Romano

Once apon a time, in a poor little Italian village, there lived a lonely toymaker named Antonio. He was a very young and lively person, him beeing about thirty, and owned a small but cozy toyshop. Everybody loved the toys that he made. They were always made with love and care and so much beautiful detail. Antonio won jealousy from other craftsman for miles around, for no shop was as successful as he was. Even though the field of intense envy was very strong, Antonio paid little attention to it but more to the toys he crafted.

One day, when Antonio was sitting in front of his shop and wittling out a doll's face, a man was walking past him and caught sight of some of the toys in the front window. The old man smiled and looked down at the cheerful and working toymaker.

" Good morning Sir Antonio. Working deligently are we?" The man said, his white hair sticking out in all directions. Antonio looked up, just noticing that the old man was there. The craftsman stood from his work, putting it aside and onto the stone porch. A happy smile graced his lips.

" Good morning Sir... Uhh, excuse me Sir but have I seen you before?" Antonio asked confused. The man laughed, making the carpenter sheepishly rub the back of his head, and feel a bit uneasy. The old man waved hand in front of his face.

" Oh no, no, no. I simply heard of your fine craftsmanship and of your success. It is truly an honor to meet you Sir." The man said, still smiling. Antonio blushed a brilliant shade of scarlet.

" W-well I'm not that good of a-"

" Of course you are! Honestly, you're too polite." Antonio blushed harder with the comment.

" W-well, would you like to buy something Sir?" Antonio said, pointing a thumb at the front window. The man let out an eerie laugh.

" Oh, no I wish to offer something to you."

" Wh-what would you offer to me?" The carpenter asked shakily and unsure of how he sounded.

" Come, follow me." The old man began to walk away. Antonio stood in utter shock for a couple of moments until he finally snapped back into reality. He ran to keep up with the man.

They went through the tiny bustling streets of the Italian village, and Antonio couldn't help but smile at the children running franticly after eachother, laughing and giggling as they pleased. Some of them, who were frequent visitors to his toyshop, waved or greeted him. He still kept his smile and it grew brighter, but there was something so sad about it even so.

The old man led him through the roads and out into the country. The toymaker followed behind him closely, making sure not to lost him for he'd never been outside the village this far. The man crossed a couple roads until they finally reched a small clearing with a single stump sitting stubornly in the middle.

" Ah! Here we are!" The man said, running up to the stump. He gestured for Antonio to come and follow him and the toymaker came close.

" You see this stump," the old man started," was in this very spot a hundred years ago and this is its anniversery date." The man simply said, catching Antonio's interest. The carpenter looked at the stubborn stump with pure astonishment, and smiled one of his brilliant smiles.

" And that stump is what I want to offer you. You are a carpenter, are you not?" The stranger said, pulling out a pipe from his coat pocket. Anonio's face brightened.

" Really? You'd sell this to me?"

" Well, not really sell. More like give. I really have no need of it and it's just sitting there a little stupidly. I want to get rid of it without putting it to waste." The man said puffing out a big cloud of smoke. Antonio stood, grinning madly.

" Oh! Thank you, Sir! This would be a great help! Oh, thank you so much!" Antonio exclaimed, shaking the old man's wrinkled hand. The stranger smiled and bidded the carpenter good-bye as soon as Antonio had it in hand.

Antonio walked the heavy way back to the cozy, little toyshop that was his home and set down the log he'd received onto the table. He started up the small furnance and sat there for the while, warming his hands. It had been a long and busy day for the young carpenter. He sighed after a while and looked to the stump on the table.

" So, one-hundred long years? I'll have to make something special out of this one." He said to himself, getting up and grabbing his carving knife that sat at the edge of his desk. Antonio took it and made his way over to the wood. He leaned over it, examining it for a moment and tapping on it, trying to guess what kind of wood it was. After a while, however he still wasn't quite sure.

" Well, I know that you're strong enough to make a nice string puppet." The toymaker said, halfly talking to himself. So, he set himself down in front of the table and began to carve. Chips of wood came off delicately and fell to the floor as the hours passed by. Soon, his hands were sore and throbbing from the long hours of work, and he wiped sweat off of his forehead. Exhausted and almost done with the crafting, he accidently chipped his finger.

" Oww." Antonio mumbled, sucking on the cut. A single drop of blood flattened and sank into the wood while Antonio got his paints out.

" Okay, how about brown. I've never done brown hair before." Antonio figured, bringing out the splattered can of brown paint. He took his brush and began on the hair, and once he was done with each painted strand, it looked like the best he had ever done. He brought out the green, black, and white paints for the eyes and finished nicely. Soon, the red cheeked, brown-haired, and greened-eyed child's face was done. Antonio sighed with pleasure and brought out clothes, dressing the doll and completing it aswell. It was the best one he'd ever done.

" Alrighty then! You're finished!" The carpenter said, scooting back on the tool he'd been sitting on. He folded his arms, pleased with his own hand-work. Soon, he found himself eyeing the toyshop, oh and what a mess it was. He sighed, getting out of his chair and flipping the wooden sign on the window. He'd have to keep the toyshop closed the next day.

Antonio picked himself up and slipped into bed, blowing out the lantern on the nightstand. The room was dark then, and the carpenter could see the stars behind the window. He sat up, smiling and opened the window, his green eyes reflecting the beautiful stars that shone overhead. Antonio folded his hands and closed his eyes before saying a small prayer.

" Star light, star bright, the first star I see tonight, wish I may, wish I might, have the wish I make tonight." Antonio said, a single tear rolling down his face. He couldn't have any children, but he loved children all the same. So, he opened up a small toyshop and saw many children every day. The only thing he was sad about though, was that none of those children were ones he could call his own. But sad as he was, he soon gave in to the arms of sleep.

III

Suddenly, the stars whirled around in the sky and formed into a beautiful lady. She came down into the toyshop and looked around.

" The poor man," she said, walking around the shop," Well, now is the one-hundreth time he wished. So, his wish shall be granted." The lady smiled and looked over the shop until her green eyes spotted a little, wooden, puppet. She came up to it and recited a spell.

" From your maker's blood that has been shed onto you, I give you life." The lady took her wand and let magic fly from it, dissapearing right after that.