Sergio and his younger brother, Divino are poor children who live in a favela (slum) in Sao Paulo, Brazil. They go on vacation with their revered teacher, dona Ute (pronounced oo-teh), to the country house of one of Ute’s friends. Once there, they leave the house together to fetch kindling wood. They cross a stream and discover a strange round mound surrounded by white stones. Divino impetuously climbs the mound and convinces his brother to follow. Due to the mound’s magic forces, they fall asleep. They wake up in the land of Maxa. A girl, Mara, leads them through the jungle to her village where the meet the queen, Mamara. She tells them th e history of the marvelous juice of immortality, vitaluz. They never grow old or die by drinking vitaluz, but never have children either. Queen Mamara and Princess Mara ask the boys to rescue Mireya, a young girl also from Brazil, who had been kidnapped by King Alaram. The boys agree to try, assisted by Platero, a white donkey as charming as he is stubborn, and a mysterious little man named Tamoshot. The search for Mireya is a dangerous adventure, but also the means of learning many important things about life.

Author: Frank Thomas Smith

Editor: James D. Stewart

Language: English

Publisher: Anthroposophical Publications