journey to the center of the Earth chapter 1 the mysterious message was a
quiet afternoon in Hamburg when Professor Otto Liden Brock, famous scientist and man with an
impatient character, returned home with an old book under his arm, he had just bought it from an
antique dealer, I, his nephew Axel, was used to his sudden enthusiasms but this time he seemed more
agitated than usual inside the book hidden between the pages we found a yellowed sheet written
with strange signs "it's an encrypted message" exclaimed the professor with eyes that they shone he spent
hours studying it without drinking or eating "I tried to calm him down but it was impossible curiosity
consumed him finally by observing carefully he understood something it was an ancient Icelandic code with effort and a bit
of luck we managed to decipher it together the words that appeared left us breathless
they spoke of a passage to the center of the Earth hidden inside an extinct volcano in Iceland
the professor had no doubts we had to leave immediately I tried to protest but he was already
up packing papers and instruments that night he didn't sleep and if it was true if
there really was a path that leads to the heart of our planet a shiver ran down my
spine we had just opened the door of a mystery chapter 2 preparations for the adventure
the next day the professor's house looked like a crazy laboratory compasses ropes picks maps
and supplies occupied every corner lidenbrock was unstoppable I on the other hand was full of doubts
a journey to the center of the Earth seemed madness but opposing it was useless when my uncle
had an idea in his head nothing stopped him after a few days we were already traveling towards Iceland
the island of ice and fire we crossed rough seas dirt roads and desolate landscapes
until we arrived in Reikavik the capital there the professor looked for an expert guide and found Hans
a tall man silent and strong as a rock he didn't speak much but his eyes said
we could trust with Hans at our side we headed towards the Sneffels volcano mentioned in the
message it was huge imposing covered in snow but now inactive for centuries according to the message only
on a specific day of the year when the shadow of a certain peak touched the crater we could
find the entrance we camped at the foot of the volcano waiting for that moment the sun
was high the shadows were getting longer the professor was watching impatiently I was holding my breath the moment
of truth was about to arrive chapter 3 inside the volcano finally the awaited day arrived the
sun was high in the sky and the professor with the manuscript in his hands was observing the crater
carefully suddenly he pointed to a large rock there is the shadow of Scartaris the entrance it's
below us" he said enthusiastically without wasting time we began the descent the crater was deep
slippery and dark the sun's rays disappeared as we descended lower and lower between walls
of lava rock and absolute silence each step rumbled like thunder hans drove calmly
without ever making mistakes the professor wrote down every detail I tried to stay calm but
fear grew inside me and if we never found the way back if we ended up buried
down there after hours of walking through narrow and slippery tunnels we would we stopped to rest the professor
was happy as a child I was destroyed by fatigue I drank a sip of water and looked up
the sky was now only a memory just when I thought that nothing could surprise me more Hans
showed us a fork in the tunnel two roads two opposite directions but which one led to the center
of the Earth the silence was broken only by a distant echo chapter 4 lost underground in front
of us two tunnels opened up the professor without hesitation chose the right path "according to
the calculate this is the right way" Hans said confidently I followed him I followed them full of
doubts we walked for now in an unreal silence interrupted only by our steps and the noise
of the drops of water falling from the rocks the heat increased and the air became
heavier and heavier then suddenly the tunnel ended in a closed wall a dead end the
furious professor refused to go back but it was the only choice so reluctantly we resumed the
I walk backwards and that's exactly when it happened while I was looking for water I took a
side path and got lost I called out I screamed no response my heart was beating hard only underground without
light or direction the silence was deafening I walked randomly for hours without knowing where I was going
the water was over hope also then an idea if I had shouted in a narrow tunnel the echo
could have carried the sound to the other liden Brock I shouted waited after a long silence
a voice was far away but it was him I still had a chance chapter 5 the underground world
following his uncle's voice he finally managed to find the right path after hours of walking
in the dark seeing the faces of Hans and the professor was an immense relief we hugged each other without words
we had passed our first real test we resumed our journey along a new tunnel
that seemed to go down even deeper the air became cooler then something
incredible happened a strange light like a blue dawn began to illuminate the tunnel we walked faster
driven by curiosity suddenly an enormous cave opened in front of us it was immense
like another world beneath the surface of the Earth an underground sea extended to
the horizon the light waves moved under a stone sky on the banks
giant mushrooms grew fossil trees and ancient plants like those of the time of the dinosaurs "it's impossible"
I whispered "but it was all true the professor was ecstatic he decided that we would cross that
sea to see where it led we built a raft with the materials found in the cave and
the next day we set sail the silence was profound broken only by the lapping of the water but under
that calm something was moving and he was watching us chapter 6 prehistoric creatures
our raft was slowly sliding on the sea Liden Brock as my
uncle had already christened it around us the darkness was broken only by flashes of electric light that crossed the
rocky sky yes lightning under the ground it seemed impossible and yet everything was real we rowed in
silence attentive to every movement of the water then suddenly a gigantic creature emerged a
marine reptile with the head similar to that of a crocodile and the body of a whale immediately
after a second monster emerged from another part of the sea we stopped breathless while the two
animals were getting closer to each other they hadn't noticed us they were fighting the waves
were growing the raft was swaying dangerously screams splashes prehistoric roars it was a clash
between titans like in the time of the dinosaurs after a furious battle the waters calmed down
the monsters had disappeared leaving us shocked but alive we resumed our journey more cautious than ever
after hours of sailing a storm suddenly hit us lightning strong winds waves
as high as houses a lightning hit the raft everything went black when I reopened my eyes I was alone
on an unknown beach chapter 7 under lost continents I got up with difficulty on the
beach soaked and confused the underground sea stretched behind me calm and silent as if
nothing had happened I called my uncle I called Hans no answer I was alone again but at least I was
alive I walked along the coast looking for traces of my companions at a certain point
I glimpsed fresh footprints on the sand they were Hans's I wasn't sure I had almost reached them
walking again I found myself in front of an incredible landscape giant bones scattered on the ground
skeletons of animals that had been extinct for millions of years and then a human skull at least three times the size
of the normal one it was possible that gigantic prehistoric men had existed down here I arrived
in an underground forest where the vegetation was dense strange silent huge leaves
luminous mosses then I heard voices I ran towards the sound and there I found my uncle and Hans were alive
we hugged each other in relief and in disbelief the professor wasted no time "we are walking under a
lost continent" he said enthusiastically "maybe Atlantis itself?" But the joy did not last long a little
further on the earth was shaking a deep rumble rose from the ground something was about to explode
chapter 8 the unexpected return the ground was shaking more and more strongly the walls of the cave
boulders creaked and fell around us an eruption shouted the professor we had to escape
but there was no way out only a narrow and steep tunnel that rose upwards with no
alternative we threw ourselves in that direction the heat increased with every step the noise of the magma
became deafening we climbed we climbed driven by fear and hope the walls were red hot the
sweat covered our faces then suddenly an enormous push lifted us from the ground we were
inside a geiser an enormous column of steam shot us upwards like rockets I don't remember anything else
just light noise and then darkness when I reopened my eyes I was lying on the grass real grass
real sun fresh air we were on a hill a farmer was looking at us surprised "you came out of the
Stromboli crater" he said we had climbed up another volcano from Italy
we had crossed the planet the professor wrote it all down with pride no one would
ever believe it but we knew the truth we had traveled to the center of the Earth and we had
returned several times stronger and with a secret that no one could ever have delete it