In a cheerful Italian village surrounded by olive groves, there lived a tiny boy named Buchettino. He was no bigger than his mother's thumb! He could sleep in a matchbox, ride on the family cat, and hide inside a teacup. But even though Buchettino was very small, he had a very big heart and the cleverest mind in the whole village.
Buchettino had three best friends who loved to play with him. They would carry him on their shoulders and he would spot birds' nests high in the trees. He could squeeze through tiny spaces to find lost coins and keys. "Being small is my superpower," Buchettino would say with a grin, standing proudly on top of a sunflower.
One afternoon, Buchettino and his friends went to pick berries in the forest. They wandered deeper and deeper among the chestnut trees until they were completely lost. The sun began to set, and the shadows grew long. Then they saw a large stone house with smoke coming from the chimney. "Let us ask for help," said Buchettino bravely from his friend's pocket.
They knocked on the door, and it swung open to reveal the biggest, most bumbling ogre they had ever seen. He had a round belly, squinty little eyes, and a very confused expression. "Oho!" said the ogre. "Children! Come in, come in!" He did not notice tiny Buchettino at all, which was exactly what Buchettino wanted.
The ogre gave the children supper and told them they could sleep in his spare room. But Buchettino was clever. He noticed the ogre whispering to himself about a plan to keep them forever as his helpers. "Do not worry," Buchettino whispered to his friends from beneath a bread crust. "I have an idea. Just do exactly as I say tonight."
That night, the ogre gave the children sleeping caps to wear. He wore a big floppy nightcap himself. When the ogre fell asleep and started snoring like thunder, tiny Buchettino crept out. He climbed up the blankets and carefully switched the children's caps with the ogre's own nightcap collection. Then he woke his friends. "Quick, follow me!" he whispered.
Buchettino led his friends through the dark house on tiptoe. But the front door was locked with a huge iron bolt! The children could not reach it. Buchettino thought fast. He spotted a tiny mouse hole in the wall near the floor. "I can fit through there!" he said. He squeezed through the hole, climbed up the outside of the door, and slid the bolt open.
The children crept outside into the cool night air. But the ogre's cat woke up and meowed loudly. The ogre stirred in his sleep and mumbled. "Run!" said Buchettino. His friends ran as fast as they could while Buchettino rode on a friend's shoulder, pointing the way through the dark forest. The moon lit their path through the trees.
The ogre woke up and discovered the children were gone. "Come back!" he roared, stumbling out the door in his nightgown. He chased after them with big, clumsy steps. But the ogre was slow and kept tripping over tree roots and bumping into branches. Buchettino called back, "You will never catch us, you big silly!"
Buchettino spotted a narrow bridge over a stream. "Cross the bridge!" he shouted. His friends ran across easily, but when the heavy ogre stepped on the bridge, it creaked and groaned and then crumbled into the water with a great splash! The ogre sat in the stream, soaking wet and sputtering, looking very foolish indeed.
Safe on the other side, Buchettino and his friends cheered and hugged each other. The ogre shook his fist from the stream but could not cross. "Clever little rascal!" he grumbled, and then he sneezed and waddled back home, dripping wet. The children laughed until their bellies hurt as they watched him go.
By sunrise, Buchettino and his friends found the path back to their village. Everyone came out to hear about their adventure. Buchettino stood on a flowerpot so everyone could see him and told the whole story. The villagers cheered for the tiny hero. "It does not matter how small you are," Buchettino said with his biggest smile. "What matters is how big your ideas are."
