Somewhere in a distant country
Where the sun shines the whole year,
And the jungles are full of monkeys
Jumping gaily with no fear;
Where the sand is brighter than gold,
And the birds often sing till late,
Waking up and yawning at dawn,
Guadalupe starts her days.
Today she opened her eyes wide,
And quickly jumped out of bed.
Then she found her mummy outside,
And ran to her with arms outstretched.
She kissed her mum with a sly smile
Seating herself in her lap,
Then she looked at her with a sigh,
And slightly bended her head.
�Mummy, mummy, please tell me more
About that marvellous place
Where cats understand every word,
And nothing makes them amazed.
How I want to visit that land
Where animals and plants can speak,
Where objects are full of secrets,
And magic is not a dream.�
�Guadalupe, my precious girl,
That land is hidden from our eyes
Beneath the sands of the deserts,
Among the trees in the wild.
A map will not show you the way,
It is neither near nor far,
You can find the path to that place
If you have a pure child�s heart.�
She helped her mum water the flowers,
Then they had fruits for breakfast,
And Guadalupe played for hours
With her enormous white cat.
All of a sudden she caught his eye,
And noticed that he was sad.
Then the cat looked at her and sighed
As if he had a secret.
�Oh, dear Thomas, what�s eating you?�
The girl asked compassionately.
�Maybe there�s something I can do,
You can trust me, don�t worry.�
�There�s one thing I can�t explain,
And I always wonder why
All my hair from whiskers to tail
Is abolutely snow-white.�
�I think of it day after day,�
He said looking at his paws.
�I cannot sleep, I cannot play,
I cannot even think of hot dogs.
I look at myself in the lake,
And my white ears make me cry.
Don�t you think it is more than strange:
I�m white and I don�t know why.�
Thomas gave a deep sigh again
Looking at his snowy paws;
The little girl sat with a puzzled face
Seeking the words of comfort.
�I never thought it made you sad,
Your fluffy hair looks so fine,
But maybe you are white, my friend,
�Cause it�s the colour you like!�
Guadalupe ran to the garden
To admire the scenery,
But somebody�s scream made her jump,
And stop near a young oakling.
�Look out, can�t you see I�m here?!�
She heard a sudden piercing shriek.
Somebody talked to her so near
That she was afraid to breathe.
Guadalupe had a look round,
And saw a tiny bluebell,
With its bright petals slightly bent down
It seemed to look very sad.
�I did not see you, I�m sorry...�
She began bending her head.
You should see where you�re walking,�
Snapped the resentful bluebell.
�Nobody notices me here,
I have to stand in this place
Hidden by the tall grass the whole year
With no hope to go away.�
�Miss Bluebell, this place is your home,
And you shouldn�t be so upset �
Only here you are not alone,
Only here you have real friends!�
Guadalupe walked down a path
Looking round in amazement,
She met the same bluebell and plants
Though she walked without a rest.
She got tired and sat on a bench
Thinking her problem over.
�Every road or path has its end
If I don�t move in a circle.�
�You�re a very ill-mannered girl!
If you do not like this way,
You�d better leave it or return,
And never come back again!
How dare you say I have no end?�
Asked the path and slightly frowned.
�Well, I just have not found it yet
Answered the girl, looking down.
�You�re right I am the only path
That does not lead anywhere,
And no one looks my way for months,�
Uttered the path in despair.
Guadalupe thought it over.
�Dear path, you�re really unique:
In contrast to all other roads
YOUR beginning and end meet!�
Guadalupe stepped off the path
Feeling curious and amused,
But something happened with the garden:
Now it looked more like a wood.
Working her way through the bushes,
She found herself in a glade.
A little farther behind some trees
The girl noticed a little gate.
�I wonder who lives there,� she thought
Boldly moving towards it.
Having reached the gate, the girl stopped,
And found a big silver key.
She reached out her hand and took it,
Thinking of this magic place.
�Don�t take liberties with me
Or I won�t open the gate.�
She dropped the key and stood abashed
Looking at it in surprise.
�Ouch!� It exclaimed rubbing its back:
I�m not a bird, I don�t fly.�
�Sorry, I didn�t mean to hurt you,
I didn�t expect you would talk,
And it made me a little confused...
Could you please open the lock?�
It looked at her and turned away:
�What next? I�m not a plain key!
I am the master of this place...�
But the girl smiled and grabbed it.
She hardly turned it in the lock
As the gate smoothly opened.
Slipping in the doorway she saw
A neat little house made of stone.
Suddenly she saw a strange creature
With long ears and downy paws,
There was something in its features
That resembled a big dog,
But its oblong nose and round eyes
Made it look more like a horse.
Its queer figure and all its sight
Slightly surprised the little girl.
�What are u doing in this place,
And who showed you the way here?�
It asked waving its fluffy tail
And pricking up its long ears.
