Джан Амании - The Magical World of Daniyal

Оnce there lived a little boy Daniyal. Daniyal loved everyone: his mum and dad, his grandma and grandpa, his brothers, his aunts and uncles… and everyone loved to hear his stories about magic numbers – even the kids from the neighbouring streets would come running to hear them. Because when Daniyal closed his eyes and counted “One-two-three – whee”, he was suddenly immersed in a wonderful world of fairy tales. One of the neighbourhood children was a sad-eyed girl Luna, who very rarely smiled. She would always come alone, listen thoughtfully to Daniyal and then quickly disappear. No matter how hard Daniyal tried, he couldn’t cheer Luna up. Finally he had an idea – to take Luna into his Magical world with him.

This particular day Daniyal had been out playing with his friends for a long time and came home late. He was very tired and hungry. While waiting for his dinner, Daniyal curled up in the armchair, closed his eyes and began to think how to put his plan into action – to show Luna his Magical world. He recalled his mother’s words: “A wish that is kind is sure to come true!” and then he heard the words he was so fond of “One-two-three – whee!”.

…Daniyal found himself in front of an enormous refrigerator. It was shining so brightly that Daniyal wanted to open the door right away.

Peeping inside, his eyes feasted on a sight he had never expected to see: a multicoloured candy path that led to a fairy-tale city. Whirling carousels! Shiny toys and colourful balloons! Clowns! The sun was dazzlingly bright, and there were children laughing and running through the streets. Then he caught sight of Luna, who was staring around helplessly. Daniyal jumped with joy and ran to her. Holding hands, the friends ran along the candy path towards the splendid city.

Out of the blue, a shop counter appeared in front of them – though the shop itself was nowhere to be seen. Behind the counter stood a smiling saleswoman – on seeing the youngsters she began to sing:

Luna smiled almost unnoticeably, but Daniyal said to the saleswoman: “We’ll have sausages with chocolate.”

The saleswoman nodded approvingly: “Excellent choice. Would you like to order anything else?”

“Yes, meat dumplings with ice cream,” said Daniyal and asked Luna: “And what do you want?”

“I want… I want a hamburger… with strawberries!” Pleased with her concoction, Luna looked at Daniyal and smiled. Daniyal beamed with happiness.

The saleswoman didn’t bat an eye, and rang a gingerbread bell. Without more ado, in rushed a huge pot on wheels. From it sprang a chef who wore a necklace made of sausages, and ten assistants in ice cream caps. The order was taken!

Less than five minutes had passed when some sausages appeared on the counter – generously covered with hot chocolate… followed by burgers with strawberries… and the next moment their meat dumplings with ice cream were ready! Luna was delighted.

“Do you have chicken with candies?” asked Daniyal.

The chef and his assistants whispered to each other…

A minute later, multicoloured miraclecandies were served. Daniyal put five of the candies straight into his mouth, pocketed a few pieces, and the rest he stuffed into Luna’s pockets.

Suddenly his mother’s voice could be heard, calling him “Daniyal, Daniyal!” He woke up and ran straight to his mother, to tell her about Luna and about the city inside the refrigerator. His mother hid her smile with her hand and said: “My little storyteller, run into the dining room – there’s a girl waiting to see you. Maybe it’s Luna?”

Daniyal rushed into the dining room. Luna was sitting at the table and telling Daniyal’s father something funny.

There were miracle-candies in the candy bowl. Daniyal was happy. All his wishes had come true. And most importantly – Luna wasn’t sad any more.

Оn this day, Daniyal and his friends went swimming in the river. They were swimming, diving, and swinging into the river from a rope… Only Luna couldn’t join them – she was at home in bed with a sore throat.

When Daniyal came home he was exhausted. He went straight to the armchair, curled up and closed his eyes.

On hearing the words “One-two-three – whee!” Daniyal found himself in a room filled with some kind of flashing instruments. Where was he?

On a large control panel there was a blinking red button with the word ‘Navigation’ written on it. Daniyal pressed the button, and right in front of him appeared a map showing different planets and solar systems. Daniyal realised that it was a spaceship. He already knew the names of many of the planets by heart from playing “The Interplanetary Game.” He grabbed the ship’s helm and pulled it towards him. A miracle happened – the ship obeyed and took off.

Daniyal marvelled at the view through the portholes. Multicoloured lights shone to the left and right, while in front the mysterious black sky was scattered with glittering stars. After a little flying around between the stars, the boy opened up the space map and realized that he was close to the planet of Giant Fruits and Vegetables.