Story of an extraordinarily short-sighted mole
© 2014, Takayuki Kubo et Lirabelle pour les illustrations. © 2015, Mathilde Janczak pour le texte en anglais. Tous droits réservés pour tout pays. Reproduction interdite, quel qu’en soit le procédé, sans autorisation expresse de l’éditeur. Achevé d’imprimer sur les presses de Papergraf (Italie) en février. Dépôt légal à parution.
Lirabelle
ISBN 978-2-35878-132-9
www.lirabelle.fr
Prix en France : 19 €
Spring has settled for a while now. Trees are green and hearth is slowly getting warmer. It is high time the little mole crept outside. But what a disaster, her glasses are broken ! “Dear me !” she cries. “I am a mole ; I am so short-sighted… Without my glasses, I can say goodbye to bugs and worms !” Determined, the little mole leaves her nest to have her glasses fixed.
Walk little mole, walk ! But soon a bear looms up on her way. A big brown bear.
The extraordinarily short-sighted mole, without even seeing him, keeps going.
The brown bear is upset. “Who dares ignoring me ?” he grunts. This makes the little mole jump. Where does this voice come from ? “I am a mole”, she says, sorry, “and I am very short-sighted. My glasses are in pieces, and I am in the hurry as I really want to have them fixed… If you could excuse me, take this invitation as a proof of my friendship.”
Walk little mole, walk ! But soon a giant looms up on her way. A monstrous giant. The extraordinarily short-sighted mole, thinking he is a hill, keeps going.
The green giant gets furious. “Who dares waking me up ?” he shouts.
This makes the little mole shiver. Where does this voice come from ? “I am a mole”, she says, sorry, “and I am very short-sighted. My glasses are in pieces, and I am in the hurry as I really want to have them fixed… If you could excuse me, take this invitation as a proof of my friendship.”
Walk little mole, walk ! But soon a dragon looms up on her way. An unfed dragon.
The dragon blows fire. “You ! The tiny little thing !” He sniggers at her sight. “Is that you I have to devour ?”
This makes little mole shiver. And that voice ? “I am a mole”, she says, sorry, “and I am very short-sighted. My glasses are in pieces, and I am in the hurry as I really want to have them fixed… If you could excuse me, take this invitation as a proof of my friendship.” Walk little mole, keep walking !
But there is a river to go accross. Do you know who will help the extraordinarily short-sighted mole ? The brown bear ! “It is the first time I have been invited by someone� he grumbles.
Now, the tunnel to the valley is obstructed by a rock. Do you know who will help the extraordinarily short-sighted mole to clear the rock off the entrance ? The giant ! “It is the first time I have been invited by someone� he says.
Town is close now, but the bridge is destroyed. Do you know who will help the extraordinarily short-sighted mole to go down the valley ? The dragon! “It is the first time I have been invited by someone� he whispers.
From river to mountain, from mountain to valley, the extraordinarily short-sighted mole enters the town. “My glasses are in pieces and I came to have them fixed� she says, as she gets into the shop.
When her glasses are finally fixed, the little mole pulls the door open and puts on her new glasses. On the pavement, three horrendous faces are staring at her. The little mole shrieks with horror.
“Don’t be afraid !” they exclaim all together, each one holding the invitation from the little mole. “We are your friends !”
And this is the way the brown bear, the green giant, the dragon and the little mole became good friends. Here ends the story of the genuinely extraordinarily short-sighted mole.