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diff --git a/40621-0.txt b/40621-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..099bdc4 --- /dev/null +++ b/40621-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2580 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40621 *** + + [Illustration: THE BAY OF NAPLES] + + + + LITTLE TONY + _of_ ITALY + + BY + MADELINE BRANDEIS + + _Photographic Illustrations_ + + GROSSET & DUNLAP + PUBLISHERS NEW YORK + + _by arrangement with the A. Flanagan Company_ + + + + _COPYRIGHT, 1934, BY A. FLANAGAN COMPANY_ + + PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA + + + + DEDICATION + + TO MY MOTHER, WHOSE MUSIC AND + SINGING ARE SOMEHOW IN TUNE + WITH THE "SINGING LAND" ABOUT + WHICH THIS BOOK IS WRITTEN + + + + +PREFACE + + +When I began to write these stories about children of all lands I had +just returned from Europe whither I journeyed with Marie and Ref. Maybe +you don't know Marie and Ref. I'll introduce them: Please meet Marie, +my very little daughter, and Ref, my very big reflex camera. + +These two are my helpers. Marie helps by being a little girl who knows +what other little girls like and by telling me; and Ref helps by snapping +pictures of everything interesting that Marie and I see on our travels. +I couldn't get along without them. + +Several years have gone by since we started our work together and Marie +is a bigger girl--but Ref hasn't changed one bit. Ref hasn't changed any +more than my interest in writing these books for you. And I hope that +_you_ hope that I'll never change, because I want to keep on writing +until we'll have no more countries to write about--unless, of course, +some one discovers a new country. + +Even if a new country isn't discovered, we'll find foreign children to +talk about--maybe the children in Mars! Who knows? Nobody. Not even +Marie--and Marie usually knows about most things. That's the reason why, +you see, though I sign myself + + [Signature: Madeline Brandeis] + + I am really only + Marie's Mother. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + PAGE + + Chapter I + + Tony and Tina 13 + + Chapter II + + Tony and the Balilla 29 + + Chapter III + + Niki 42 + + Chapter IV + + Rome 59 + + Chapter V + + Tony and Anna 72 + + Chapter VI + + Cities, Animals, and Discipline 86 + + Chapter VII + + Statues, Music, and Cheese 111 + + Chapter VIII + + Danger! 120 + + Chapter IX + + The Buried City 128 + + Chapter X + + Fever, Fear, and Troubled Sleep 139 + + Chapter XI + + Tony, Anna, and Tina 149 + + Pronouncing Vocabulary 160 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + + PAGE + + THE BAY OF NAPLES 4 + + TONY AND TINA 12 + + ON A STREET IN NAPLES 14 + + A FAMILY GROUP ON A STREET IN NAPLES 17 + + THE BAY OF NAPLES 20 + + IN FRONT OF THE MARIONETTE THEATRE 22 + + LAKE COMO 25 + + "I DIE OF HUNGER!" 30 + + "I WANT TO HELP YOU," SAID THE BOY 34 + + BOYS OF THE BALILLA 36 + + TINA WAS VERY SERIOUS 39 + + THE MARIONETTES WERE VERY HANDSOME 43 + + THE MARIONETTE THEATRE 45 + + THE BAY OF NAPLES AND VESUVIUS 47 + + ANNA'S HOUSE 52 + + CAPRI 53 + + TONY DREW CLOSER TO LISTEN 56 + + ST. PETER'S: ROME 60 + + THE PANTHEON: ROME 61 + + THE VATICAN: ROME 62 + + THE COLOSSEUM: ROME 64 + + INSIDE THE COLOSSEUM: ROME 65 + + TREVI FOUNTAIN: ROME 67 + + A PARADE PASSING THE COLOSSEUM: ROME 69 + + "AH. TINA MIA, I HAVE FOUND YOU AGAIN." 74 + + ANNA 76 + + "HUSH," SAID TONY 79 + + AMALFI 81 + + TONY BENT LOW AND KISSED HER HAND 83 + + ALONG THE ROAD, NEAR NAPLES 87 + + ALONG THE ROAD 88 + + FLORENCE AND THE ARNO RIVER 91 + + PIAZZA DELLA SIGNORIA: FLORENCE 92 + + ST. MARK'S: VENICE 93 + + A CANAL IN VENICE 97 + + THE LEANING TOWER OF PISA 98 + + THE BRIDGE OF SIGHS: VENICE 101 + + THE DOGE'S PALACE: VENICE 102 + + IN A GONDOLA 103 + + FEEDING PIGEONS IN ST. MARK'S SQUARE 104 + + JULIET'S GRAVE: VERONA 106 + + WASHING CLOTHES 108 + + A FISH MARKET IN GENOA 112 + + COLUMBUS' HOUSE: GENOA 114 + + A QUAINT ITALIAN STREET 116 + + MILAN CATHEDRAL 121 + + VESUVIUS SEEN FROM POMPEII 124 + + THE APPIAN WAY 130 + + POMPEII 132 + + HOUSE OF THE VETTI: POMPEII 133 + + A STREET IN POMPEII + _Photo by Courtesy of Italian Tourist Information Office_ 136 + + OLD OLIVE OIL MILL: POMPEII 141 + + POMPEII 142 + + SORRENTO + _Photo by Courtesy of Italian Tourist Information Office_ 144 + + TONY TRIED TO EXPLAIN EVERYTHING 151 + + TONY, ANNA, AND TINA-NIKI-FIDO 156 + + + + +[Illustration: TONY AND TINA] + + + + +Little Tony of Italy + + + + +CHAPTER I + +TONY AND TINA + + +It was love at first sight. + +It happened as Tony was sauntering along a noisy street in Naples. One of +the noisiest, oldest, and dirtiest streets. + +Cries, songs, laughter, scoldings filled the air. And smells! But not the +smell of roses. + +Tony's brown hands were stuffed in his ragged pockets. A never-mind whistle +was on his saucy lips. + +But suddenly he stopped. He planted his legs apart and stared. There, on +the steps of a church, she sat. Her beautiful, pitiful brown eyes looked +up at Tony. + +She had a bewitching face. It was a white face; thin and rather sad. + +"Hungry?" asked Tony. + +[Illustration: ON A