all together the star was the best, wasn't it? said Núria, Xavier, Daniela, Salma, Jordi, Nil, Daniel, Marc, Ilyass, Natàlia and Rut, “United we stand!!”

In the evening we went to dance Contrapàs, a typical and ancient dance of Prats de Lluçanès. We danced it along the streets of the town. We enjoyed it a lot! It was our best Major Festivity!


We had found the lost star all together and the European flag might have 12 stars again! Everyone was very happy!!.

Looking for a star in Portugal


Volume I

2012/2013

Text:

Portuguese Team

School: Agrupamento de Escolas de Almeirim – Escola EB Febo Moniz


Portugal

Illustrations:

Greek Team

School: 5th Primary School of Maroussi, Αθήνα


Maria is Portuguese and she lives in Ribatejo, in a small town called

Almeirim, in the district of Santarém. She lives with her parents, her

grandmother and her twin brother, José. Her house is in the lezíria, near the

river Tagus. Her house is white with a yellow stripe and green shutters. In front

of the House there is a beautiful garden with colorful flowers and trees. From

Mary’s bedroom window, she can see the Tagus River and at the top of the hill

the capital of the region, the city of Santarém.

She is a 12 year-old girl who attends Febo Moniz school in Almeirim, she is

attending the 6th grade of class C. She has got long straight brown hair, as the

autumn leaves. Her eyes fit with the colors of her hair, when she is happy her

eyes shine like stars. Maria is as tall as her brother, they are both of medium

height, as most of her schoolmates. At school she has many friends, Joaquim,

Joana, Rita, Ana and her brother that joins the group. They are always together

so they are known as F.F. (friends forever). Maria is nice, a good pupils,

cheerful, good-humored charisma and helpful the companions.

Manuel is Maria's cousin, he lives in the archipelago of the Azores, a

group of 9 islands that belongs to Portugal, located in the Atlantic Ocean. São

Miguel is the largest island of the archipelago and its capital is Ponta Delgada,

the hometown of Manuel.


He lives with his mother and his older sister, called Amália, in a flat next

to the marina of the city. From their living room window they can see the

immense blue ocean, boats and seagulls flying in the blue sky. His sister

usually takes him to the city center, where buildings with five centuries share

the space with new projects, making it a modern and cosmopolitan city.

Manuel is a good boy, he gets good marks and he is like his cousin he is

helpful. He has got wavy dark hair and black eyes. He is tall and thin. Manuel

practices Athletics since he was 6 years old. He will be 13 on April 25 th, a very

important date for Portugal, because in 1974 our country was no longer

submissive to a dictator and went on to be a democratic State. On November 1st

it is celebrated all Saints ' day. It is public holiday. So that Manuel’s mother

decided to visit her relatives on the mainland, she wants to enjoy herself with

her family and she also wants to rest for some days.

It's the 1st November. Manuel is very happy because he is going to visit

their relatives in Portugal. They have a long journey to do, it is close to two

hours to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Manuel and Amália go with their mother to


the airport, they boy a pineapple, the typical fruit of the Azores, Azorean

cheeses, milk from cows grazing in the Azorean immense green meadows of

the Islands and the famous tea.

It was time to check in. They waited their turn in the queue and they

checked their luggage. They went to the boarding gate and went into the plane.

Manuel sat near the window. After the taking off he saw the island of St.

Miguel becoming smaller and smaller, it looked like an Ant in the middle of the

ocean. He spotted Santa Maria Island, which like St. Miguel is part of the

Eastern group of the archipelago, being one of the most important points of

flight information in the world.

At Lisbon Airport Mary and her family were waiting for them to take them

to Ribatejo region.

Finally, they heard the announcement of the arrival of Manuel’s flight.

“The flight of the Azorean airlines SATA 372 from João Paulo II airport, from

Ponta Delgada

had just landed.”

Maria went to the arrivals door but her mother warned her that it would

take some time till her cousin arrival. She was imagining how Manuel would

look like after two years without seeing him.


When the door opened for passengers to leave, Maria was waiting for

her cousin. She saw everyone leaving and her mother said:

- Maria your cousin has already left. Will you pick him up?

It was a long time since they were together so she did not recognize him.

Manuel recognized Maria as soon as he saw her. Meanwhile she was thinking

that he couldn’t be her cousin.

