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Worksheet
"È fantastico!" I thought, whilst pretending to be a deep-sea action-girl.
Every now and then, I spotted an interesting shell lying on the sea bed.
Il mare è bellissimo!
Che bella conchiglia!
But where were all the fish?
"Dove sono i pesci?" I asked myself.
This seemed very strange. "Molto strano!" Shouldn't the sea be full of fish?
Some underwater investigating was required!
"Uno, due, tre!" I dived down a few metres and looked around. There was not even one fish! All that I could see was white sand, rocks, sea-weed and a jellyfish. We call a jellyfish 'una medusa' in Italian.
It was time for a snack - una merenda. I came out of the water and sat on a rock to eat a sandwich.
Everyone knows that you should not throw rubbish into the sea. Well, here is a secret - Ecco un segreto. I did something naughty: I secretly threw a big piece of my sandwich - il mio panino - into the sea.
A few moments later, I couldn't believe my eyes! Non era possibile! The floating sandwich was whizzing around like a mini speed boat. There was splashing all around. Molto strano! Very strange! Sandwiches should NOT move on their own. What was causing this mysterious event?
"Let's investigate!"
I put on my mask and flippers and jumped back into the water.
The mystery was solved! Hundreds and thousands of fish were attacking the floating sandwich. I was totally surrounded by hungry fish!
It was a worrying situation - Era preoccupante. Would they bite me? Would they think that I was a giant sandwich? - Un panino gigante?
I decided to conduct some experiments!
Esperimento 1: Would the fish eat from my hand?
Il risultato: Sì! Yes! When I held a piece of bread, the fish nibbled away until the bread was gone and their little teeth tickled my fingers.
Esperimento 2: Is there anything that fish do not eat?
Il risultato: They eat EVERYTHING. Mangiano TUTTO.
My big sister threw in some pieces of melon - melone, pasta, pizza, cheese - formaggio and salad - insalata. The fish arrived in thousands. It was a feast for fish! No food was ignored.
The water bubbled furiously as the fish jumped around, especially when we threw in the slice of pizza. It was definitely their favourite food - il loro cibo preferito. You could even hear a munching sound as they came to the surface to bite off the pieces!
Above: Hungry, Sicilian fish.
Hundreds of seagulls - gabbiani -arrived too. They floated on top of the water and pecked each other as they fought for the food. I was trapped between nibbling fish and pecking birds. "Aiuto!" Help!
The fluffiest seagulls were the young ones. I felt sorry for them because the older seagulls bullied them and didn't let them have any of the food.
Non mi piacciono i bulli. - I don't like bullies.
A young, fluffy, Sicilian seagull.
When all the food was gone, the fish and the seagulls disappeared. Once again, the sea became a quiet place with not one fish to be seen.
Now that I am back at home - a casa, I often think of my friends the Sicilian fish. I really enjoyed visiting their world. One day, I will return with more food. I am going to discover what they think of il cioccolato - chocolate, le patatine - crisps and i cavoletti di Bruxelles - Brussels sprouts. I will let you know the results.
The sea - il mare - is a very beautiful and interesting place and it belongs to the fish and partly to the seagulls. That is why it is so important that we all help to look after the sea. È molto importante!
La Fine
The End
Elenco di Vocaboli
Vocabulary List
il pesce - the fish
il mare - the sea
la sabbia - the sand
la barca - the boat
la medusa - the jelly fish
la maschera - the mask
le pinne - the flippers
l' acqua - the water
la conchiglia - the shell
sotto - under
il gabbiano - the seagull
affamato - hungry
il panino - the sandwich
nuotare - to swim
mangiare - to eat
Mi piace - I like
Italian Adventures
Italian Zone
Feeding The Fish In Sicily
A Very Exciting, Underwater Experience
Una Storia Vera - A True Story, by Claudia
Last summer in Sicilia, I visited the island of Favignana. The sea is very beautiful there. I had great fun, swimming with my mask and flippers.
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