The Morning Walk

Carlee skipped down the wide stone road, her golden hair bouncing with each step. The morning sun painted the marble temples in warm light, and citizens already bustled through the forum carrying clay jars and woven baskets.

"Good morning, Marcus!" she called to the baker arranging fresh loaves outside his shop.

The elderly man with gray hair and kind brown eyes smiled back. "Morning, little one. Off to the fountains again?"

Carlee nodded eagerly. She loved visiting Rome's beautiful fountains every day before the crowds gathered. The sound of splashing water and the cool mist on her face always made her feel peaceful.

But as she rounded the corner toward her favorite fountain near the temple of Jupiter, something felt different. The usual cheerful gurgling sound was missing.

Carlee hurried forward, her blue eyes widening in surprise. The fountain stood completely silent, its ornate basin dry as desert sand.

The Cricket's Warning

Carlee stared at the empty fountain, her heart sinking. She had never seen it so quiet and still.

"Strange, isn't it?" a tiny voice chirped from somewhere near her feet.

Carlee looked down and spotted a small brown cricket perched on the fountain's marble edge. His black eyes sparkled with intelligence.

"You can talk?" she gasped.

"Of course I can talk. I'm Pip," the cricket said, cleaning his antennae with a front leg. "I've been watching this fountain for years. Something's not right."

"What do you mean?" Carlee knelt down to hear him better.

Pip hopped closer. "Three days ago, I noticed workers carrying wooden boxes near the underground water channels. They wore strange masks and worked only at night."

Carlee's blue eyes widened. "Boxes? What kind of boxes?"

"Heavy ones. They struggled to carry them." Pip's voice dropped to a whisper. "And ever since then, the water started disappearing. First slowly, then faster each day."

A cold breeze swept through the forum, making Carlee shiver. If someone was tampering with Rome's water supply, the whole city could be in terrible danger.