"Never judge a book by its cover."

                                       A proverb

WRITTEN BY:  N. Redlin, E Sypniewska, K. Turek, A. Warchał, N. Wojtas, Z. Zawiślak

ILLUSTRATED BY: A. Leporisova, M. Kozák, A. Antuš, V. Hromadníková

    It was a sunny morning, when Alex arrived at the only Maltese airport in Luqa.  He was just wondering why his father, the Prime Minister of Finland,  had to visit such boring places when a little dog jumped out from behind.  "Sally! You scared me, dummy!"  The dog looked at him wagging her tail. "Come on son, the car is waiting. We are heading to Valletta."  

    Alex followed his father, and after half an hour the vehicle pulled up at a luxurious building.  As they were checking in, Sally saw a cat on the street and decided to run after it. The confused  boy tried to stop her, but she managed to snatch away from the leash, and didn't even think of stopping...

    At the same time, a pretty girl , Rosemary, was working outside  Café Cordina. 

She was cleaning one of the tables when, suddenly, she felt that something bumped into her. The girl fell to the ground, and at that very moment she realised it was a small shitzu dog.

    As she was trying to stand up, she spotted a quite good-looking boy with fair wavy hair ."I apologize, I couldn't stop her.  Let me help you,"  he gave her his hand.  She looked at his fancy clothes  and knew that he must have spent a fortune on them. She assumed he was another rich boy interested only in himself, so arrogant and selfish. 

"I do not need your help!"  her voice was full of anger.

"I'm so sorry, it is my fault. My name is Alex,  and yours?"  Alex looked at her with a charming smile on his face. 

"I'm Rosemary."  She figured out that Alex was staring at her. 

"A beautfiul name and a beautiful girl,"  he thought. "Can you please wait for me a few minutes? I will come back, but I have to find my dog first."

     At the same time, Rosemary's mother saw them talking and thought  they looked nice together. "Rosemary,  introduce me to your friend, my dear." 

"Mom! I barely know him, he's not my friend,"  she said with a pout. 

"It can't be! Then you two should get to know each other better. I have an idea. We will go on a picnic together!" 

    In less than twenty minutes, they were on their way to the beach. They found a free spot on the sand and took out Maltese specialities prepared earlier by Rosemary's mother. They were having a good time, eating pastizzi and drinking kinnie soda. Rosemary actually got to know Alex a bit better and learned about his interest in playing the piano... 

    After the picnic, Rosemary's mom hurried back to the cafe. Rosemary offered to show Alex the most popular places in the city.

    First, they took some pictures of the Triton Fountain, then she told him everything she knew about the Opera House. Alex was truly impressed. 

 "Wow, look at this!" He said, pointing at one of the overhanging wooden balconies typical for Maltese architecture. When they were admiring the views from the Upper Barraka Gardens, Rosemary's mother called her. 

 "There  was a fire. The cafe has burned down! Nothing is left of it ..."

 "What?! Mom, are you serious?  Let's meet there, okay mom? I'm on my way." 

    Rosemary started crying uncontrollably, holding onto Alex. As they were heading towards the cafe, he was trying to comfort the poor girl. Lots of people gathered to have a look at the  burned building.  Rosemary's mother was in tears, shocked and worried about their future. "We have lost everything."  She said with a trembling voice.