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Filippo is a very spiteful little boy: he enjoys teasing his teammates and pushing them when they play by making them fall, so everyone avoids him and he is left alone.
"Who cares? I certainly don't need them! " thought Filippo.
But it's almost Christmas: the windows are adorned with sparkling threads and colored balls, the candy shop displays panettone, candies and chocolates to hang on Christmas trees and the toy shop shows all the latest news… how nice Christmas!
It will be for that party atmosphere, it will be that people in this period are more attentive to others, but also the beggars on the street collect a few more coins. We do not know the reason, but in this period people manage to notice their presence and manage not to pass by with an indifferent face, a hurried step and a closed heart.
It is known in this period everyone feels better… everyone except Filippo.
It is Christmas night and Filippo is sleeping in his bed.
But something special is about to happen….
A loud noise wakes the child who, opening his eyes, finds himself in front of SANTA CLAUS!
"What did you bring me?" Filippo immediately asks.
"Before giving you my gift, answer this question: were you good this year?"
"Sure!" Filippo answers promptly.
"Are you really sure?" asks Santa again.
"Did I already tell you yes are you deaf maybe?" Filippo answers back.
"No I'm not deaf, but tonight before I give you your gift I want to take you for a ride ... a ride into the past!"
So Santa Claus took Philip's hand and they found themselves in the school yard. It was the day of the football match and Simone scored the winning goal. Filippo did not like to lose, so he canceled the goal by repeating that it was a foul, that it was offside and since the child who was the referee was a classmate of his, he canceled Simone's goal because he was very afraid of Filippo!
But Santa Claus did more. He made Philip identify with Simone and made him feel the disappointment that his friend felt at that moment. Not so much for the goal, but because his dad was there to watch him and he really wanted to do his best not to disappoint him. He wanted to win the game to make his dad proud of him, not for himself.
Philip was very impressed by this and the hardness of his heart began to tremble.
Then they found themselves in the streets of the center, it was the day when Philip met Judith. She had braces on her teeth and he teased her. Here too Santa Claus made Philip feel Judith's sadness, because for a child it is still important to feel pretty and he had hurt her.
Philip's hardness of heart continued to tremble and his eyes sparkled.
They moved further and found themselves at Philip's house.
Her mother was very tired, she worked during the day in an office and when she came home she had to tidy up, prepare dinner, wash, iron and she had very little time to rest.
Filippo saw himself when, finished playing in the bedroom, he left all the games scattered around the room. He then went into the kitchen to drink a glass of milk and didn't even clean if he spilled it on the floor. Here too Santa Claus intervened and made Philip identify with his mother.
The child felt a very strong emotion that made him tremble. He felt the great love that his mother felt for him, the love he put in tidying up the house and making him live in a welcoming and clean environment, the love he put in washing and ironing his dresses and making him go to school always in order and the sadness Mom felt every time the school principal called her because of her son's behavior in class.
Philip burst into tears.
He opened his eyes and realized he was alone in his room.
Mom heard him cry and went to him and hugged him. They stayed that long. His mother was happy because Filippo hadn't hugged him for a long time, since his father had flown to heaven and he had no one to blame for this.
The next morning Filippo telephoned Giuditta and told her that he found her very nice.
Then he called Simone, apologized and told him he wanted to be his friend.
At a certain point Filippo noticed a package left under his tree: his gift had already opened! Could it be that of Santa Claus? He opened the package and found a Santa Claus puppet that winked if you pressed his back!
Filippo burst out laughing and thought: Christmas Eve is truly a magical night because it sweetens hearts and brings a smile to people's faces and Santa Claus taught me that in any case it is not necessary to wait until Christmas to realize that you have a capable heart. To love!
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