The story is about a grandfather who was a fisherman. He tells his adventures at sea to his grandchildren. One day he told them to get on his fishing boat. When they got off, they created a paper boat and on it, they wrote and drew their fears and worries.
Ages
- Primary Years
- Middle Years
Il-Luzzu tan-Nannu
In-nannu ta’ Karl, Thea u Martina, iħobb jirrakkontalhom l-avventuri li għadda minnhom meta kien jaħdem fuq il-baħar bħala sajjied. Waqt li jkun bilqiegħda għall-frisk fuq xi banketta mal-bieb tal-garaxx, erħilu jgħidihom li għalkemm xogħlu kien iebes, xorta kien jieħu gost joħroġ bil-luzzu u jaqbad ħafna ħut matul l-istuġun tal-lampuki, l-istaġun tat-tkarkir u l-istaġun tal-lampara.
“Tafu kemm kont indum nistad?” staqsa n-nannu lin-neputijiet tiegħu. “Ħafna drabi kont indum sigħat twal, ġranet u anke ljieli fuq il-baħar biex naqbad ħafna ħut. Imbagħad meta nkun lest mis-sajda, nidħol lura lejn l-art u nibqa’ sejjer bil-ħut il-pixkerija.”
In-nannu jgħidilhom ukoll dwar il-ħut kbir li kien jaqbad bħal tonn u pixxispad, dwar il-qarnit u l-klamari u dwar ħut ieħor bħal vopi, fanfri u lampuki.
It-tfal jibqgħu mistagħġba jisimgħuh l-aktar meta jgħidilhom dwar id-diversi maltempati li ltaqa’ magħhom fuq il-baħar meta kien ikun bejn sema u ilma.
“Dak iż-żmien ma kellix mowbajl, tafux, biex inċempel lin-nanna u min jaf kemm kienet tinkwieta għalija li seta’ ġrali xi ħaġa peress li kont inkun ħafna kilometri ’l bogħod mill-art.”
“U dawk x’inhuma, nannu?” staqsa kurjuż Karl waqt li pponta sebgħu lejn rokna mimlija affarijiet fil-garaxx.
“Dawk huma l-għodda tas-sajd tiegħi li kont nuża. Kelli n-nases tal-vopi, in-nases tal-qarnit, il-konzijiet, ir-rix u s-snanar, fost oħrajn,” wieġbu n-nannu.
“Issa itilgħu ftit fuq il-luzzu ħa taraw biex kont immur nistad. Martina, inti mur fil-pruwa. Thea, inti mur fil-poppa, u Karl, inti mur ara l-kaxxa tal-friża fejn konna nistivaw il-ħut hekk kif jinqabad. Kif tlestu ejjew ħdejja,” kompla jgħidilhom in-nannu.
Kif telgħu fuq il-luzzu, it-tfal stħajluhom sajjieda ċkejkna għaddejjin minn nofs ta’ baħar bil-ħut jgħum ma’ żaqq il-luzzu matul il-ġurnata. Immaġinaw ukoll lilhom infushom qegħdin hemm barra billejl f’dak id-dlam ċappa jistadu għad-dawl tal-qamar.
Imbagħad mill-pruwa, Martina lemħet lin-nannu jqum minn fuq il-banketta, ġab koċċ karti f’idu u reġa’ poġġa fuq il-banketta.
“Nann, nann, x’ser tagħmel b’dawk il-karti f’idejk?” staqsiet pronta pronta.
“Issa, inżlu minn fuq il-luzzu u ejjew ħdejja ħa nurikom,” weġibha n-nannu.
It-tfal niżlu u marru ħdejn in-nannu. Rawh jitwi l-karti u jifforma vapur tal-karti. It-tfal osservaw kif kien qed jitwi l-karti u malajr tgħallmu jagħmlu vapur tal-karti huma wkoll.
Imbagħad in-nannu qalilhom,“Tiftakru meta għidtilkom dwar il-maltempati li kelli fuq il-baħar, u l-inkwiet li kienet tinkwieta n-nanna għalija?”
“Iva, iva,” wieġbu t-tfal.
“Issa nixtieqkom tieħdu vapur tal-karti, toqogħdu ftit għall-kwiet fuq xi banketta u waqt li żżommu l-vapur tal-karti f’idejkom, aħsbu ftit f’dak li qiegħed jinkwetakom u jbeżżagħkom fil-ħajja tagħkom bħalissa. Jekk tridu tistgħu tiktbu dwar l-inkwiet u l-biżgħat tagħkom fuq il-vapur tal-karti wkoll. Meta tkunu lesti, niżlu l-vapur tal-karti bil-mod f’dan il-banju taż-żingu mimli bl-ilma u itolbu lil Alla jgħinkom f’dak li qed jinkwetakom.”
Qabel ma għamlet il-vapur tal-karti fl-ilma, Martina talbet, “O Alla, għinni fl-inkwiet u l-biżgħat tiegħi. Agħtini l-paċi tiegħek u ħu ħsieb qalbi u moħħi. Inħobbok.”
Wara n-nannu qalilhom, “Ftakru li Alla dejjem ikun magħna meta nħossuna inkwetati u mbeżżgħin u bħalma kull maltempata fuq il-baħar tgħaddi, hekk ukoll kull maltempata li niltaqgħu magħha fil-ħajja tagħna, tgħaddi wkoll bil-grazzja t’Alla.”
Il-Luzzu – My Grandfather’s Fishing Boat
Karl, Thea and Martina’s grandfather enjoys telling them about his adventures when he used to work as a fisherman. As he sits on a stool by the door of his garage, he tells them that though his work was very hard, he still enjoyed going out with the luzzu to catch fish during the dolphin fish season, the trawling season, and the lamprey season.
