Adventure in the Lie Country: The Giant Cake That Fell from the Sky

Author: (Italian) Rodari, translated by Ren Rongrong
Translator: Ren Rongrong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-05-01
Features: Little Jasmine was born in the middle of the night. As soon as he was born, everyone in the village jumped out of bed, thinking they had heard the factory's steam whistle calling them to work. In reality, it was just Little Jasmine letting out a cry, testing his voice—just like all babies do when they are born. Thankfully, Little Jasmine quickly learned to sleep straight through the night until dawn, just like ordinary people do, except for those who work at newspapers or keep watch. From then on, he would cry out every morning at exactly 7 a.m., the time when everyone should wake up to go to work. As a result, the factory's steam whistle became unnecessary, really—because it was no longer needed, it soon rusted away.
At the age of six, Little Jasmine went to school. When the teacher called roll and reached his name, he said, "Little Jasmine!" "Here!" The new student answered energetically. Suddenly, there was a clatter, and pieces of stone scattered all over the floor—the blackboard had broken into thousands of pieces. "Who threw stones at the blackboard?" the teacher asked, while reaching for the ruler. No one answered. "Alright, I'll call roll again," the teacher said. He did, starting from the beginning, asking each student, "Did you throw the stones?" "No, not me," the children replied, terrified. When the teacher called Little Jasmine's name, he stood up honestly and said, "It wasn't me."