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Introduction

What if …? What if the four animals of the well known fairy tale “The town

musicians of Bremen” didn’t remain in their region in the North of Germany, but

continued their way to many countries in the whole of Europe?

So we sent them from the German sea shores in the West of Europe to Portugal and

Spain in the South, through Italy, northwards again, to Poland, then Bulgaria, Greece

and finally to Turkey in the Eastern part of Europe. We let them meet native animals of

these countries, learn about their conditions of living and reflect about values like the

spirit of love, responsibility, mutual support.

This book is the result of an international cooperation. It was written and illustrated

by students – the youngest ones 13 years old, 19 years the oldest - from the schools:

- Gymnasium am Mühlenweg -Wilhelmshaven, Germany

- Agrupamento de Escolas do Forte da Casa - Forte da Casa, Portugal

- IES María Cegarra Salcedo - La Unión, Spain

- ITIS Pininfarina - Moncalieri, Torino, Italy

- XI Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. W.J. Zembrzuskich - Poznań, Poland

- Profesionalna Gimnazia po Veterinarna Medicina "Ivan Petrovich Pavlov" - Stara

Zagora,

Bulgaria

- 1. Gymnasio Volou -Volos, Greece

- Profesionalna Gimnazia po Veterinarna Medicina "Prof. Dr. Georgi Pavlov" -

Dobrich,

Bulgaria

- Hüseyin Rahmi Gürpınar Çok Programlı Lisesi - Istanbul, Turkey.

It was produced during a project whose title is “APE – animal protection in Europe”

and which is part of the Education and Culture DG Lifelong Learning Programme

Comenius.

During their two-year cooperation the partners focused on wild animals and wildlife

habitat, considering animal protection as connected to environmental protection, as well

as on domesticated animals. Here they surveyed both animals for production -

especially animals kept in factory farming and the ethical and environmental

consequences - and pets, stray animals included, as they assumed, that you become

responsible, forever, for what you have tamed" (Saint-Exupéry, “The Little Prince”).

Some of the results of our work found their way into this piece of creative writing.

The first draft of our common story was made during a workshop in May 2011 in

Wilhelmshaven / Germany. The students chose the native animals of their countries and

laid down the details of their encounters with the musicians from the North. During the

following months they wrote their texts and exchanged them through our project

platform. In March 2012 the results were discussed during a project meeting in Volos /

Greece and the references among single chapters were refined so that all chapters form a

coherent story.

And now, in April 2012, we are holding this product of our cooperation in our hands

and are happy to present it at the final project meeting at our Turkish partner school in

Büyükada, Istanbul.

Enjoy, dear reader, our book – as we have enjoyed our cooperation!

Anke Wischer, project coordinator

Contents

I. The European tour starts in Wilhelmshaven page 4

II. The Musicians Visit the Lynx in Portugal page 10

III. The Musicians Meet Rodrigo, the Iberian Wolf page 14

IV. MAMMA - Mother Marion The Alpine Marmot page 18

V. The Musicians Meet the Polish Bison page 22

VI. “I am Bobby” page 29

VII. In the Land of the Centaurs page 33

VIII. The Little Hare’s Story-Book of Dobrudja region page 39

IX. The Seagull welcomes the Musicians at Istanbul page 43

I. The European tour starts in Wilhelmshaven

There was a donkey, a real jackass, which had been living at a farm for a long time.

But now he had become older and slower and his owner wanted to butcher him.

The donkey was shocked, when he heard his owner say to his wife, “Tomorrow the

butcher is going to come to kill our jackass, because he is too old to do his work.”

“But wouldn’t that be ungrateful?” the wife asked.

“Why?” answered the owner, shrugging his shoulders. “He’s had a good life. Other

stock spend their whole life in cages, never seeing sun light. So he should be grateful to

us. Animals are born to be used by humans. When they become useless or boring – get

rid of them!”

“How nice human beings are,” Jack, the donkey, said to himself. “How they look

down their nose on us. However, something better than death I can find everywhere. I

have such a loud voice. I could, yes, I could be a singer. Maybe I will go to

Wilhelmshaven. When my owner’s cousin visited us, he told us, that a new harbour is

being built there. This Jade-Weser-Port will attract big ships from all over the world.

There is a good chance to go out into the wide world on one of them and to start a

musical career.”

So the jackass set out for Wilhelmshaven. While he came to a little river, he heard a

very strange noise. He looked around and discovered a dog lying on a bench near the

river.

“Are you alright, dog?” Jack asked.

“No”, said the dog full of self-pity, “I am not alright. My owners left me here three

days ago and they do not come back. And I do not know what to do now. I am hungry.

The bench is not comfortable. It is cold and wet. And I feel lonely. Once they said that I

was such a sweet puppy. Oh, what lovely Christmas day when I was given as a present

to their little daughter. However, I was far too young to be parted from my mother; I

was a last minute gift, bought from a man who sold puppies from the boot of his car.

But the little daughter of my owners so much wanted to have a pet. Oh, I missed my

mother and my siblings so much!”

“And how your mother must have missed you”, said Jack.

“Oh, no, no”, said the dog. “She had no time to miss us. She was already pregnant

again. She was one of those dogs who spend their whole life in the dark, producing

sweet little puppies who earn their “breeder” a lot of money without ever hearing a good

word, without ever leaving their miserable cages until they are worn out and useless.

Then: get rid of them!”

“Yes, I know that”, Jack sighed. “But that little girl – she became your friend, didn’t

she?”

“Oh, yes,” the dog said happily. “We spent hours and hours playing around. Or I

listened to her when she memorized her history lessons. My favourite one was a story

about the strategist Hannibal who was accompanied by elephants – really big animals,

strong and nearly invulnerable!” The dog closed his eyes: “How I love my little girl!”

After a little while he added, “And she used to love me. But the love of a dog is

unwavering, while the love of humans…” He began to cry.

Jack was uncertain what he should do. Then he said: “Do you want to come with me

to Wilhelmshaven and start a musical career? Something better than this life you can

find everywhere.”

The dog looked a bit more confident. “Oh yeah”, he said, “I want to come with you…

but… I cannot sing, only howl,” he added sadly.

“No problem, my friend,” Jack said in a comforting manner. “You can play the

drums, using your tail. What is your name?”

The dog wagged his tale hesitantly. “My name is Dobby. And yours?”

“I’m Jack,” said Jack. “So let’s go.”

So they did. On their way to Wilhelmshaven they met a cat, who was sitting in the

sun, cleaning her coat, making goo-goo eyes at the two animals.

Dobby felt insecure: “What is she doing there?”

The cat stopped cleaning her coat and came over to the friends.

“Hello, guys”, she said in a deep sexy voice. “What are your names? Do you want to

stay the night with me?”