-Manuel! Are you so different! You are taller than me. Its nice to see you

again.

The cousins hugged strongly and the family was happy to see each other

again. They rushed, they put the luggage in the car and drove to Almeirim, that

lies 80 Km from Lisbon. As soon as they arrived home Maria and Manuel's

mothers began to prepare a typical Portuguese meal. Maria's father ignited the

coals for grilling cod. Maria's mother roasted potatoes and made a salad

dressed with olive oil. In the kitchen it still smelled cinnamon that Maria's mother

had put in

the rice

pudding

that she

had

prepared

the eve

before.


The family gathered at the dinner table and talked about what had

happened during the time that they were not together. After the meal the

cousins were watching television.

They were watching cartoons when the broadcast was interrupted. They

informed that the stars from the European Union flag were stolen. They also

reported on the News that the thieves had hidden a star somewhere in Portugal.

Manuel and Maria were concerned about it and at the same time they

were eager to solve the mystery. They decided to send an SMS to their friends

and have a meeting with the parents ' agreement.

At the meeting time,they were all there, Rita, Ana, Joaquiim and Joana.

José, Maria and Manuel were waiting for them in the living room. They

were all with a serious face; Maria was preparing to direct the meeting, with a

pen in her hand and a paper with several notes.

- Come on! We have an important case to solve. We will search for the

missing star. - Maria said.

-The star is in Lisbon. - Manuel said.

Maria told the group that they could not go alone for this adventure that

they have to be with an adult. Then, they convince Manuel's sister to go with

them.

Later that day, they asked their parents' permission to go to Lisbon and

look for the star. Only Joana cannot go with the group.


The following day they caught the train at the railway station in Santarém.

This station is very beautiful, it has many typical tiles from Portugal, with the

region's landscapes painted in blue and white.

During the journey they enjoyed the landscape close to Tagus River.

They saw horses and bulls they were in the leziria.


The group of friends spent their time planning the way to go to find the

star. They left Oriente Station and they discussed the plan together.

- We arrived to the starting point. Now let’s decide next steps – Maria

said.

- Let’s go inside Vasco the Gama Shopping Center. – Joaquim reply.

It is the first time I've been here but I know that it has a name of a

Portuguese Navigator. - Rita said.

Amália, Manuel's sister, explained the group that Vasco da Gama was a

Portuguese Navigator and Explorer, from the age of the Portuguese 35


discoveries, XV and XVI centuries, that stood out for having led the first ships

sailing from Europe to India. This trip became famous because for it was the

first time someone reached India by sea. Since then Europe had had new

products, such as spices and precious stones. At that time Europe was

delighted with the new flavors of ginger, cinnamon, cloves and pepper.

Inside the shopping center they noticed that the building is a ship turned

upside down, and that it is always running water on the roof to give the feeling

that you are sailing.

The group passed through the building without a stop and they went to flags

area. They began trying to find the flags of the European Union (Germany; Italy;

France; Luxembourg; Holland; Belgium; United Kingdom; Ireland; Denmark;

Greece; Portugal; Spain; Austria, Finland, Sweden; Cyprus; Czech Republic;

Slovakia; Slovenia; Estonia; Hungary; Latvia; Lithuania; Malta; Poland; Bulgaria;

Romania). They were successful, among many flags of many countries around

the world, the European flags were there This place hence the name of Parque

das Nações (Nations Park) due to the world exhibition that took place in 1998.


It would be a good place to hide a star, they search nearby the river and

they walked up and down.

- The star is not on here! - Joaquim said.

- Well no, we'll have to look somewhere else. - Rita said.

- Good idea, but where? - Manuel asked.

- Let's try next to the Oceanário. – José added.

…and they went there. They were along the Tagus River enjoying the

beautiful views that the river offered them.

- What a great bridge! – Manuel was surprised – and how beautiful it is!

His sister, the eldest of the group asked if they still remember what she

told them about the Portuguese Navigator who discovered the maritime way to

India.

- Such as the shopping centre, the bridge is also called Vasco da Gama.

It is the longest bridge in Europe with approximately 17.3 Km and the ninth

largest in the world.

- Wow!!!!! - They said in chorus.

Maria called the attention to the group because they were there to look

for the star not to enjoy the beautiful views along the river.

- Come on guys, we have a lot to do. First of all the duties, only after

that the leisure activities.