“Do you know how long I used to stay out at sea fishing?” grandpa asks his grandsons and granddaughter. “I often spent long hours, days and even nights at sea catching a lot of fish. Then when I was done fishing, I went back to the land and straight to the fish market.”
Their grandpa also tells them about the huge fishes that he caught like tuna and swordfish, about the octopus and the squid and about other fish like bogue fish, pilot fish and dolphin fish.
The children are amazed, especially when he tells them about the various storms he encountered far out at sea.
“And you know what? I didn’t have a mobile phone at that time, to call your grandmother and inform her that I am fine. She used to worry that something wrong might happen to me since I used to be many kilometres away from land.”
“And what are those, grandpa?” asks Karl curiously as he points his finger to the objects in the corner of the garage.
“Those are my fishing tools which I used to work with. I had fishing net coop traps, fishing trap baskets, nets, feather fishhooks and more,” replies their grandpa.
“Now climb up onto the luzzu to see my fishing boat. Martina, you go on the bow (the front of the boat), Thea, you go on the stern (the rear part of the boat), and Karl, you go in the cold storage to see where we used to put the catch and keep the fish cool with ice. When you are ready, come again down near me,” instructs their grandpa.
On the luzzu, the children imagine themselves as fishermen sailing out at sea with fish swimming past their boat during the day. They also imagined themselves out at sea during the night in pitch darkness, fishing under the moonlight.
Then from the bow, Martina notices that her grandpa has got up from his wooden stool, grabbed some papers and sat again on the wooden stool.
Promptly she asked him, “Grandpa, grandpa, what are you going to do with the papers in your hand?”
And he replies, “Now, climb down from the luzzu and come near me to show you.”
The children come down and go near grandpa. They see him folding a paper to make a paper boat. They observe him and, in an instance, they learn how to do a paper boat too.
Then grandpa tells them, “Do you remember when I told you about the storms which I encountered out at sea, and about all the worries and fears your grandmother went through because of me?”
“Yes, yes,” reply the children.
“Now, I want you to take a coloured paper boat, sit in silence on the wooden stools, and as you hold the paper boat in your hands dearly, think about things that worry you or that you are afraid of. If you want to, you may write your worries and fears on the paper boat too.
“When you are ready, gently put the paper boat in this bath container filled with water and ask God to help you release your worries.”
Before putting the paper boat in the water, Martina prays, “Dear God, please help me through my worries and fears. Give me your peace and guard my heart and my mind. I love you.”
Then grandpa tells them, “Remember that God is always with us when we are worried and anxious and just like the storms in the sea, all the storms that we experience in our lives will come and go with God’s grace.”
Resources related to this story
 Worry BoatsTo understand God’s love in our life turbulences. |
 Family TreeDuring this prayer space one becomes aware that one forms part of God’s big family and is invited to reflect on oneself as part of this family. |
 Weight-Lifting WorryThis prayer space helps one to think of his worries and to ask God for strength and guidance. |
 In Silence in a GardenThe story is about sixth-grader pupils who went on an outing at San Anton Gardens. They walked along a path full of flowers and trees that led them to wooden benches. They sat in a comfortable position with their backs straight to the bench and carried out a ten-minute Christian meditation. |
 One WorldThe story is about a boy who signed up with the football nursery. During the half-time of a game, he stopped to look at a world map on the billboard. Together with his coach and friends, they write prayers for the countries of the world. |
 Cardboard on the PavementThe story is about a girl who travelled to London to watch a musical. On her way to the theatre with her parents, she saw a small boy with his mother lying on a piece of cardboard on the pavement. The girl sought how she could help these homeless people. |
 Show and Tell – Maltese TraditionThe story is about children during drama class. While performing a mime with objects placed in front of them, they are reminded of Il-Quċċija – a Maltese tradition. As they look at the dance mirrors, they thank God for their talents and good qualities. |
 Hold a pebble and let it goThe story is about a family who likes to go for a walk and swim in Mistra Bay. Daddy plans fun games to play with his children like ‘Hide and Seek’ among the reeds and trees and on the sand. Once they played a game with pebbles. First, they thought of people who said unkind words to them and hurt their feelings. Then, they threw the pebbles into the sea as a sign of forgiveness. |
 SandcastleThe story is about a boy who likes to build sandcastles by the seashore. One day, another boy kicked the other boy’s sandcastle and smashed it. The boy who joyfully built the sandcastle burst into tears. However, he showed kindness to him, forgave him, and continued to play together. |
 After camping for a weekThe story is about a boy who went camping with his scouts’ friends at Għajn Tuffieħa. Amongst the camps that were set up, there was a camp with cushions inside it so anyone who wanted could enter and appreciated moments in silence. The boy recounts how much he felt at peace in the ‘Be Still’ camp. |
 Saying Thank YouThe story is about a group of friends who accepted an invitation to participate in a celebration that would take place on World Gratitude Day. Through dance and art, the children expressed their gratitude towards their family, friends, pets, artistic talents, and life. |
 Asking Questions Leads to WisdomThe story is about a girl who is interested in many things and so she likes to ask lots of questions. In the catechesis class, she is given a coloured cardboard paper cut out in the shape of a question mark. She was invited to think about a big question she wished to ask God and write it on the question mark. |
 Eye-Catching WallpaperThe story is about two brothers who moved houses several times. In their new home, they decorated their bedroom wall with eye-catching wallpaper and then they painted a prayer wall on it. |
We want to get to know you. To be able to bookmark your favourite content, please log in or sign up below.
User Sign Up
Discover more resources