“Oh, I am Jack,” the donky said eagerly. “And this is my friend Dobby. It is very nice

that we can sleep over at your home.”

The cat, however, came closer and tried to kiss Dobby.

Dobby was scared. “Jack, help me!” he shouted full of panic.

Finally Jack recognized what the cat was up to. “Oh, I think she wants to reproduce

herself. Typically cat! Hundred thousands of stray cats on the streets in Germany, many

of them in a miserable state - and they reproduce and reproduce.”

The cat was angry, “You are such killjoys! I think I will find a real man for me.”

“You can come with us.” Dobby felt that he should be helpful – as Jack had been to

him.” We are on our way to Wilhelmshaven; there will certainly be many men for you.”

The cat was skeptical, ”Why do you go to Wilhelmshaven?”

“We want to start a musical career,” Jack said proudly.

“Oh, two little stars!” They couldn’t tell whether the cat was mocking them or really

impressed. “I think I want to join your group. When I am a star, many men will wait for

me.”

“Okay,” Jack said. “Can you sing?”

“Of course,” the cat said self-confidently. “By the way, I am Kitty.”

The three went on together. Suddenly there was a big bang and smoke.

“Ahhhhh!” Dobby panicked. “They want to kill us!” He jumped behind Jack.

“Mhm”, Kitty purred. “It smells like fresh chicken.”

A cock came walking in a slow, cool way through the smoke.

Kitty was growling now.

The cock was not impressed. “Hi, I am Chris,” he said, walking straight towards the

growling cat. “And you are, my Lady, …?”

That was precisely the kind of gallantry which Kitty adored. ”My name is Kitty,” she

smiled.

“And we are Jack and Dobby,” Jack added.

“Who is Dobby?”, Chris asked.

Jack looked around. “Where is Dobby? Kitty, have you you seen him?”

“Yes, he is hiding just behind you.”

Chris laughed, “What a softy!”

“Don’t talk about me like this!” Dobby barked quietly.

Chris ignored Dobby and said to Jack, who was the biggest of the four animals, “Can

you take me away from this place? I think they are after me and want to kill me.”

“Who?” Jack asked.

“I am a cock,” Chris said, “which is to be fattened.”

“Not such a magnificent rooster like you!” Kitty was disgusted.

“I have been lucky until now,” Chris said. “Have you ever seen baby chicken in

intensive livestock farming? They are fattened so much that sometimes their bones

break under their weight; they can barely move, sometimes not even breathe properly.

And they don’t become older than five weeks; then they are killed – still being babies. I

have been lucky, because until now it has been my job to, well, to be the father of so

many eggs as possible.”

“He will come with us,” Kitty said firmly. “We go to Wilhelmshaven and start a

musical career there.”

“That’s great,” Chris was his old self again. “I can play the electric guitar.”

They arrived in Wilhelmshaven and started a concert at the market square. However,

being a band of musicians wasn’t as easy as they had imagined. The people didn’t like

their music at all. They realized that they needed a lot of practice before they could

perform in public.

“I thought it would be much easier to be a musician,” Chris was disappointed.

“Yes, a quick and easy career,” Kitty consented.

“You two sound like humans – everything has to be quick and easy,” Jack said in a

pensive mood. “They want to have pets, they want to have meat, and everything has to

be there immediately: puppies, young chicken, success. But they don’t want to work

hard for that, they don’t want to take responsibility for their deeds and the creatures they

are living with.”

… “<You become responsible>,” Dobby quoted dreamingly, “<forever, for what you

have tamed.> That was in a story my owner read to his daughter. And then… Men are

not like animals. They lack devotion and responsibility.”

“But not us!” Chris and Kitty called. “So, stop giving lessons on ethics and let’s do

something. Let’s take responsibility for each other and for our aim – to become

musicians!”

They went to the beach, sat down and discussed what to do. Then a big white thing

fell from the sky, directly onto Kitty. - “Help,” Dobby shouted. “What’s that?!”

Chris leapt forward. “I will save your life, Kitty!” And he began to attack the white

thing.

“Would you mind leaving me alone?”,the white thing asked. “I am only a stork and

my name is Socks. And who are you?”

“Sorry…,” Chris said. “Well, I am Chris and the others are Dobby, Jack and Kitty.”

“Nice to meet you,” Socks said. “And where am I?”

“You are in Wilhelmshaven,” Jack answered. “How come you don’t know?”

“This is only a random stop on my journey,” Socks explained. “I come from

Brandenburg and want to fly to Africa. In autumn we storks would search for warmer

regions. And you, what are you doing here?”

They told him their whole story, also about the failure of their first improvised

concert.

Socks made a suggestion: “Why don’t you follow me? I will make a stop in Portugal,

near Forte da Casa. The people there like music very much and the landscape is

beautiful. Plus: You will have a lot of time to rehearse on your way south.”

“Yes, that’s a good idea!” the four musicians said. “Let’s make a European tour!”

II. The Musicians Visit the Lynx in Portugal

When the four musicians after a long way - and many rehearsals – arrived in

Portugal, they decided to visit the Lynxes’ family. Kitty the cat had found out that they

were their best friends in that country, and so they wished to visit the magnificent sites

that Portugal offers together with them.

When they arrived in Portugal they made a stop in Forte da Casa and then went

directly to Lisbon, which isn’t far from Forte da Casa. They had been told that the

capital has many beautiful places to visit. But something strange seemed to occur there:

All the houses were destroyed, every place was empty; there was nobody in the streets.

However, a familiar sound came from one hole in the ground. That noise came from the

little Lynx, the only survivor of his family.

“What happened here?” – The animals asked him.

The little Lynx was scared and with a sad expression in his eyes he began to explain

to them everything that had happened in that place:

“I was here with all my family and some men came here and caughed my brothers,

my parents, my uncles, my grandparents and all my cousins and my girl friend. Now I

think I am the only one of my species, because I could hide myself in this hole that I

found when I was running in order to escape. “

The four animals were stunned and tried to know more about this story and so they

decided to sit and to listen to all the details and give some comfort to their friend. So,

the Lynx start one more time describing the terrible and recent episode that he had

experienced:

“After having lunch, all of us were prepared for a little snap, just for feeling the sun.

All my family was together, but suddenly five men appeared and started saying: <We

have come to the right place, we found all the Lynxes, let´s capture and put them into

captivity>.”

After hearing this story the four animals tried to find where the location of the

captivity was in order to help rescue the lynxes.

When they found out, where this place was, they decided to organize a plan to set

them free. They started thinking and they decided to use the same technique which they

had used when they had to deal with some thieves in a house near Bremen.

They decided to sing a song to entertain the men and attract them outside. This could

allow the little lynx to enter the house and help his family to escape, as it was planned.

