The "Tail of the summer" competition

There is great excitement in Friuli Venezia Giulia: preparations are under way for the “Tail of the Summer” competition and all the animals want to win first prize. Cocolo is head judge!
“Which tail is going to win this year?” asks fox.
“The most beautiful one!” says peacock, fanning out his tail feathers. But the other animals disagree, peacock won last year. This year a different type of tail should win.
“Perhaps the longest tail should win,” suggests fox proudly waving hers. It is a good idea, but someone would have to measure all the tails, and that would take forever.
“I know!” shouts Cocolo. “We could give the prize to the most useful tail!”
Sounds of confusion and surprise come from the animals. “The most useful tail? How are we supposed to find out which tail is the most useful?”
Cocolo reassures them. “Don’t worry, I know what to do!”
The little bear sets off with his notepad and pen. Just like a journalist, he will interview the animals and find out who has the most useful tail. One of his first stops is the Val Canal Novo and River Stella Mouth Reserve where there is lots of seawater and freshwater.
“Hey, bear cub, do you want to come for a ride in my canoe?” calls out a tourist who is paddling powerfully along the River Stella. The waters here are cold but calm, perfect for kayaking! Cocolo would like to have a go but today he just doesn’t have time. He is on his way to see the seahorse and invite him to take part in the competition.
“I would be honoured to take part,” the seahorse tells Cocolo. ”My tail is being studied all over the world.”
“Really? Why?”
“Take a closer look and you’ll see.”
The little bear has a good look: it’s true! The seahorse’s tail can wrap tightly round things and hold on to them and is so strong that it looks like armour. Cocolo excitedly writes lots of notes in his book.
“Thanks, seahorse. I’ll be back to see you again soon!”
It is time to go: Cocolo still has more interviews to do so he sets off for the Valle Cavanata Reserve. He has heard things about Mrs Goose’s tail, and he wants to find out more. Something to do with it being historically important! The bear cub crosses over different channels. Along the banks there are woods and meadows full of flowers and lots of animals live here.
“Do you know where I can find Mrs Goose?” Cocolo asks a passing heron.
“Oh, she’s always terribly busy. Do you have an appointment?”
“No, but I’d like to interview her. She could win the “Tail of the Summer” competition.
“Well, if it’s that important, I’m sure she’ll make time to see you. Come on, I’ll take you to her.” Heron and Cocolo make their way to Mrs Goose’s home, in a pond not too far away.
“Julivaaaa…” calls the bird loudly. “Juliva come out from those reeds, there’s a bear cub here, who wants to interview you! He says you could win a prize.”
No sooner are the words out of heron’s mouth when the goose’s orange beak pops into view. “An interview? A prize? Honk! Honk! Here I am!”
Cocolo is ready, notebook and pen in hand.
“Good morning, Mrs Goose. I’ve heard that your tail is very useful…”
The goose preens in response. “My dear, for centuries we geese have supplied the raw material needed for writing: quills.”
“Quills?” Cocolo looks at the biro he is holding in his paw. “But we write with pens and they’re made out of plastic…”
“Well, today yes, but in the past people used our quills, our feathers, and my tail has many beautiful ones. See how long, soft and white they are. Did you know that the Italian word for quill or feather is ‘penna’ ...and that’s where the word ‘pen’ comes from?”
“Gosh, really?” Cocolo exclaims. “I never knew that!”
“All the great names in literature, the most famous writers and poets wrote their wonderful works by dipping our feathers in ink!”
Cocolo is amazed, how fascinating this all is. He thanks the goose and continues on his way. He still has one more animal to interview: Alfredo the horse. He lives on the Isola della Cona, in the River Isonzo Mouth Reserve.
Walking along the banks of the river, the little bear comes to the pasture where the Camargue horses live. Alfredo neighs happily when he sees his friend and comes trotting over to the bear on his short, stocky legs.
“Ciao Cocolo! What brings you to these parts?”
“I need to choose the most useful tails as part of a competition. Can you tell me something about yours?”
“My tail? Oh, well… ok…. so, if you look, you can see that it is obviously an important tail. Our tail hairs are used to make a lot of different things! Fabrics which are hard-wearing, and all sorts of ropes and cords are made out of them! Oh, and I’ve not told you the most important thing. Do you like music?”
“Yes, I do. I love it.”
“Have you ever heard of string instruments?”
“Of course, I have. Violins, violas, cellos…”
“Right, so put this down in your notebook- the bow that musicians use, the thing which makes the strings on the instrument vibrate… that bow is made with the hairs from our tails!”
Cocolo is amazed, he has learnt so many new things from this interview too. He heads home, happy with his work and with a notebook packed full of information to help choose this year’s winning tail.
A few days later, the jury of judges get together to vote. However, it is more difficult than they thought to make a decision and they can’t make up their minds.
“I vote for the goose! The quills from her tail were essential for writing in the past!”
“That’s true, but we should think more about the present. The winner should be the horse. Without his tail hairs we would never be able to hear the sweet sound of violin music!”
“Past, present…blah blah blah. Why don’t we give the prize to the future? The seahorse’s tail is being studied to help design robots.”
“Why don’t we give the prize to all three of them?” suggests Cocolo.
His idea wins everyone over and so the seahorse, the goose and the horse are all awarded joint first place in the “Tail of the Summer” competition. Cocolo happily claps the winners but inside he is already wondering what he can come up with for next year’s competition!

Text by Mariaelena Porzio
Edited by Fondazione Radio Magica onlus