HOST (IN SPANISH):
Welcome， gentle viewers.
Award-winning Colombian writer Celso Román is one of those gifted storytellers who nurture the human sensitivity to the splendor of nature and our co-inhabitants. In the magical world that he creates， tables， chairs， and light bulbs spring to life. A fantastic ship full of children
would set sail for a wonderful adventure. In his world， an ambitious man would take down the moon
to sell it in small pieces to households， but then a poet and two lovers
would collect all the bits of the moon and restore it up in the sky. Currently a faculty member of fine art at the National University of Colombia， Celso Román is the recipient of a series of national and international literary awards. These include the １９７９ Colombian children's
literature honor， the Enka Award， for his book， 『The Man’s Friends』; the １９８３ Nezahualcoyotl Prize in Mexico for his book， 『The Man Who Played』; the １９９８ Best Children's Books recognition from the Colombian Association of Children's
Literature， for the 『Things of the House』; and also in １９９８， the Norma-Fundalectura Prize for 『The Empire of the Five Moons.』

Celso Román(m):
The first book of mine to win a national award was 『The Man’s Friends.』 『The Man’s Friends』 is
the story of four animals: a horse that we call a draft horse， which is a horse that pulls a wagon，
a stray dog that we call a forest puppy， a neighborhood cat， and a rooster who lived in a machine shop. a very poor man who lived in a house of cans on the side of the railroad tracks.
He was Joaquin the old man. And this man was alone and abandoned in the house in one of those cold April winter nights in Bogotá. He was near death and said， 『Help me， someone help me.』 And the draft horse said to the dog， 『But how can we， an old horse and a lame dog， help an old man？』
So in that moment， Heaven opened and in came a ray of moonlight that painted in blue
the little house， the horse， the dog， and the cart. And the moonbeam said， 『If you want to help with the heart， come with me.』It was as if a ray of light had become a road where they started to walk， the horse and the lame dog，and they were moving faster and faster
and running. And when they ran， the dog tells the horse whose name was Mateo，
『Mateo， Mateo， I do not see your ribs anymore， you don’t have any more sores， the wounds
from your harnesses. You have your beautiful mane and tail.』 And then， the horse
turned and told the dog， 『You don’t limp any longer and have all your teeth，』 because
also he was an old dog and had no teeth and had become lame after being struck in a leg.
And then the horse and the dog came to a plain of stars，
and in the plain arrived a falling star... 『Fuaa』And it said， 『There are two friends
waiting for you，』 and the two friends were:
the rooster who was a friend of the horse and worked at a mechanic’s workshop.
So he was a rooster with feathers full of grease， and it just happened that one day a caba，
a car without brakes， turned over and crushed the rooster and killed him.
And that was the rooster， who was found with them again and was lovely with his beautiful feathers， very clean， beautiful.
And there was a cat that had been a friend of the puppy， named Ananía Pelos， and
she was a stray cat and was the one who taught the dog freedom. Then， when they reached
the plain of the stars， found the four friends...
it was the most beautiful of life. They began a magical journey through a world
of fantasy to seek help for the old man Joaquin. And if you want to know where they found support
for the old man Joaquin， you will have to read the book， 『The Man’s Friends.』