To Paris! A story without an end

            Hopper is very small. So small that he cannot be seen with the naked eye. You can sometimes feel him, when he is in the mood for biting. Yup, you guessed it! Hopper is a tiny flea. But not any flea. He is an artistic flea.

Every day he practices his drawing talent on the back of Old Scratcher, the dog who doubles as his home. They both made a pact. Hopper doesn't bite him and Scratcher carries him on his back all the time, wherever he goes.

Hopper's dream is to get to Paris and paint on Seine's riverbank. There, where all of the artists have their home. Where his imagination can breathes life into some very rare masterpieces. How happy he would be if he got to Paris...

'How about it, old friend?' he asked Scratcher one day.

'Shall we take a trip to Paris? It would be so easy for me to get there with your help. Even the road would not seem so long!'

Scratcher looked at him, sleepy and bored. What could a dog like him do? He is used to guarding the entry to the construction site. Sometimes, when people cross the street, he even barks.

But he did not have to put his courage to the test until now. To top it off, he is used to his master bringing him food every morning. To take a trip like this - the one Hopper is talking about - would mean to show how brave he is and, especially, find food on his own.

Nooo!!! It would be very hard!

The truth was, in fact, that he was always looking at the railroad tracks behind the site and wished to have the guts to jump on the first train that came into sight and discover the world. Now, thanks to his little friend, he had the chance. So he adamantly stood up and told Hopper:

'Let's go! Be prepared, the train is coming!'

By the time Hopper understood what Scratcher had said, he woke up in a dark railroad car.'We have new friends!', a hoarse voice said.

Suddenly, there was light. A small white bear dressed as a ballerina appeared before them. Then a cat dressed in a graceful ball gown, a monkey in a cowboy suit and an ostrich wearing tap dancing shoes. Hopper and Scratcher gawked at them.

'It probably must be our costumes... We are a dance troupe. We travel all over the world with our act', the bear said. 'Now we are heading to Paris. We have most of our shows there. People from all over the world come to see us.'

'To Paris?', Hopper hopped with glee.

'It's the city of my dreams! That's where we are heading too. I'm going there to exhibit my paintings on Seine's riverbank. I want everyone to see how talented I am. Oh, to be famous! To show everyone that you can do great things despite your small size. Can we join you?'

'But why wait till Paris to show the world what you are made of? We have shows in several cities until we reach Paris. We are artist too and we love art in all its shapes and sizes.

Come on, a whole world wants to meet you! We would be very happy if you joined our troupe.'

'Okay, okay... But we don't know how to dance!' Scratcher shouted.

'At my age I barely know how to walk... It's a wonder I even remember my own name! But when it comes to dancing... I couldn't learn how to dance for the life of me! I have four left paws! Nooo, I'm too clumsy to dance!!'

The little white bear - who was actually a she - was the troupe's choreograph. She had already seen Hopper in a number that could wow the audience. She could see him dancing a tango with his color palette in one hand and gracefully finishing his paintings with the other. Passionate, winning the public!

Hopper had never thought that he could do something else besides painting. Especially dancing! But, nevertheless, he tried.

He was a bit mistrustful at first, but he got used to the rhythm. And when he realized that dancing tango was not as difficult as he had thought, he started strongly to believe that dancing perfectly matched his art.

The dancers on the train had become good friends to Scratcher and Hopper. They got along so well that Hopper sometimes forgot that his dream was to get to Paris. He would have wished to stay with Scratcher and his new friends forever.

And so, after long rehearsals for his dance act, the time had come for him to step on a stage for the first time.

He was overwhelmed with emotions and, as he was advancing, the idea to dance before a public didn't seem to have been such a good one. But there was no turning back!

Scratcher, his lifelong friend, felt his stage fright and encouraged him:

'Come on, Hopper! You had the guts to go out into the wide world to fulfill your dream! You will not give up now! You'll get on that stage and do what you do best: paint. And we, your friends, will support you from here, from behind the curtains.

Whatever happens, even if everything goes downhill here, remember that Paris is waiting for you, no matter what! Go on!'

And so, Scratcher persuaded Hopper to go on stage. And the music played and our artist instantly forgot that he was on stage. He started to dance passionately and magnificent, beautifully unreal landscapes came out of his paintbrush.

Suddenly, the music stopped and rounds of applause were heard. Everyone was standing and they were thrilled of what the little guy had managed to do on stage.

For the first time Hopper heard the applause of the public and realized that he liked it.

He liked being on stage, doing what he loved and bringing people happiness through his paintings.

He hadn't imagined that, on his way to Paris, he would have this chance: to learn how to dance without giving up his painting. Meeting new people and places and getting known by the people.

He was truly happy! So happy that he could dance.

And the train they were on was slowly heading to Paris. Just a little bit and they would be there. Hopper was already famous and everybody knew his paintings.

Was it necessary for him to stay on Seine's riverbank and paint? Without applause, new places to be seen and especially without his dear friends. His dream was beginning to change. He didn't know what he wanted anymore.

Suddenly, a high-pitched voice announced:

'The train arrives in the station on platform number 7. Last stop: Paris.'

And then Hopper realized what he should do. He could be happy only if...