So they sang:

“I’m never gonna be away from your heart

Because when I'm far away my world falls apart

In my head, in my mind you make a real mess

Girl, I confess my only fear is the loneliness

I'm just worried about your love and screw the rest

Because the rest is not excellent banging in my chest

I can not find more words to make you know

I'm never gonna leave you, I never go

I just can not express the love I feel for you

But this is the truth and my love is you

You are my angel, girl, you are my star

I'm afraid because I've never been so far

Because with you I want to go far away

And live my life with you day after day

On tears or smiles, when the life is not fair

In the sadness, in the happiness I'll always be there…

God, I beg you for listening my pray

Because it doesn’t matter what is the price … I pay

Just only with my love let me stay forever.”

The men were stunned by the melody and tried to figure out who was outside singing

that romantic melody. When they came outside the little lynx entered the house and

opened the big cage where his family was.

In the cage was also the girl friend of the little Lynx. All the animals were excited,

because they suddenly realized that freedom would come. The girl friend embraced the

little Lynx and kissed him, because she knew that the music was dedicated to her.

After this romantic moment all the lynxes and the musicians ran away from that ugly

place and felt free again.

The five friends - musicians and the little lynx - explained all the details to the

community of Lynxes and the all of them considered that this was a brave act with the

spirit of love and mutual support.

The community of Lynxes was proud and asked the four musicians to spread this

history all over the countries that they were going to visit. They accepted the condition,

said goodbye to everyone and went to the next country.

Does the adventure end up here?

III. The Musicians Meet Rodrigo, the Iberian Wolf

After visiting Portugal, Jack, Kitty, Chris and Dobby decided to travel to Spain, due

to the fact that they had heard that every year a big festival known as “April Fair” was

celebrated there.

The friends got on the train and got asleep, because a long journey was waiting for

them. When they woke up they had arrived to Sevilla. They got off the train and

wandered around, as they didn’t know anybody there.

They were looking at the beautiful landscapes that Spain offered them, as well as the

joy and vitality of the people dressed up with their colorful clothes. They were enjoying

the hot golden sunbeams and the musicality of the atmosphere when, suddenly, they

could see an enormous black ball with furious eyes and two terribly sharp horns. That

ball was coming up to them so quickly that petrified them.

Swiftly, a wolf appeared among the people, got hold of them with its enormous paws

and took them out of the bull ring.

Still trembling, the four animals that had just arrived to Spain didn’t know the danger

that they had lived, because they had, unconsciously, got in a “bull street running”.

- Don’t get afraid of me, please, I’m not a dangerous wolf: I have just saved your

lives. My name is Rodrigo.

-Hello, I’m Dobby- said the dog.

He started to introduce his friends.

-This is Chris, this is Kitty, this is Jack. As you can see, we are foreigners, we have

come to visit the “April Fair”.

- I love flamenco dancing, the high heeled shoes, the flowers, and the patterned

polka-dots dresses that women wear... everything is very beautiful- said Kitty.

- Well, I’m bored and I want to leave- said Jack.

- Please, explain to us what that enormous black ball was! asked Kitty.

The wolf explained them that a “bull running” was a kind of race where the people

run before the bulls that are going to fight at the bull ring. And that “ball” was one of

the bulls. The biggest that day.

The friends were terribly amazed, why do people do that? It is too dangerous.

- They want to feel the danger, the adrenaline- explained Rodrigo.

After that, Rodrigo showed them Sevilla. They visited outstanding ancient buildings

like the Giralda or the cathedral. The city was spotless and vibrant. A lot of young

people moved from one place to another by bicycles that the City Council provided

them, only for a little amount of money. The pedestrian streets had little shops where

they bought “souvenirs”. They had lunch in a restaurant where they ate delicious

“tapas”.

They were taking a walk when they arrived to the main door of an enormous bull

ring. The four friends wanted to come in, Rodrigo didn’t want to, but the tourists

insisted, so they paid their tickets and sat on the stands. People were waiting the show to

start.

The show started. The bullfighter was dressed in a strange way, but his costume was

striking and they liked it very much.

From their seats they could see how that bull, which had almost run them over a few

hours ago, danced a beautiful dance with the bullfighter. But at the end he was killed.

- It was great!- said Jack.

- He deserved it! He has almost killed us- exclaimed Chris.

- I don’t agree with you- replied Rodrigo. I have suffered in my own body the

mistreatment of my owner. He used to oblige me to hunt rabbits, and he used to hit me

if I didn’t get any. But, of course, I can imagine that you have no idea about how I feel.

- Yes, indeed we know, I was going to be eaten!- said Chris.

- My owner used to hit me too- said sadly Dobby, lowering his head.

- If it’s true that you have lived similar situations, I can’t understand how it’s possible

that you have enjoyed this performance. Here, we have a saying which says: “Don’t do

unto others as you wouldn’t have them do unto you”.

That way, Rodrigo the wolf taught our four friends a lesson. When they left Spain

they felt grateful for the attentions that they had received, and for all those things they

had learnt. They made Rodrigo promise that they were going to meet again in the future,

because finally they hadn´t seen the festival, so they had to come back. After a long

farewell, they left and went on with their travel. They followed the Mediterranean coast

in their way to Italy and they stopped at a very nice city in the Region of Murcia. The

city was called La Unión. It was a small but very nice city surrounded by mountains and

with the remains of the old mining activity in the city. The wolf showed them an old

mine and they walked along the mountains saying goodbye to the windmills which

collected the energy from the wind.

IV. MAMMA - Mother Marion The Alpine Marmot

After walking through Spain and France, the merry company reached the Italian

border. Now a serious decision had to be made: where should they cross the border? Sea

or Mountains?

Charmed at the idea of a possible encounter with the famous Italian supercats, Kitty

immediately proposed to head for the seaside, but... for the first time Dobby imposed

his decision!

He remembered that when he was a puppy, his young mistress, while studying her

History lesson, had read an extract aloud: it was about Hannibal's legendary deeds and

his famous traverse of the Alps with the elephants. Hannibal reached the mountain pass

in Montgenèvre with twenty- thousand foot soldiers, six-thousand horsemen and

twenty-one elephants, actually only the half of the army he had left Spain with.

Thrilled at the idea of having retraced the great Carthaginian leader's path, Dobby

proposed to make for the mountains, as the Montgenèvre mountain pass was on their

way to Moncalieri and Torino, the first capital of Italy, a city rich in art and culture,

absolutely not to miss in their wanderings towards Poland.

A whining, moaning Kitty mewed and complained for a couple of minutes, but...

nothing doing : the thought of the historical adventure had already caught the

imagination of both Jack and Chris, too.

So the four friends started clambering up the mountain paths: the more they climbed

the cleaner was the air and brighter the sky, they breathed the scent of the alpine flowers

and the sweet fragrance of the grass and... some other smells when they met pasturing

herds, too!