Near the Oceanário door they planned to look for the star in every corner.


They got inside the Oceanário and apart from seeing the beautiful

aquatic species; they sought the star everywhere they came in. They saw a star

but it was a starfish and not the star of the European Union flag.

- Where will we find the star? – Rita asked.

- What about looking for the star in Belém zone? – Maria suggested

them.

- Good idea! – They exclaimed.

- I have a better idea! Let's go and eat a pastel de Belém! –Manuel said –

It was a long time that I hadn’t a pastel de Belém, I miss it!


So they went towards Belém. After they had eaten the pastel de Belém,

the most traditional and delicious cake from Portugal, they went on to

Jerónimos Monastery.

- I love this monument of the XVI century! It is one of the main churches

of the Manueline style, it is UNESCO World Heritage. - Amália said.

- Let's come in and search the star ...- Manuel said to the rest of the

group.

- Come on, we are wasting time! - Ana said.

They got into the monastery and looked for the star, while they enjoy the

monument beauty.

- Look! There are two famous Portuguese buried here! - Joaquim said.

- Who are they? –Rita asked.

- Luís Vaz de Camões, the best-known Portuguese poet. He was the one

who wrote the "Lusiadas", a masterpiece of Portuguese literature which

recounts, in poetry, the achievements of the Portuguese - Amália said.

- And who was the other? – José asked.

- Remember we have spoken of the first Portuguese who came to India?

- Amália asked.

-Yes, Vasco da Gama! - everyone answered.

- See who learned ... today we had a real lesson of Portuguese culture!

Ah!!! Ah!!! And you thought you were going only to live an adventure!!!

After a long search they came to the conclusion that the star was not

there. They came out and continued walking along the river. They sought

nearby Padrão dos Descobrimentos and next to Torre de Belém, but they could

find the star.39


- Oh! I am getting disappointed - Manuel said – Do you really think that

we are going to find the star???

- Who knows?! – Rita answered little confident.

- Well, what happen with you? You have done your best and worked hard

as a team and that's the most important…You should be proud of being friends

and having starting for this adventure with a goal, but not everything in a dream

comes true, and we should also learn how to deal with situations that we are not

able to achieve what we want. However, it was a pleasant day we spent in the

capital city of our country and your friendship is stronger now. Friendship is a

feeling that we must preserve. Can you imagine how would life be without

friends? Have you thought about it? Let's enjoy the rest of the day, the

wonderful weather and the Portuguese sun, I'll take you to the Lisbon Zoo. -

Amália said this to encourage the group.

They caught the bus. The group was a bit sad and nobody said a word.

They were listening to a song on the bus radio. Amália tried to cheer up the

group:

- The music on the radio is fitting your spirit. Sad like fado! Fado is

our music, it's sad and the Portuguese guitar seems to cry, it became a world

heritage, it is very important for us, but come on children, we are going to the

Zoo.

-


As time passed by the group seemed to recover their morale. They loved

the animals and they had fun again. Before leaving they decided to watch the

dolphins show.

During the show the group was again excited with the wonderful animals.

Suddenly ...

- Look, what does the dolphin bring in its mouth?? – Maria asked.

- The star!! – They shouted all – we have found the star, we have found

the star!!


They started running and they told the attendant that the star that the

dolphin had in its mouth was the stolen star from the European Union flag. The

attendant was amazed because he didn't know what happened, but he released

him to help the kids.

- Congratulations to all of you! You are true heroes! So at the end of the

show you are going to have the star and you will take a picture with our

dolphins! - the attendant said.

-Yupi!!!! We got it!! We got it!!! - the kids shouted.

And it was so.

The next day, the group was invited to go to a TV programme to tell their

adventure. The photo was on the front page of local and national newspapers.

The family was proud. Finally, the stars will be together again, symbolizing

harmony among the people in Europe. Everyone remembered European Union

the main aim, peace among European countries.42


A nice photo with dolphins, small heroes and a little bright star that will

shine forever in the flag of the European Union and in the hearts of those who

believe in Europe.

Looking for a star in Belgium


Common Story

Volume I

2012/2013

Portuguese team

After five great adventures the European Union flag is starting to shine again but

only five stars were recovered. Thanks to the French, the Greek, the Portuguese, the

Romanian and the Spanish teams’ five stars were back to the dark blue background.

