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