At about three-thousand metres altitude, the sight was breathtaking: the Alpine Range

stretched in front of them in a never-ending trail made of peaks and pinnacles,

downwards grass-green slopes slightly stirred by a fresh scented breeze ...but suddenly a

threatening shadow outlined on the meadow and immediately a piercing whistle

followed the sighting of the eagle!

Very scared, Dobby jumped on Jack's rump, Kitty's hair swelled and ruffled, Chris

covered his head with his wings:

- "What are you doing there in the open? Quick, run away, under that larch!" -

Unhesitatingly the five animals sheltered under the stately fir.

- "But can't you recognize my whistle? I'm the sentry of the Alps, everybody

understands my warning of danger!" -

Standing in front of them, a sort of big squirrel with stumpy paws and powerful

claws, a cute little face, two long prominent teeth and small ears half hidden into its

thick fur. This small ball of rough greyish hair ended with a span-long tail and weighed

seven kilos more or less: how could such a tiny animal have emitted such a powerful

whistle? But, most of all, who and what was it?

- "I'm Mother Marion The Alpine Marmot, but everybody calls me "Mamma". I'm the

senior marmot in the group and I've seen lots of strange things in my life, but I'd never

met four stupid blockheads like you are! The eagle is terribly dangerous also for valley

dwellers like you: my dear young lady, a stroll in the eagle's talons and your wonderful

hairstyle would turn into a tangled ball of wool!

Ok, you're still scared and I can see you are not familiar with the place here. Sit down

and I'll tell you something about our life up here. We live in group and in this period we

feed on herbs, grasses, grains and insects to store the fat we'll need to survive our long

nine-month winter sleep inside our underground burrows: did you know that we can

lower our heart rate to five beats per minute when we are under hibernation?

Now we've been finally protected but in the past we've risked extinction because of

the ruthless hunt for our fur and our fat that was used for medicine purpose. So stupid

men are: they thought that our fat could ease their rheumatisms and rubbed it on their

skin! How horrible! They don't know anything about our traditions, our history and

importance!

The ancient Fanes people tell that not far from here, following the Alpine Range to

the Dolomites, in a cave under the mountain called Croda Rossa, an "Anguana", a wood

and river nymph, lived among us, the marmots. One day, a woman, who had been to far

lands, returned to her homeland with a newly-born baby girl. Before dying, she left her

baby daughter with the Anguana who adopted her. The girl, whose name was Moltina,

grew with the marmots. She learnt our language and our habits to such an extent that

she could turn into a marmot!

One day the prince of the Landrines saw Moltina and fell in love with her. The couple

decided to get married: Moltina, Queen of the marmots, claimed that not only the

marmots but the mountain itself shared her joy. We marmots are the sacred animal, the

symbol of the Fanes' royalty.

What about another example of our importance? Walt Disney created a Boy Scouts

group drawing his inspiration from us: Huey, Dewey, and Louie belong to the Junior

Woodchucks, obviously to us, the marmots!

Ok, I hope you've learnt something useful on our places and traditions. Now if you

want to start your journey again, follow this path and you'll reach the valley: pay

attention to predators and if you hear my whistle... run away immediately! You'll be

safe from birds of prey, wolves and foxes, but unfortunately I won't be able to save you

from the most dreadful and lethal predator: man! Man must learn how to respect the

animals of the mountains - and not only! - life here isn't an easy thing, now it's summer

and nature is vigorous and flourishing, but in winter? Snow, cold, little food and lots of

dangers...

Ok, on the march until the sky is bright, have a nice journey and may nature be with

you!"

V. The Musicians Meet the Polish Bison

The four animals continued their journey towards the north. After a while they found

themselves lost in a valley in the mountain range called Bieszczady in Poland. Although

the valley was very beautiful, the musicians became anxious and started looking for

help. A lot of time passed and nobody appeared. Suddenly they noticed an animal like

shape just round the tree, it was a bison. Its name was Lechu. The huge powerful animal

with two curvy horns and brownish fur was really scaring. They decided to approach the

creature nevertheless, because they thought it was their last resort.

-“Hello! Hello! Wait a moment.”- the musicians said.

-“Good morning. How can I help you?” – the animal asked.

-“We are animals from Germany who wander through Europe to become musicians.

We lost our way and we don’t know how to get away from here. Could you help us?

Could you show us the way out?” – the musicians answered.

-“Yes, of course.” – the bison replied and added: “I will help you with pleasure

because I’m also leaving this amazing place.”

-“Why are you leaving?” – the four friends enquired.

-“I’m setting off because I have to protect my species from extinction. The only

possible way to succeed in it is finding the ingredients to prepare an elixir, which has

magic powers. It is the last chance to save my species. There were a couple of attempts

to find the ingredients by my elder brothers but all of them were unsuccessful. They

returned home either empty-handed or they never came back. I’m the only bison who is

able to make an effort to fight for our species. And I will do everything to make it

happen.” – explained the happy bison.

-“You are so brave. We are honoured to meet you. We are very moved by your story

and we would like to help you find all necessary ingredients. Do you mind?”

-“Friends… I’m very glad that I can count on your help. Of course, I don’t mind!”

-“Let’s go, then!”

When they relaxed, the musicians and the bison set off to Zakopane, the capital of the

Tatra Mountains. On their way they met a shepherd and his sheep. One of the musicians

called at the shepherd:

-“Good morning. Can we help you? We can see you have some trouble.”

-“Oh yes, I will be very grateful for your help, thank you!”

The musicians, the bison and the shepherd were trying to herd the sheep. The

shepherd wanted to thank the travellers and invited them for dinner.

-“Are you hungry?”

-“Yes, we are starving!”

-“Let’s go to my house!”

-“Gladly.”

When they got home, the shepherd offered the tired travellers to make regional,

delicious kind of cheese, known as “oscypek” together. The guests didn’t hesitate and

said yes as they knew that “oscypek” was the first ingredient on the list. The shepherd

gave the musicians and the bison a small bag full of “oscypek” made of goat and

sheep’s milk. After they headed for the railway station where they got into a train to get

to the capital city of Poland – Warsaw. When they arrived in Warsaw, they went

straight to the city centre where there was held an annual event “The Sea Animals’

Days” in a big castle. Especially on that occasion a mermaid from the warm oceanic

seas has been invited by Poles. The musicians and the bison saw her sitting on a huge

rock in a large aquarium, not on the Vistula River banks as usual. So excited with that

pretty “lady” they came up to her and greeted her gratefully:

- “Hello, mermaid!”

- “Hello, where do you come from? What do you want to ask me for?”

-“You know, I’m a bison and these are my comrades, we are coming to ask you to

give us a hand. We’re desperately trying to save bisons’ species from extinction and to

succeed in this attempt, we need to find a couple of special ingredients typical of the

largest Polish cities. If we manage to get them all, we’re going to prepare an elixir

which is to help my whole bisons’ family to survive for the next centuries. That’s why,

my lovely mermaid, we’ve come to Warsaw to get a few scales from your beautiful

tail.”