These teams have in their minds that seven stars are still missing and the missions to

find them must go on.

Meanwhile the President of the European Commission was so glad that five stars

have been found by these pupils so that he invited two pupils and a teacher from each

country to go to Belgium and to visit the main European institutions, the European

Parliament and the European Commission in Brussels. He wants to give them the

opportunity as they are responsible for the ideals of unity, solidarity and harmony

among the people of Europe that the twelve golden stars represent in a circle on a blue


background.


The teachers were pleased to receive such an important invitation and they all

answered in an affirmative way. The study visit was arranged by the European

Commission assistants and the five teams have departure from their countries to meet

each other for the first time in Belgium, more precisely in Brussels. The pupils were

glad to meet their adventure peers and the teachers were also enthusiastic to meet their

colleagues too. They both can share and exchange ideas, learn with each other and

cooperate with each other to find the seven stars that are missing. They will enjoy their

time together, they would learn about the EU institutions and, for sure, they will go on

looking for the missing stars.


They arrived in Brussels and all the teams were staying in the same hotel. The

pupils are waiting for the great moment… meeting their peers.

Here they are… they are in the hotel lounge!!! We can hear the Portuguese

“olá”, the Spanish “hola”, the Greek “Γεια σου”, the French “salut” and the Romanian

“bună” but they all understand each other when they all say:

- Hello! Nice to meet you!

- Nice to meet you, too!Greek team

The kids gave each other a big warm hug and went on talking to each other as if they

were dear old friends. Teachers greeted each other heartily.

“How was your flight?” everyone asked.

“Oh, it was great! Through our window we could see so much of Europe! What a

variety of landscapes!”

“We’re so lucky to be gathered here, in the heart of the European Union!” We all

agreed it was a great honour for us to be invited by the President of the European

Commission and to visit the Institutions where the present and future of Europe is

planned. We also thought that this trip could offer us the opportunity to attend a summit

of the European leaders at the Parliament and even express our own opinions at the

debate, negotiating on behalf of our countries for the benefit of all people in Europe.


“Wow! Do you think that’s possible?” asked the Spanish children.

“Why not?” So many weird and wonderful things have been happening to us lately…”

replied the children from Greece.

“In the meantime, let’s try to find the lost star of Belgium!” the French children

suggested. “Now that we are all together, it will be a piece of cake for us to find it,

won’t it?”

“No, doubt!” said the Portuguese kids with confidence. “But from where shall we

start?”

“Let’s start from the Atomium, the extraordinary sculpture like tower which rises above

the Belgian skyline”, said the Romanian children. “From its spheres we can experience

a panoramic view of Brussels. If the Belgian star is somewhere nearby, we’ll spot it at

first glance!”


So we took the escalators and then the lift to the topmost sphere. The view was

breathtaking! From inside the futuristic sculpture, which was designed to represent the

ideals of peace, progress, unity and universality, we could see The Mini Europe Park

with its amazing miniatures of the most beautiful sites in Europe.

Further ahead, we saw the building of the European Parliament, St Michael's Cathedral

and the Royal Museum of Fine Arts. The Grand Place with its colourful carpet of

flowers spreading among the medieval buildings of the old town attracted our attention.

But the star we were looking for was nowhere within sight…

“Let’s use the telescopes to look for the star!” some kids suggested. So we did! Now we

could see everything clearer. We zoomed in and we zoomed out. It was great fun!49


“Hey! I see something shining over there! It has to be the lost star of Belgium!!!” one of

us shouted out with joy.Spanish team

They immediately went to tell the teachers that they have seen something

shining as a star.

-‘OK! Let’s go to see it!’ – said a teacher.

We went there. It was Saint Hubert Royal Galleries. Its glass roofed arcade

shone really bright with the sunshine. Between the shops, theatres, cafés… we saw

something very shining.

-‘I can see something shining!’ – said one Portuguese kid.

-‘We’ve got it!’ – said the Greek kids.

Everyone went there asking themselves: ‘Is it the lost star? Is it?’

Unfortunately it just was a ring with a clue. We read it anxiously. It said we

should unite all our strength to find the star.

-‘Let’s go!’ – we all said.

Then we saw a traveling van which was selling waffles, mussels, frites,

chocolates-pralines and ice creams.


