cuentosIA
Carla and the Cardboard Rocket
For Carla, on her sixth birthday: the universe is yours.
Carla was turning six, and she had a question ready before breakfast:
—Grandpa Paco, how many planets can fit in the living room?
Paco looked at the cardboard boxes they had saved for playing.
—That depends on how big we make the rocket.
Carla put one box beside the sofa and another on top. Paco held them together while she taped them in place. When they were done, they drew a launch button. Carla pressed it carefully. The adventure was about to begin.
Paco sat inside the cardboard rocket beside Carla. She began the countdown on her fingers.
—Three, two, one!
VROOOOM. They both made engine noises, and in their imaginations, the living room fell far behind. First they passed Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun.
—Could we have a snack there?
—Better not. It gets terribly hot during the day.
Carla thought of her glass of water and decided to save it for a cooler stop. The rocket flew on.
Next came Venus, wrapped in clouds. Paco explained that the heat never let up there, either. Carla drew a window on the box so she could see better.
Before long, they saw Earth: their home, with seas and clouds that seemed to move slowly.
—I can't see our living room from here, Carla said.
—But we know it's there.
They passed the Moon, too. Carla waved and imagined how high she could jump with so little gravity.
Farther on was Mars. Carla wanted to know why everyone was so interested in it.
—Because it has mountains, dust, and lots of things we still want to discover.
They continued to Jupiter, which was so big that Carla took a long time to take it all in. Then came Saturn. Its rings looked like a track the rocket could race around.
—Can we skate there?
—They're made of pieces of ice and rock. We'd better look from here.
Carla nodded. Looking was a wonderful way to explore, too.
The rocket headed toward Uranus and Neptune. On their imaginary journey, the living room was now very far away. Carla fell quiet for a moment.
—Grandpa, are the stars beyond Neptune?
—Much, much farther away. Each one is like our Sun.
Carla tried to count the ones she remembered seeing from the terrace, but she soon lost count. Then she imagined Earth circling the Sun among so many enormous places. She reached for Paco's hand. He took hers, and together they began the journey home.
That night, Carla and Paco went up to the terrace. The air smelled of recent rain. Paco set up the telescope and let Carla look first.
—There's a little dot that doesn't twinkle.
—It could be a planet. Tomorrow night, we'll look for it again and find out.
Carla rested her elbows and watched a little longer. Downstairs, the cardboard rocket was waiting; above them was a sky that couldn't fit in any box. Before going inside, she chose a star to look for again the next night.
