Treasure hunt
29/01/2023
Once upon a time, there was a 9-year-old girl named Bruna, but everyone who loved her called her Pupa.
Pupa lived in a house that was partly a cave in the Sassi di Matera.
She was a very special girl because she loved to dress in very colorful clothes.
Unfortunately, this made the other children make fun of her and call her "the strange girl".
One day, while playing in the fields near her house, Pupa met a talking wolf.
The wolf introduced himself as Lupo and immediately became Pupa's friend.
Pupa was so happy to have such a special friend and told him everything about her life and dreams.
Lupo told her that she was a brave girl and that she shouldn't be intimidated by the other children.
Pupa decided to tell the other children about her new friend Lupo, but no one believed her.
Only her friend Uccio, who lived in the cave above Pupa's, believed her and encouraged her not to give up.
One day, while her parents were in the fields and she was taking care of her grandmother, Pupa heard the other children laughing and joking near her house.
Curious, she approached them and discovered that they were discussing who had the courage to venture down to the gorge where the stream was.
Pupa decided that she wanted to show them that she was brave and that she wasn't "the strange girl" as the others called her, so she ventured down the path that led to the stream with her friend Uccio.
Pupa and Uccio, the two inseparable friends, decided to go to a new and unknown place, despite the other children betting that they wouldn't make it all the way. Walking, they saw the other children becoming more and more distant, but despite this, Pupa and Uccio were determined to continue.
Finally, they arrived at the stream, where they saw a wonderful landscape with ducks and other birds.
But this pleasant moment was interrupted by a large wild boar that seemed to have bad intentions.
Pupa and Uccio were petrified with fear, but the screams of the other children spurred them to run back.
However, they found themselves with their backs against the wall, and just when the boar was getting close, the wolf appeared, having recognized Pupa from her clothes, and intervened to save them.
The other children, who had followed the scene from the road, apologized to Pupa for not believing her and promised not to call her "the strange girl" anymore.
Pupa, despite the fear, was comforted and ran to her grandmother, who had noticed her absence and rushed to the scene.
From that day on, Pupa and Uccio did not venture down the paths that led to the stream, except when accompanied by the wolf who protected them.
And so they lived happily ever after.
Questa favola è un'invenzione dell'autore e non ha alcun collegamento con la storia o con le leggende o i personaggi legati ai "Sassi di Matera".
