'Is there anybody out there?' 'Is there anybody out there?' sang the Pink Floyd. And this is what I ask you, too: is there anybody out there who's an English mother language speaker interested in learning Italian and who would like to help me with my poor English?? We can talk on Skype or just write messages if you prefer. Thanks to all!

The little gold fish - last part 'Well, what does she want now?' asked the little gold fish. 'Ahimè (how do you say this?)' the man said 'She wants to become a queen.' 'Go ahead, she already has the crown on her head.' The fisherman went back to the palace and he saw it had become much bigger. In front of the main entrance there were many guards in full uniform and inside, on a gold and diamonds throne, was sitting his wife with the crown on her head surrounded by the court. 'My dear wife' said the fisherman 'what a beauty that you're a queen! Now there's nothing more you can desire.' 'I'll think about that' the woman replied. They went to bed and the man slept deeply, but his wife couldn't get to sleep and she turned over all the night. At dawn the woman looked out the window and saw the sun rising. She thought she would have liked to make the sun and the moon rise and fall. 'Husband' she said 'Wake up, go to that fish and tell him I want to become as powerful as God.' The good fisherman got so much scared that he fell out of bed. He thought he hadn't understood right. 'Oh dear wife, what have you ever said!' 'Husband' she said 'I can't absolutely stand to stay here watching the sun and the moon rising and falling; I want to be the one who orders that!' She looked at him so badly that he shuddered. 'Go right now, I command you, I'm your queen!' The man fell to his knees in front of her and begged her: 'Dear wife, I beg you, return to yourself (rientra in te stessa?) and content to be the queen!' The woman went on a rampage, her hair swirled around her head, she tore her shirt, gave him a kick and cried 'I can't resist, do you go there or not?!' The fisherman put on his trousers and ran away as a fool. Outside the storm raged so much that it was hard to stand up: the houses crashed, the mountains trembled, the sky was dark, flashed and thundered, the sea swelled in waves as high as church towers. Without hearing his words the fisherman shouted: Little gold fish, little gold fish, come to me miserable! My wife has gone mad, now she wants another thing!' 'Well, what does she want?' asked the king of all fishes. 'She wants to become as powerful as God.' 'Go ahead, she has already had what she deserves.' The fisherman went back to his wife and he found her at the entrance of the cave, as poor as before. And they could never change again. Moral of the story: Never listen to your wife, ahahah :)

The little gold fish - part 2 The fisherman and his wife ate something and went to bed. After two weeks the woman said 'Dear husband, our house is so narrow and the garden is so small! Your fish could have given us something better. I'd like to live in a beautiful stone palace. Go and ask him.' 'But...dear wife' replied the fisherman 'we're just fine here. Why should we live in a palace? I'd get lost!' 'Macchè (how do u say this?)' answered the woman 'I'll be very fine there. Go immediately!' The fisherman was desperate 'But darling, the king of all fishes has already given us this beautiful house, I can't go back and ask it something else! He might take offence!' 'Hurry up!' insisted the woman 'After all it owes you life. Go, it can easily do it and it will gladly!' With a heavy heart and muttering, the man went towards the sea. When he arrived the water was violet and blue. It was still quite smooth, but it looked swollen and full of threats. From the shore the man cried: 'Little gold fish, little gold fish come to the man who saved you. I must ask you one thing that's what my wife wants.' The little gold fish came to the surface and asked 'What does she want now?' 'Ah' said the man head down 'She wants to live in a stone palace.' 'Go, you'll find her at the door.' Infact, where the house once stood the fisherman found a big stone palace and his wife on the staircase was going to enter. In the hall there were many servants that stooping opened wide the doors of many rooms. The walls were covered with curtains and wallpapers, from the ceiling hung crystal chandeliers, everywhere there were precious furnitures and carpets. 'Now we're done' said the man ' In this beautiful palace we can live happily.' 'We'll see' said the woman 'In the meantime let's sleep.' The morning after the woman saw through the window the wonderful village that streched as far as the eye. She told to her husband 'Wake up and look around you. Couldn't we govern all this country? Go to your fish and tell him that we want to be king and queen.' 'Ah, my dear wife' complained the man 'why do you set in your mind these ideas? I don't want to be a king!' 'Don't talk over and go right now!' replied the woman. The fisherman thought 'That's not right!' He didn't want to go, but he went. The sea was black and swollen: it smelled like rotten. From the shove the man cried: 'Little gold fish, little gold fish, come to the man who saved you. My wife doesn't give me peace, now she wants another thing.' ... to be continued ...

Let's see if I can translate this tale: the little gold fish One of my son's favourite tales! Once upon a time there were a fisherman and his wife, they were very poor and lived in a miserable cave near the sea. Everyday the fishman went fishing, so he got something to eat. One morning he was sitting on a rock for a long time, but he hadn't caught nothing yet. The sea was smooth as silk and the fisherman looked quietly the sunlight reflecting on the water. Suddenly the fishline 'dette uno strattone' (how do you say this?) He pulled it up. Hanging at the hook there was a little gold fish. 'Listen to me, fisherman' said the fish 'please, let me live. I'm not a fish as the others, I'm the king of all fishes. Why killing me? If you eat me, I'm nothing but a mouthful: put me back into the water and let me go!' The man anwered 'There is no need for you to make so many speeches; a talking fish can't be eaten' He put it back into the water and the fish swimmed fast away. The fisherman went back to the cave. 'Dear husband' asked his wife ' Haven't you caught nothing today?' 'No' said the fisherman ' I caught a little fish but he said he was the king of all fishes, so I let him free.' 'And didn't you ask him anything in return?' 'No, what was I supposed to ask?' 'It's bad to live in this cave! You could ask him a house in return of his life. Go and tell him.' The man didn't want to, but he also didn't want to upset his wife and so he went to the shore. When he arrived the sea was green and yellow and it wasn't smooth as before. He stopped on the rocks and cried: 'Little gold fish, little gols fish, come to the man who saved you! I must ask you one thing; that's what my wife wants.' - In italian this is on rhyme! The little fish came to the surface and asked: 'Well, what does she want then?' The imbarassed fisherman answered: ' My wife says I should have asked you something in return of your freedom. She's tired to live in a cave, she wants a real house.' 'Go ahead' the fish said 'She already has it' At the cave's place, the man found a beautiful small house. His wife was sitting on a bench near the door. She took his hand and said: 'Come and see, now it's much better.' They entered and in the house there were a beautiful bedroom and a kitchen with a pantry full of all good things. From the back door you entered a courtyard where some chickens were scratching about and a vegetable garden full of vegetables and fruit trees. The man said ' Now we're done, we can be satisfied!' 'We'll see' the woman said. ... to be continued...

Skype invitation for my contacts Since I can't send messages, I'll write a note. Dear contacts, it seems there is no way for me to send you any message, so I think it would be nice if we could connect on Skype if possible. Please, if you're interested, send me a message with your Skype name and I'll look for you. We can talk or just write messages, I'm interested in both. Hope to hear from you soon, have a nice day!

A message for my contacts Is it just me having problems in sending messages or chatting? I can't do both, it always say 'error'. I'd like to answer to all of your last messages but I can't. I hope you'll see this note so you will understand my 'silence' since I have no other way to contact you. Have a nice day you all!

First notebook entry: Introducing myself Hi everybody! My native language is italian, but I'm learning English because I love it and it would be very useful to find a new job here in Italy. I attended a linguistic school, so I also have a basic knowledge of German and French. I'd like to meet someone who could help me improving my English!