- “Oh, I see. Obviously, I’ll help you and offer you as many scales as you need. And

now, let me wish you all the best in your further journey.”

They did what they said and set off to the Baltic Seashore. Now, their destination was

a beautiful marine city area - Gdansk, Gdynia and Sopot. After five hours of travelling,

they encountered a friendly local old sailor calling the quits in his wonderful, large ship.

- “Good morning, sailor!”

- “Welcome to Gdansk, my lovely! What do you need?”

- “We are seeking for ambers. Where can we find them? Could you help us, please?”

- “Surely, it’s my pleasure. Please, follow me. I will show an area rich in natural

resources - brown, yellow and green ambers.”

So happy with the news the four friends and the bison followed the old sailor. He

took them to a cruise where everyone had a great time, picking up ambers with a fishing

net, laughing and joking. Suddenly, the bison got worried as he hadn’t seen the sailor

for a long time. He decided to seek for him, so he moved to another part of the ship.

Suddenly, he noticed the sailor trying to steal all the ambers found in the sea.

- “You wicked man! Help, help, thief! You’re a liar, you’re a thief! You’re taking

away all the ambers we’ve been collecting for hours.” – kept shouting the furious bison.

- “Don’t cry the bison! Don’t cry, please!”

Hearing the noise on the deck, the musicians dashed out to them, still frightened what

had happened. The sailor, trembling with fear, began to say something by way of

excuse.

- “My dear friends, I didn’t mean to rob you, I was only curious, just to check… how

many ambers you managed to get until now.” – assured the frightened sailor.

- “Well, It doesn’t sound convincing…”-

- “I beg you, please, believe me. I didn’t intend to scary you! I’m so sorry. My

friends, forgive me. To make up for it, I want you to take with you all these polished

ambers with you.”

- “That’s a good idea. Thank you very much.”- the angry but relieved musicians and

the bison answered.

The Bison packed all the ambers in the bag. Then the sailor took the travellers back to

the land. The next city they were going to was Torun. When they got there, they went to

the Nicolaus-Copernicus-house. At the entrance they were offered to bake their own

gingerbread. They agreed. They baked a few small gingerbread cakes and not wasting

any more time, they caught the train to Poznan.

The characters reached the capital city of Wielkopolska Region in the early morning.

They were exhausted, but they still had a lot of energy. They went to the Old Market

Square Centre, where hundreds of local residents were gorging on St Martin’s croissants

to celebrate the name day of Poznan’s patron. The musicians wanted to find out what

the last ingredient of the elixir was.

- “Bison, bison!”

- “Yes?”

- “Please, tell us the last ingredient.”

- “All right, it’s the right time. So the last element we need to get are the Billy Goats’

horns.”

- “How do you want to get them? They’re hidden on the top of the Town Hall.”

- “Therefore at twelve o’clock we need to go up there because this is the time when

the Billy Goats are butting.”

- “OK, let’s wait till 12 o’clock.”

Time went by and they kept waiting and waiting for midday staying in the middle of

the square. Dozens of youth were joining them. Soon it turned out that those young

people attended General High School in Poznan. When they listened to their

adventurous story, they immediately offered a help to prepare the elixir.

Everyone’s waiting for the goats, but somehow they didn’t turn on. Everybody

seemed to be very disappointed and didn’t know what to do. Suddenly, one of the

musicians got into a fantastic idea to play the anthem of Poland – “Mazurek

Dąbrowskiego”. The moment they began playing the sounds of it, the goats appeared on

the top hall and started to strike their horns so heavy that one of the horns came off and

fell down on the ground. When seeing it, the Bison picked it up and immediately ran

inside the school. In a science lab they all got down to hard work. After two hours, the

elixir prepared from all the necessary ingredients was finally finished and ready to

protect the bisons’ species from extinction. The delighted Bison said to everybody:

- “I wish I had met you earlier” and added: “Let me thank you for your help,

friendship and devotion, my dear mates”. Without hesitation, he handed the musicians

the remaining gifts collected on their tour in Poland.

The classroom filled up with applause but also sorrow as the four animals from

Germany were to set off their further journey across Europe.

And the bisons? Now, they could live long and happily.

VI. “I am Bobby”

The sun had risen high in the sky and its hot rays were penetrating the air. Jack - the

donkey, Dobby the dog and Kitty the cat were walking along the way and Chris the

rooster was sitting on the Jack’s back and looked curiously at the distance.

- Oh, I am so tired - said Jack the donkey. - Dobby, what can you see there, I think

that we reached a kind of border.

- Yes, friends, it is a frontier. - purred Kitty.

- Ah, look! This is Bulgaria. I have heard that there are very high and beautiful

mountains, vast plains, rivers and even a Black Sea to the East. Friends, do you want to

go to a cool mountain and have a rest from the long and tiring trip?

- Yes, where three of the most beautiful Bulgarian mountains - Pirin, Rila and the

Rhodope – unite: There we can have a rest for a while and we will carry on - yipped

Dobby.

- Come on, let's go faster - crowed Chris.

So they were walking and all of a sudden they saw the sign: "Dancing Bears Park -

Belitsa." The four friends decided to see what this park was and who lived there. When

they approached, one bear came closer to the animals and said: - Hello friends, how are

you? Where are you from? And where are you going? You look very tired.

- It is true, we are tired. I barely stand on my feet - whispered tired Jack. - Can we

have a rest here? We ran away from our bad farmers and walked around a lot to see how

our friends were. - And what is your name?

- You can stay here and relax because this is the heaven for us and there is a lot of

space for friends like you. I am Bobby and I will tell you how we came into this

paradise. I am 11 years old. The signs of my previous way of life are invisible, but all

the other bears’ noses are torn apart by chains. I was a young cub and my master used

me to fight with people. Years ago there were bad people that caught us in the forest and

used us for their own benefit. They pierced our noses with rings and hanged chains to

them so that they could control us through our pain. They kept us hungry and we were

hit to do whatever they wanted. They led us in the city centers, played the fiddle and by

pulling chains made us dance for the amusement of passers-by.

But that was banned 12 years ago. Then the good people of Park "Belitsa" have

adopted us and up to now they are taking care of us. The place where I live is very

beautiful. The road winds like a spiral between beech and oak trees, sometimes between

steep pine and fir trees. Here and there you can see houses with smoked red tiles, small

buildings with sunken roofs entirely coated in plants and lichens. Since I moved here I

met many friends who have had the same bad fate as I did. Let me introduce you to

some of them:

Mariana is 21 years old. 6 years ago she joined the park with severe behavioral

abnormalities – she walks around only in two square meters. Her habit was acquired by

her former life as she was forced through pain and hunger to perform artistic tricks.

Another friend of mine is Dobry. Though he is blind, Dobry loves walking around the

sector, where he is placed. He spends his time in search of food or lying under the

trees. He loves sleeping very much.

Mitko was severely mistreated by his owner – when he arrived at the park he had a

nose ring and a lower jaw ring. His jaw wound had to be operated by a vet-

surgeon. When the weather is bad Mitko retracts into his den. He is a very curious and

energetic bear.

I have 25 friends from Bulgaria and 3 from Serbia in the park. We are all happy and free

now. We are going to live our lovely lives here!

- Oh, my friend. Your life was not easy. You are happy because good people have

found you and have looked after you –murmured Kitty sadly and purred tenderly under

the heavy thick shadows of the forest. - we shall continue our trip to see more friends of

ours. But we shall stay for a while in your little paradise and as we gather enough

energy,…

-Ok, you can stay as long as you want. I am happy that I shared my story with you.

The sun set. All slept calm, feeling the warm protection of good people.

Early in the morning Chris sang and Jack, Kitty and Dobby knew it was time to go

on. But they promised Bobby that they would return and would always remember him

and his friends

VII. In the Land of the Centaurs

The four animals crossed the Bulgarian border and reached Greece. They visited

many beautiful places, like Thessaloniki, and interesting archaeological sites, like

Vergina, where they were awed by the tomb of Philip II, the father of Alexander the

Great. But when they saw from the top of a hill the glimmering blue sea touching the

green slopes of a snow-capped mountain and in the middle a modern city with wide

straight streets, they decided that this was going to be the next stop on their long journey

through Europe. A road sign informed them that this was Volos, the city of the

Argonauts and the mountain was Pelion, the mountain of the Centaurs.

The first thing they did as they entered the city was take a stroll along the waterfront

gazing at the swaying fishing boats and sniffing at the appetizing smells that came from

the numerous fish and seafood taverns.

- Mmm, that grilled octopus and those fried shrimps smell delicious, said Kitty the

cat. Shall we have a bite before we continue exploring the city?

They all agreed and couldn’t help but taste almost everything on the menu. Later, as

they continued their walk they saw dozens of sailing boats docked along the harbour

and Dobby the dog and Chris the cock wished they would sail a boat one day. Then they

noticed a very strange wooden vessel with a mast and oars, which looked just like an

ancient ship. They were standing in front of it staring in bewilderment when a seagull

approached them and said:

- Hello, my friends! I see you are confused. Let me explain. What you are looking

at is

an exact replica of the famous Argo ship in which, according to Greek mythology,

Jason and his men, the Argonauts, sailed from here to Colchis in the Black Sea in

order to retrieve the Golden Fleece. In fact, the Argo is the emblem of the city of

Volos.

The animals were very impressed but Jack the jackass said:

- To tell you the truth, guys, all this talk about the sea and sailing is boring me. I

prefer the mountain.

- You are lucky, said the seagull. Volos is one of the few privileged places that

combine sea and mountain. Mount Pelion is very close and in fact, it is known as the

mountain of the Centaurs, who looked a bit like you!

- Like me?.... What do you mean? - asked Jack.

- They were half-human and half-horse and the most important one of them was

the wise Centaur Chiron who had many illustrious pupils, such as Asclepius, the god

of medicine and healing, Achilles, the famous hero of the Trojan War, Hercules, the

demi-god who performed the legendary twelve labours, and Jason, the leader of the

Argonauts. Centaur Chiron lived in a cave that still exists near the village Milies.

Would you like to visit it?

The four animals nodded enthusiastically and the seagull showed them the way and

wished them good luck in their wanderings. They were walking for hours through the

picturesque villages and the thick forest when they finally found the cave. By that time

it was almost dark and they decided to spend the night there. They lit a fire and started

recollecting all the experiences that they had had so far together. The first one to fall

asleep was Chris the cock and he had the strangest dream. In his dream everything was

different………

………..The four animals were walking through the woods when they reached a

clearing where they saw nymphs dancing and centaurs flirting with them. The four

friends decided to join the party when suddenly a fierce-looking man carrying a bow

and arrow appeared followed by a pack of wild dogs. One of the centaurs warned the

animals:

- Quick, my friends, run as fast as you can. This is Actaeon, the famous hunter,

and if he sees you he will certainly use you as targets!

- Where can we go? asked Dobby in panic.

- I’ll take you to Chiron’s cave where you can hide. He will surely protect you

from all harm, answered the centaur.

So he did and the four animals met the great teacher Chiron, who reassured them that

they were safe in his cave. The animals thanked him, introduced themselves and asked

who Actaeon was.

- Actaeon is very aggressive, a maniac hunter. He used to be my pupil too. I

taught him archery but now he uses this noble art to hunt animals. As I heard he has

become so arrogant that he even boasts that he can compete with Artemis, the

goddess of hunting. I am afraid that this kind of “hubris”, I mean pride, will be the

end of him.

- You are truly wise, Chiron, a voice was heard from the opening of the cave. A

handsome young man walked into the cave and said: “Indeed, Artemis got so angry

today with Actaeon who was once again showing off his abilities in hunting that she

transformed him into a stag. The irony is that his own dogs started chasing him.”

- Ha! The hunter became the hunted, said Kitty.

- This reminds me of what our Spanish friend Rodrigo told us, “Don’t do unto

others as you wouldn’t have them do unto you”, said Jack.

- Words of wisdom, answered Chiron. Or as I always say to my students, “Treat

others how you wish to be treated”. Isn’t that so, Jason?

The newcomer agreed smilingly and said he had heard that hundreds of times

from his teacher’s lips.

- So we should be friendly and smiley if we want others to act likewise, said

Dobby.

- We should help others first if we want them to help us too, said Chris.

- And we shouldn’t be too arrogant either. See what happened to Actaeon, Jack

said humbly.

- You would all make excellent pupils, said Chiron, but let’s find out why Jason,

my old student, is here.

- I have come to say goodbye because I am sailing in Argo, my ship, to Colchis in

the Black Sea.

When the four animals heard this, they were very excited because this would be a

nice way to continue their journey.

- Can we come with you? We want to meet new places and new countries, said

Chris.

- Of course you can, we will have a great time together but we have to rush. I have

many things to do.

- Great, let’s go. I really can’t wait, said Dobby.

They bid farewell to Chiron and thanked him for his hospitality and the lessons he

had given them and soon they were back at the port. Jason with the Argonauts and

the four animals started their voyage to Colchis. All was well until they arrived at

the Symplegades at the Bosporus. These were two giant rocks that clashed randomly

and destroyed any ship that passed between them. Jason had been advised that if a

dove flew across unharmed, then the ship following it would pass safely, too.

- I’m afraid we have no dove to send across, said Jason. I was wandering if our

feathered friend would be so brave as to undertake this task, he added looking at

Chris.

- Who, me? You must be joking!

- Come on, we know you can do it, said all the other animals. Otherwise, we have

come all this way for nothing. After all, we owe Jason a favour for taking us along.

So they persuaded the cock who flew across and only a few of his tail feathers got

caught.

- My tail, my beautiful tail!!!!! cried the cock……….. and suddenly he woke up.

He realized it had all been a dream and he narrated it in every detail to his friends.

- It must be the air in this cave, said Dobby, because I had similar dreams about

mythical creatures and brave heroes myself.

The others agreed and after looking around for the last time they said goodbye to

the spirit of Chiron that had visited them in their dreams. They decided to head back

to Volos, only this time they found the railway station of Milies and took the little

train of Pelion, which the locals call Smudgy because it used to have a steam engine

burning coal and the coal dust that came out of its chimney along with the steam

smudged everything. The scenic route went through fields of olive trees and over

several stone or metal bridges until the four friends arrived in Volos. There they

bought some jars of “spoon” desserts that the area is famous for and decided to

board a ship and follow the trail of the Argonauts towards the Black Sea, in reality

this time.

VIII. The Little Hare’s Story-Book of Dobrudja region

It was a beautiful day around mid April. The little hare came out of his hole and

looked at the beautiful blue sky, white clouds, and flower-filled trees.

‘The severe snowy winter ended and spring begins finally. It’s time to see what

happens in the forest and the bushes around ’, he sighed happily.

So, the grey little hare started to hop along through the forest, flippity-flop, flippity-flop.

Presently he saw - a story-book lying on the path. Little hare turned the pages. The

pictures in the book were really magnificent! There were flat hills and golden valleys of

wheat, corn, sunflowers and etc. And the letters in the book were so large and easy to

read. On the cover was written ‘A story book of Dobrudja region’.

‘Oh, it is a book of my native region’, the little hare exclaimed. He picked up the

book and went on.

‘If only I could find someone to read this story of my birthplace. I’m sure it could be

very interesting for everyone I meet on my way’, he thought as he flippity-flopped

through the forest.

No sooner did this thought cross his mind he heard a loud noise in the forest. And

there in front of him, the little hare saw a merry company of various animals like a

jackass, a dog, a cat and a rooster that were dancing while singing a beautiful song.

‘Hello, happy band. My name’s Dobrudjanche and I live in the fields here. Where do

you come from?’, the hare asked.

‘Hello, Little Hare’, the jackass answered. ‘My name is Jack and these are my

friends. We are a joyful company of animals coming from the North of Germany. We

are having a tour around the European countries because we want to learn how other

animals live, the questions of animal liberation and humane treatment to us, to meet

some national animals and etc. We have already passed through Portugal where we met

the lynx, Spain (the wolf), Italy (the marmot), Poland (the bison). We’ve come from

Greece (near Volos we met the the centaur) today, but we were in your country,

Bulgaria, some months ago where we became friends with the bear. All of them also

told us marvelous stories of their countries’ national history and the values of their

nations ’, Jack added.

‘Where are you going now?’, the little hare wanted to know.

‘Well, we plan to finish our tour on the Princes’ Islands, near Istanbul. We started in

the Western part of Europe and it will end in the Eastern part of Europe. There we want

to summarize what valuable lessons we learned from our journey abroad’, Jack said.

‘But what happened to you, Mr. Jack, why you decided to organize this long tour

around Europe?’ Dobrudjanche was curious to understand.

‘Hm… I started this journey from Germany because I decided to escape from farmer

who intended to have me slaughtered. I wished to start a musical career. But it is more

important that I met all these merry guys and gals around us. - Hey, little friend, what’s

that book you’re carrying?’, Jack said.

‘Yea, it’s a story book of my region, happy friends. And the pictures are simply

magnificent! Would you me like to read you and your company some of them?’,

Dobrudjanche suggested.

‘All right, little hare’, all agreed.

The sweet hare sat down on a tree stump, opened the book and began to read, his paw

traveling along the lines of words. He was eager to catch the attention of his audience,

from the very beginning.

‘In Dobrudja, everything seems endless - the blue skies, the boundless chernozem –

that means: the black soil of this area - and the songs of Dobrudja. This land is

sometimes called the cradle of Bulgaria because it was here in 7th

century when Khan

Asparuh and his mounted troops came and founded the Bulgarian State. The legend

holds that after they had swam across the river Danube the horsemen stopped to rest on

a hill. What they saw around them was a Greenland, a boundless plain, a brilliance of

the Black Sea to the east, a rainbow above all that, and passing under the rainbow those

aged horsemen entered a timeless existence together with Bulgaria and Dobrudja. It is a

place where one could feel the magic of infinite. The sun says ‘Good morning’ to all

animals in this forest first. This rich land is known to be the main grain producing area

in Bulgaria. The whiteness bread of the world can be tasted here, because of it for us

wheat is the sacred crop- it is hope and faith, it’s a prayer and the symbol of life. Only

those who have seen the vast golden fields of wheat will understand why this land is

called ‘Golden Dobrudja …’, the little hare read and read. His new friends listened to

him in silence for hours.

‘What an incredible region, you live in, little grey hare. This story-book of Dobrudja

was so knowledgeable we learnt so much. It’s one of the best stories we’ve ever had’,

all animals exclaimed in one voice when Dobrudjanche finished reading the book.

‘You are welcome, dear friends’, the hare responded their heartily congratulations to

him.

‘Dobrudjanche, my group liked so much the story of your native place. Bulgarians

are such a great nation with wonderful and hospitable people and animals, the jackass

concluded. But, it’s time the merry party to continue our way to Istanbul. ‘Do you

know how far Istanbul is from your forest?’, he added.

The great city is not so far away. From here you will just have to straight following

the sign ‘The Bosporus ’, tiny grey hare exclaimed.

‘Goodbye and take care, little hare’, all animals shouted happily.

IX. The Seagull welcomes the Musicians at Istanbul

It was the first hours of the morning. The sun was shining and the cool water of

Bosporus was sparkling glamorously. Ezan voice – that is: the call to prayers - and

screams of Seagulls were melting in the morning. The gulls started chasing the public

ferries sailing from Asian side to European side and the students, workers or young

lovers were waiting for disembarking and on the way, ferries saluted each other with

their horn while the Bosporus Ferry started its journey to the legendary shores of

the Bosporus which are adorned with old wooden houses or with palaces.

The train from Dobrich to Istanbul had just arrived at the terminal of Sirkeci and it

was cooling its rails. There inside the train were our four friends who had had a long

journey starting from Germany. Being so exhausted they were fast asleep and didn’t

notice that they had arrived in Istanbul. Suddenly, the snow-white Seagull who was

perching on the wires of the train across them starred at them and soared gently to their

wagon. -“Rat! tat! tat! tat!” the seagull pecked on their window continuously without

missing a beat to wake them up. -“What is that noise! Stop it! Leave me alone. I am so

sleepy,” said Jack without knowing that they were already in Istanbul. Dobby woke up

at that moment and came face to face with the Seagull who was looking at them out of

the window. -“Hey what is that? My god!” The seagull opened his wings and greeted

them saying: -“Hello! Welcome to Istanbul.” The mysterious seagull flew away and

disappeared in the blue skies of Istanbul. With the astonishment they had, they

wondered where the seagull had gone. -“How genial and kind he was. He was acting as

if he had been our friends for years. We should find and thank him. If we hadn’t been

woken up by him we would spend the whole day sleeping here. Come on, guys, let’s

go!” said Chris with an hectic voice. The four fellows set off to explore Istanbul and

suddenly found themselves in front of a spellbinding view of Bosporus. -“Wow, what a

glamorous city!” exclaimed Jack. The four fellows decided to take a ferry to explore the

city. -“Let’s have a seat on the roof and taste the soul of Istanbul,” said Kitty.

“Look! People are throwing a circle bread with sesame towards the seagulls. There

are hundreds of them. They are eating from the hands of people,” said Jack. -“ It is

incredible. They are hovering to catch them,“ shouted Dobby and went on: -“Look!

How they chase the ferry! I want to do the same. Please! It is very enjoyable.” The

mysterious Seagull suddenly came: -“Hello again! Are you enjoying Istanbul?”

-“Hey! Where have you been? We were looking for you since morning. Thank you

very much for waking us up in the morning. We are so glad.” said Chris. -“Where are

you coming from and what are you doing here?” asked the Seagull curiously. -“We

have been traveling for a long time to explore the European cities and here is our last

stop. We are collecting information about the cultures and the way people treat to

animals.” answered Jack. -“How nice! Let me be your guide.” offered the Seagull and

went on:

-“The circle bread you were talking about is called “Simit” in Turkish. It is one of the

indispensable tastes of Turkish breakfast and five teas. It is not possible to consider it

without cheese and tea. And we love Turkish people as they don’t deprive us of this

good taste.”

While tasting Simit with some white cheese and tea the four fellows asked the

Seagull:

-“Can you tell us about Istanbul?” -“Of course! With pleasure! Istanbul is the only

city in the world located on two continents, Asia and Europe. It isn’t the geographical

fact that draws the significance. It is a city where old and new, historical and modern,

cultural and revolutional coexist. It is a city fought over for thousands of years and it

has been the capital of many civilizations. It was the capital of the Eastern Roman

(Byzantine) Empire and named Constantinopolis and finally, when the Ottomans

captured Byzantium in the year 1453 under the Conqueror Sultan Mehmet, Istanbul was

converted into the capital of the Ottoman Empire. It is the home of cultural heritage,

among the richest in the world.”

-"It makes the city very special! No doubt.” said Kitty.

-“Many historical works of art showing traces of these empires, have been able to

survive up to date.” added the Seagull and continued: -“The most important historical

remain belonging to Byzantium is Hagia Sophia museum which was was used as a

temple and contains very valuable mosaics.”

-“Hey, look at the tower!” exlaimed Chris!

-“It is Galata Tower!” said the Seagull.

-“Is that the one Hazerfen Ahmet Çelebi who was a scientist jumped down the tower

and flew to the opposite side of the Bosporus strait by using the wings which he had

invented in the 17th century.” asked the Kitty. The seagull nodded: -“Yes, definately it

is. And also it is visible everywhere in the city and one of the oldest towers in the world.

The tower is at the hill which overlooks both to the Bosporus and the Golden Horn and

the sea of Marmara.” They got off the ferry and went on their journey and they were

exteremely impressed by magnificent Topkapı Palace, the domicile of the Sultan and

center of government administration, The Dolmabahce Palace where the Ottoman

Sultans started to live in, Blue Mosque and by the great works of architect Sinan such

as the Suleymaniye Mosque. -“Let’s go to Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar for

shopping.” said Jack.

-“That is a great idea, dude” replied Chris. After having a day full of culture together

with the fresh smell of the sea, they were so hungry and wanted to taste all the varieties

of the Turkish cuisine. They all tasted grilled meat (kebap), seafood, stuffed and

wrapped vegetables (dolma), savory pastries (borek), pilav and dishes with olive oil and

butter as well as wide variety of desserts like Turkish delight, baklava, kadayıf, helva

and several puddings (muhallebi).

The next day they woke up and headed for the Princes’ lslands. The seagull was

waiting on Büyükada (Prinkipo island)with his best friends on the island.

-“Hello, welcome to our islands”, said the horse. “I am here to take you around to

have a sightseing tour.”

-“Hello ! It’s our pleasure to meet hospitable animals like you. We are so excited to

be here.” said Jack. The seagull: -“Hey cats, dogs, donkeys come on… Help the four

fellows to get on the phaeton.” The horse carriage started to move. -“Do you feel the

smell?” asked the horse to the four fellows. -“Oh yea! It smells fantastic! What is that? I

have never sensed such a beautiful odour. Look at those trees full of yellow flowers!

They are mimosa and they are so popular on our islands.” The cat and the dog who

were following them went to pick some mimosas for the four fellows. -“This is for you.

“

-“Oh, thank you. They look really wonderful.”

Kitty asked the horse: -“Do you always carry people here? Is it your job?”

-“Yes, I am not that lucky as you. I carry hundreds of people and weights everyday. I

wish I was independent like you. In summer it is very hard for us to carry thousands of

people without resting and drinking water. “ The four fellows felt sorry for he pity

horse and got off the horse immediately and decided to walk around the island. -“Let’s

walk together and enjoy our day, lovely horse.” said Kitty and they spent an

unforgettable day.

The next day they woke up with the rise of the sun in the sea side and they were so

excited as they were going to welcome the Comenius group coming from Germany,

Portugal, Poland, Spain, Italy, Bulgaria and Greece. The four musicians from the North

got ready to give a small concert on the Port for the guests. As they already knew the

city well, they became the guides for the Comenius Group and they turned back to their

country with lots of good memories.

On their way back home they were taking about how right Napoleon was with his

quotation “If the earth were a single state Istanbul would be the capital…”

And here, dear reader, we leave our four friends and all the companions they met during

their journey through Europe.

May they all live happily ever after!

PROJECT LOGOS, created by students from

Dobrich/Bulgaria Forte da Casa/Portugal Stara Zagora/Bulgaria

Volos/Greece Wilhelmshaven/Germany La Unión/Spain

Moncalieri,Torino/Italy Istanbul/Turkey Poznan/Poland

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.

This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the European Commission cannot be

held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.