Lucius, puer Romanus, prope ripam fluminis Tiberis sedet. Caelum serenum est, et ventus lenis folia arborum movet. Lucius flumen spectat et nautas in navibus videt. “O si ego nauta essem!” cogitat.
In flumine magna navis lente procedit. Nautae remos movent, et navis per aquam labi videtur. Lucius eos spectat et exclamat: “Illi nautae fortes sunt! Navem tam magnam regunt!”
Prope ripam parva navicula piscatoris stat. Piscator retia sua in aquam iactat et piscem capere conatur. Lucius prope vadit et rogat: “Salve, bone piscator! Multosne pisces capis hodie?”
Piscator ridet et dicit: “Salve, puer! Hodie paucos piscatus sum, sed fortasse mox plures capiam. Tu piscari amas?”
Lucius caput movet et respondet: “Minime. Ego naves et nautas spectare malo. Navis maior quam piscatorum navicula mihi placet.”
Subito parva navis celeriter prope ripam venit. Ventus vela inflat, et nauta in puppi stans navem gubernat. Lucius manum tollit et clamat: “Ave, nauta! Quo itis?”
Nauta respondet: “Ad portum prope urbem itur. Ventus secundus nobis est!”
Lucius ridens nautas spectat et iterum cogitat: “O si ego in mari magno navigarem! Ventos et undas vincerem et terras novas invenirem!”
Postea sol paulatim descendit, et caelum aurora colore mutat. Lucius ad ripam sedet et aquam quietam spectat. In mente sua magnam navem videt, cum velo candido, in mari alto navigantem. Ille gubernator fortis est, et nautae ei parere student.
Sed vox matris eum vocat: “Luci! Vesper est! Domum veni!” Lucius surgit et flumen ultimum spectat. “Vale, Tiberis!” dicit. “Cras iterum te videbo.”
Domum rediens, Lucius de navibus et nautis cogitat. “Uno die,” sibi dicit, “fortasse ego quoque nauta ero.”
Lucius, a Roman boy, sits near the bank of the Tiber River. The sky is clear, and a gentle breeze moves the leaves of the trees. Lucius watches the river and sees sailors on their boats. “Oh, if only I were a sailor!” he thinks.
On the river, a large boat moves slowly. The sailors row, and the boat seems to glide across the water. Lucius watches them and exclaims, “Those sailors are brave! They steer such a big boat!”
Near the bank, a small fishing boat is stationary. A fisherman throws his nets into the water and tries to catch a fish. Lucius approaches and asks, “Hello, good fisherman! Are you catching many fish today?”
The fisherman laughs and says, “Hello, boy! Today I’ve caught a few fish, but perhaps soon I’ll catch more. Do you like fishing?”
Lucius shakes his head and replies, “Not at all. I prefer watching boats and sailors. A big boat is more interesting to me than a fisherman’s small boat.”
Suddenly, a small boat quickly approaches the shore. The wind fills its sails, and a sailor, standing at the stern, steers the vessel. Lucius raises his hand and shouts, “Hello, sailor! Where are you going?”
The sailor replies, “We are heading to a port near the city. The wind is in our favor!”
Smiling, Lucius watches the sailors and thinks again, “Oh, if I could sail on the great sea! I would conquer the winds and waves and discover new lands!”
Later, the sun slowly sets, and the sky changes color with the glow of evening. Lucius sits by the bank and watches the still water. In his mind, he sees a large ship with white sails, sailing on the open sea. He imagines himself as a brave captain, with sailors eager to obey him.
But the voice of his mother calls him: “Lucius! It’s evening! Come home!” Lucius rises and takes one last look at the river. “Goodbye, Tiber!” he says. “Tomorrow I will see you again.”
As he returns home, Lucius thinks about ships and sailors. “One day,” he says to himself, “perhaps I too will be a sailor.”