�It was easy to find the way:
Leaving the path with no end,
I found myself before this gate,�
She said turning back her head.
�My dear, have you had dinner yet?
Please come in and feel at home.
Have some hot tea and take a nap
I hope you are not too cold.�
The house was full of odd objects
Hung, set or placed everywhere,
The girl timidly had some tea
Sitting on a big old chair.
�You�re so kind to me. What�s your name?
Do you live here all alone?�
She took a piece of cherry cake �
She loved them so much at home.
�I live with a mighty magician
Who�s called Great Meralden,
You cannot even imagine
How much wisdom that man has.�
�He wanders and helps everyone,�
It said and closed its round eyes.
He knows the name of every plant
Growing in this land for miles.�
�I wish I could meet him one day,�
Said Guadalupe and sighed.
�But I still do not know your name,�
She added with a sweet smile.
�My dear, it is hard to explain,�
The creature began with grief,
�Every time someone asks my name
I always clean forget it.�
The little girl looked at his puzzled face
Then she beamed and gladly said:
�Whenever someone asks your name
You could ask his name instead!�
The girl yawned and soon fell asleep
On a downy feather-bed.
She had one of her sweetest dreams
Of the great magician Meralden;
She walked through the magic forest
Talking to her snow-white cat;
Then she found the big silver key
Leaving the path with no end...
�Wake up! It is already late!�
Somebody screamed in her ear.
The little girl looked around amazed,
But there was nobody near.
�It is late you can�t stay in bed!�
The same voice shrieked in her ear.
Don�t look around and lift your head,
I�m not behind you, I�m here.�
She saw two perfectly round eyes
That looked like two shiny balls.
When they blinked, she suddenly realized
It was an old alarm-clock.
�It is already late for what?�
The girl asked stretching herself.
�I�m not in a hurry at all,
So why can�t I take a nap?�
�As for me I am always late
Because I�m ten minutes slow,
I do my best day after day,
But I have almost lost hope.�
�Mister Clock, forget your sorrows,
You have no need to worry;
You�re never late, but you are slow
�Cause there�s no need to hurry!�
The door swung open and they saw
The downy creature come back.
It happily looked at the girl,
And slightly shook her little hand.
�I have to thank you, young lady,
I have remembered my name.
I�m Doggerun,� it said proudly.
�Please let me thank you again.�
Guadalupe left her new friends,
Hoping to meet on her way
The mighty magician Meralden
Who lived in a usual glade.
She was a little disappointed,
Because in all fairy-tales
Magicians lived in big palaces
Surrounded by spell-bound lakes.
She did not have any idea
Where Great Meralden might be,
That�s why when she reached a river,
She stopped and sat down to think.
Before long she saw a tortoise,
Leisurely crawling along
It slowly turned its clumsy head,
And met the eyes of the girl.
�Good day,� the girl ventured to say.
�This day is not good for me,
I have completely lost my way,
And now I have to hurry.�
The tortoise was very distressed,
It desperately looked round.
�It�s so late, and I haven�t found yet
The road which leads to my house.�
The girl stopped perplexed and then said,
�But miss Tortoise, don�t you think
You carry your home on your back,
So there�s no need to worry.�
The tortoise dipped into its shell
Even without thanking the girl,
Then it suddenly put out its head,
And went on crawling along.
�Miss Tortoise, would you please tell me
Where I could find Meralden?
I would really love to meet him,�
Asked the girl looking ahead.
�What an unlucky day for me,
I�ve completely lost my way,�
The tortoise uttered finally,
And hurriedly crawled away.
�What a strange tortoise,� thought the girl,
Following it with her eyes,
�It can�t find the way to its home,
Though it�s so close all the time.�
Thinking of that she found herself
Walking around a tall tree.
Its long boughs were interwoven
Making a roof with its leaves.
�You�re making me dizzy, little girl,
Stop walking around me please,
This is already your eighth circle,
Take a seat and listen to me.
I�ve lived here for many years,
�They call me Very Old Oak Tree,
I�ll tell you one simple truth, my dear,
Which adults often cannot see.
Sometimes the thing we try to find
Is not hidden as adults think,
It is right here before our eyes
Waiting for us to take it.�
Guadalupe considered that,
Thanked the oak tree and moved on.
�I know what to do,� she said,
And slyly smiling she called:
�Meralden, Meralden, don�t hide,
I know you live in this place...�
Suddenly she saw a beam of light
And someone called out her name:
�Guadalupe, my girl, wake up,
We�re waiting for you outside...�
She rubbed her eyes and saw her mum
Looking at her with a smile.
�Mummy, mummy, where�s Meralden?
He must be behind that hill...
Was the old tree right when he said
What we look for is not hidden?�
Catherine looked at her child
And her book of fairy-tales:
�I see you�ve been lucky to find
The path to that magic place.�
