Halloween and the Little Robots

In the world of tomorrow there is a village of the future, whose inhabitants are little robots.

“It’s Halloween — let’s get ready to celebrate!” shouted the robots of the village of the future, all together.

The pumpkins woke at dawn, washed their faces with the dew and, humming, put on their make-up.

They took their places on the windowsills and in front of the doors of the houses, each with its own candle.

With witches’ hats on their heads and baskets shaped like glowing electronic pumpkins in their hands, the little robots went from house to house, repeating: “Trick or treat?”

At dusk, the candles inside the pumpkins lit up, illuminating the streets; the atmosphere was perfect as the village waited for the ghosts.

As the clock struck midnight, they arrived like white shadows from the old castle tower. They leapt from one tree to another and, floating in the air, flitted about among the houses.

“They’re here — we have to catch them!” shouted the robots, making their antennas flash.

They sprang into action and took out their magnetic nets to block the ghosts, who, faster than light, slipped straight through them, as if they were made of air.

All of a sudden, a gust of icy wind blew out every light in the village.

The ghosts’ shadows stretched across the walls, growing gigantic, and burst into a mischievous laugh: “Ha, ha, ha! You’ll never catch us.”

They started whirling through the air again, doing somersaults and spinning round and round above the heads of the little robots, who stood gazing up at the sky.

The ghosts had formed a white cloud, and suddenly words appeared on it: See you next Halloween!

Then, just as they had appeared, they vanished in a flash, leaving the robots with their mouths wide open.

The littlest robot, its witch’s hat still all askew, lowered its magnetic net and said softly: “I don’t think they wanted to run away. They just wanted to play with us.”

The other robots looked at one another. Their antennas stopped flashing and lit up one after another, like so many little fireflies, and the village shone once more.

They had chased the ghosts all night long — and nobody had thought to invite them to the party.

The following year, on Halloween evening, the little robots left their magnetic nets in the cellar. They laid a long table in the piazza, with glowing pumpkins all around it and plenty of extra baskets of treats.

As the clock struck midnight, the white shadows arrived from the old castle tower. They stopped, looked at the table… and this time they did not run away.

That night, robots and ghosts played hide-and-seek until dawn. And guess who won: the ghosts, of course, who could pass straight through walls!

In the village of the future, anything can happen. All it takes is an extra place at the table.

— Written by Lucia & Marco Ciappelli

Each story is currently written and narrated in both Italian and English.

The translation from Italian (the original language) to English and the reading of the stories are performed using Generative Artificial Intelligence — which perhaps has a touch of magic... We hope it has done a good job!

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Welcome to Stories Under the Stars.
Written between Florence and Los Angeles by Lucia and Marco Ciappelli, tonight's story is titled: The Moon Was Smiling Happily.

The Moon Was Smiling Happily.
Round and round the Earth she went, and it never made her head spin.

Sometimes she met the Sun, and smiled at him too.
For a few minutes she would cover his round face, playing hide-and-seek.
Then she moved aside, and they both smiled again.

One day people came to visit her.
They walked softly upon her, and she kept still so they would not fall.
When they left, their footprints remained with her.

Turning in the universe, the Moon kept seeing strange objects.
They were things belonging to people, and she took no notice of them.

The sudden descent: the impact on the lunar surface of a piece of a rocket.

She did not understand why it had been let fall.
The dust tickled her nose and made her sneeze.
The Moon was astonished — she trusted humankind.

But then she forgot about it and carried on.
And every night she laid her light upon the windows, to make the sleepers dream.

The Moon was smiling happily.
Round and round the Earth she went, and it never made her head spin.

You've been listening to a story written between Florence and Los Angeles by Lucia and Marco Ciappelli.
Find More tales to read and to listen to, in Italian and in English, at storiesottolestelle.com

Each story is currently written and narrated in both Italian and English.

The translation from Italian (the original language) to English and the reading of the stories are performed using Generative Artificial Intelligence — which perhaps has a touch of magic... We hope it has done a good job!

If you like it, make sure to tell your friends, family, and teachers, and subscribe to this podcast to stay updated. You’ll be able to read or listen to new stories as soon as they become available.

Visit us On The Official Website https://www.storiesottolestelle.com/

Benvenuti su Storie Sotto Le Stelle.
Scritta tra Firenze e Los Angeles da Lucia e Marco Ciappelli, la storia di stasera si intitola: La Luna Sorrideva Contenta.

La Luna sorrideva contenta.
Andava intorno alla Terra e non le girava la testa. A volte si incontrava con il Sole e sorrideva anche a lui.

Per alcuni minuti gli copriva la faccia rotonda, giocando a nascondino.
Poi si spostava e sorridevano di nuovo tutti e due.

Un giorno gli uomini vennero a farle visita.
Camminarono piano sopra di lei, che stette ferma per non farli cadere.
Quando ripartirono, le rimasero le impronte.

La Luna, girando nell'universo, vedeva degli strani oggetti.
Erano cose degli uomini e non ci badava.

Improvvisa la caduta: l'impatto sul suolo lunare di un pezzo di razzo.

Non capiva perché era stato lasciato cadere.
La polvere le pizzicò il naso e la fece starnutire.
La Luna rimase stupita, si fidava dell'uomo.

Ma poi si dimenticò e andò avanti.
E ogni notte posava la sua luce sulle finestre, per far sognare chi dormiva.

La Luna sorrideva contenta.
Andava intorno alla Terra e non le girava la testa.

Avete ascoltato una storia scritta tra Firenze e Los Angeles da Lucia e Marco Ciappelli. Potete trovare altre storie da leggere e da ascoltare in italiano e in inglese su storiesottolestelle.com

Each story is currently written and narrated in both Italian and English.

The translation from Italian (the original language) to English and the reading of the stories are performed using Generative Artificial Intelligence — which perhaps has a touch of magic... We hope it has done a good job!

If you like it, make sure to tell your friends, family, and teachers, and subscribe to this podcast to stay updated. You’ll be able to read or listen to new stories as soon as they become available.

Visit us On The Official Website https://www.storiesottolestelle.com/