-‘Ummmmm, yummy! We are hungry!’ – we said at the same time.

-‘So, let’s eat!’ – the teachers said.

A French kid was unwrapping a praline when she found another clue.

-‘Hey! Come all here please! We have another clue!’ – she shouted really happy.

The second clue

said: ‘You must go all

together to the Royal

Palace, the official

residence of the Belgian

monarchy. You need to

check if the Belgian

flag is flying on the top

of the bulding. If it is

there, it will indicate

the presence of the king

in the country. Then,

you have to speak with

him. He will give you

another clue!’

As we were

approaching to the

palace, the Spanish kids

said:

-‘Look, the flag is

flying there!’51


-‘We are lucky!’ – the Romanian kids said.

The King kindly received us in a spectacular and huge hall. He listened our

explanations really carefully and he seemed very interested in the story of the lost stars

of the European Union flag.

Romanian team

„I can help you suggesting that you should think more about the symbols of

European Union”, said the King.

„This is a great idea, we must consider that we are the children of the united

Europe.”

„The European Union flag is a symbol”, said children from Spain, „but it is the

purporse of our adventure so we can not take it into consideration.”

„Another symbol is the motto Unity in diversity”, said the children from

Greece.

„But, intervenes the French team, we are the very embody of this motto”

„Yes, we are children from different countries, wich have different cultures and

yet, we are united for searching the missing stars.”

„There is only one remaining, say the children from Portugal. „Ode to Joy”

from The 9th Symphony by Beethoven. As a matter of fact, the famous German

composer’s father was born in Belgium.”


„So it is, say the children from Romania. And we know exactly where we can

find clues: at The Musical Intruments Museum. At the entrace into this museum you are

given a pair of headphones in wich you can hear an adequate musical piece four each

instrument. We, as studens of an Arts College, since we study music and musical

instruments, we can be useful four that.”

„I believe that this is the answer four your searches. You can find its building in

central Brussels. It is a part of the Royal Museums of Art and History and and

internationally renowned for its collection of over 8000 instruments”, said the King with

joy in his voice.

Being all excitent we all headed for the museum.

Once we got there, we admired the beauty and the harmony of the building in

which the architecture and music blend together in a happy way. Full of hope and

curiosity, we got into the museum, waiting impatiently to hear the notes of the famous

symphony.


French team

At the entrance to the museum, all the children were given audio-guides for the

visit. After going through several exhibition rooms, they arrived in a large room

dedicated to the great composers, all of them in the form of life-size figures. Suddenly

something scrambled the audio-guides and the kids could hear the European anthem in

their headphones.

“It must be a clue!” said a Romanian pupil.

“Look! This is a statue of Beethoven! Let’s get close to it!”


All the kids gathered around this great figure and formed a large circle, thus

enabling the Greek pupil to search the statue’s clothes without being noticed by the

attendants.

“I’ve found something in his coat pocket, it’s a message: ‘Go and see the most

famous of all Belgian kids!’”

“It’s bound to be the Manneken Pis,” said the Spanish schoolteacher.

And this is how the five classes found themselves on the main square in

Brussels, in front of this tiny statue. A whole lot of curious people were taking pictures

of this monument. The pupils got closer and one of them noticed that tourists kept


throwing coins into the basin just below the fountain, which is supposed to bring good

luck.

“We badly need good luck, don’t we? Let’s throw a coin into the basin!”

No sooner had he done it that time seemed to come to a standstill. The

Manneken Pis stopped peeing, looked at them smiling, and said: “I saw the thief who

hid the star in my country, he was with an accomplice and they stopped just in front of

me. They talked about the best hiding place, and they finally decided to put it where no

one would find it: the European Union Council.”

“Thank you so much from all of us!”

And so the group headed for the Council, with the teachers improvising a guided

tour. And there, in the large meeting room, where all the European ministers sit around

the table, a Portuguese pupil found the star, stuck below the seat of the Belgian minister.

They could add a sixth star to their European flag! A golden semicircle was now shining

on a blue background, looking like a sunset.

After all those extraordinary adventures, the pupils and their teachers needed to

regain strength. So they decided to make the most of the summer holidays to get some

rest. Back to school, they would try to find the remaining six stars and give back to

Europe its symbol of Peace and Unity.


Date post:	22-Mar-2016
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Volume i part 2

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