The History of Rafi

HOW RAFI & ROSITA CAME TO MARTINHAL

Once upon a time, there was a little fox that lived in the countryside, in the national park near a little town called Sagres in Portugal.

That

fox

was

called

Rafi

and he was very friendly and playful.

One

hot

summer’‛s

day,

Rafi

went

to

the

lagoon,

where all the animals went to bathe and play.

To his delight, he bumped into his best friend Rosita there.

While they splashed in the lagoon, they heard some birds talking about a beautiful beach with golden sand, crystal water

and

five

magnificent

islands

that

seemed

to be only one.

This

made

Rafi

very

curious

and

there

was

nothing

else he talked about on the way home.

Rosita

couldn’‛t

care

less.

When

Rafi

arrived

home

he

could

bear

it

no

longer.

“Mom… Dad! Have you ever heard of a beautiful beach with

golden

sand,

crystal

water

and

five

magnificent

islands that seem to be only one?” he asked.

Father Fox and Mother Fox looked at each other as if they

weren’‛t

sure

whether

to

tell

him

or

not.

Finally

Father

Fox

told

Rafi,

“That

beach

you

are

talking

about …

… is not far from here.

“Not long ago there were only animals there but then humans found its beauty and built Hotel Martinhal there so that other humans from all over the world could come and

enjoy

this

magnificent

place,”

said

Dad.

“I really want to go there! I could even stay at that …

Rotel

you

were

talking

about,”

said

Rafi

with

excitement.

“Hotel,”

corrected

Dad,

“And

it’‛s

not

a

good

idea

to

go

there.

The

humans

won’‛t

let

you

stay

at

the

hotel

unless

you are human!

“Besides it can be very dangerous, you never know what humans can do to you!” said Father Fox. “All

right

Dad!”

said

Rafi,

visibly disappointed.

But

Rafi’‛s

curiosity

and

strong

will

got

the

better

of

him.

So the next day, he met up with Rosita and they went looking for the famous Hotel Martinhal.

They walked and walked until, from far away, they spotted a beach.

As they got closer they saw the golden sand, crystal water and,

at

last,

the

five

magnificent

islands

that

seem

to

be

only one.

“We

found

it!”

screamed

Rafi,

he

couldn’‛t

contain

his

excitement.

“This is so beautiful! I told you it was real!” he said.

“Yes

you

did

Rafi!”

said

Rosita.

“Let’‛s

take

a

closer

look…”

They kept walking towards the beach but then they saw Hotel Martinhal. They quickly realized that they would have to cross the hotel grounds to get to the beach.

“I

had

never

seen

a

hotel

before

but

it’‛s

almost

like

a

forest,”

said

Rafi.

“It has lots of plants and dens for the humans.”

Rosita exclaimed.

“These dens are huge! And a lot prettier than ours!” chipped

in

Rafi.

Suddenly a little human voice shouted, “Foxes!”

Rafi

and

Rosita

dived

immediately

into

a

gap

between

some lavender bushes.

“Now what do we do?” whispered Rosita.

“Let’‛s

stay

hidden.

He

might

just

go

away,”

said

Rafi

nervously,

remembering

his

father’‛s

words.

However, they began to notice the wonderful smell emanating from the lavender bushes.

“Humans

like

nice

smelling

shrubs

too,”

said

Rafi.

“Maybe

they’‛re

not

so

different

from

us

after

all,”

whispered Rosita, trying her best not to speak too loud.

“Wait! Don´t run away!” … their conversation was interrupted by the same little voice they had heard before.

“You

don’‛t

have

to

be

afraid,

I’‛m

just

a

little

boy

and

I

would like you to come and play and dance with me,” said the boy.

Rafi

and

Rosita

exchanged

a

hesitant

look

and

realizing

that

they had been discovered, they came out of their hiding spot.

“Hmm,

I

don’‛t

know.

Maybe

we

should

go

back

home,”

stuttered

Rafi.

“But I LOVE dancing!” shrieked Rosita.

“I’‛m

going

to

take

you

to

a

wonderful

place

called

the

Kids Club,” the boy said.

“Are

there

any

big

humans

there?”

asked

Rafi,

visibly

concerned.

“Adults? Yes, there are some. Mom and Dad call them “staff” but I know their real names. They are very nice, they

won’‛t

hurt

you

and

they

play

and

dance

with

us!”

And off the three friends went to the Kids Club.

When they arrived at the Kids Club the Foxes were astonished.

“So

many

colors!”

said

Rafi.

“So many children!” said Rosita.

“So

many

games!”

continued

Rafi.

“So

many

toys!”

finished

Rosita.

They were both fascinated with all the children and even the big humans there.

They all danced and played until they were exhausted.

In

the

end,

Rafi

and

Rosita

were

invited

to

come

to

Martinhal every day to dance with the children.

And so they have, every single day ever since!

THE END

Story by Kids Club Staff @ Martinhal led by Sara Batista and Hugo Quintas Edited by Chitra Stern Illustrations and layout by Rik Dewulf (www.rikdewulf.com) All rights reserved Martinhal and Rik Dewulf