STREET IN NAPLES] + +Then, without waiting for a reply, he added, "Come along. I'll buy you +something to eat." + +He jingled coins in his pockets. His mouth curved at the corners. He had +black eyes and they gleamed. + +They started off together, when, all at once, she stopped and would go no +farther. + +"Come," urged Tony. "Don't be afraid. I have money. See? I begged it of +the Americans at the big hotel." + +He drew the coins from his pocket and showed them to her. But she only +stood and gazed at him with those mournful, brown eyes. Tony's black +ones snapped. + +"Avanti! (Forward!)" he cried. "What makes you stand like a donkey? See, +I have enough to buy you all the food you can eat. I am clever." + +He smiled roguishly. + +"I cry before the foreigners," he continued. "I rub my stomach, so! I +say, 'Ah, I die of hunger!'" + +He made a frightful face and patted his stomach. + +But she only looked at him and did not move. Yet there was admiration +in her eyes. + +"Then," he went on, "they feel sorry for me and they say, 'Poor boy! +Beautiful boy! We must give him some money!' So they do that!" + +He laughed and showed his white teeth. But not she. There was something +very serious about her. + +Tony had a temper. Angrily, he now stooped and picked her up. She did not +resist. In fact, her fluffy tail wagged heartily and she began to lick +his face. + +She seemed to be saying, "I am forbidden to go with you. But if you take +me, what can I do?" + +Tony bought meat from a street vender. He put her down and fed her out of +his hand. She ate hungrily. Her little ribs showed plainly through the +dirty white hair of her body. + +When she finished, Tony picked her up again. He should have taken her +back to the church steps. She belonged to the Marionette show around the +corner. She was a trained dog. + +But Tony did not know this. He only knew that he loved the little dog +very much, that he could not live another day without her. + +[Illustration: A FAMILY GROUP ON A STREET IN NAPLES] + +Determinedly, he tucked her under his arm and started toward home. + +He stuffed the remaining meat inside his shirt. It was not a very clean +shirt, anyway, so a little meat did not make much difference. + +Tony was an orphan. Nobody ever said to him, "Take your bath!" "Have you +washed your ears?" + +He lived with an old woman in the back of a very old house. Everything +was old on this street. Everything but the children--and there were many +of them. + +It was a poor and crowded street. People sat outside their doors all day +long. They worked and played and ate outside. + +But now Tony ran inside quickly to look for the old woman. + +"Look! Look!" he cried. "I have found a poor, lost little dog!" + +The old woman was deaf. + +"The dog is hurt?" she screamed. She glared at the frightened animal +which lay quite still in Tony's arms. + +"No!" yelled Tony. "I found her and I am going to keep her!" + +"You are not going to keep her!" shrilled the old woman. + +Then she peered more closely at Tony. + +"What is that?" she asked. "Ah, meat inside your shirt! You have been +feeding animals again. Ah!" + +Her mouth fell open. A light of recognition came into her eyes. + +"Dio Mio!" she gasped. "It is the trained dog of Guido, the Marionette +Man! You have stolen it! Ah, Madonna, now you are a thief!" + +Tony shrank. His face grew almost as white as the dog's. A thief! Of +course, Tony knew that often he did not tell the truth. But then, it +was sometimes much easier to make up falsehoods. And much more fun! +Besides, he never told stories that would do anyone harm. + +But to steal? That was a different thing. + +[Illustration: THE BAY OF NAPLES] + +He had not known that the dog belonged to the Marionette show. + +"You are not satisfied with telling lies," went on the excited old +woman. "But now you must steal besides! Come, you child of Satan!" + +She threw a tattered shawl about her shoulders. + +"We are going to take the dog back to Guido!" she announced. + +She led Tony away briskly. She was a witch-like old woman. But still, she +had cared for Tony since his parents had died and left him alone. + +She had cared for him in giving him a home and something to eat. But that +was all. She had not tried to teach him the things that real parents teach +their children--things like the beauty of truth. Perhaps if she had done +this, Tony might have been different. + +As it was, he was a lying little rascal with the face of an angel. He had +no thought but for song and story--and, of course, for animals! + +[Illustration: IN FRONT OF THE MARIONETTE THEATRE] + +They found Guido at his tiny theatre. The old woman pushed Tony up to the +Marionette Man, the dog nestling in his arms. + +"Here is your dog, Mr. Guido!" The old woman's voice was sharp like her +nose. Tony, who liked beautiful sounds, hated to hear her talk. + +"This--this--lost child of a thousand devils brought it home," she +croaked. "What will he do next? I am disgraced!" + +Guido took the dog from Tony's arms. Guido was dark and oily. He smiled. +But Tony did not smile. Two big tears stood in his eyes. His rosy mouth +did not curl. It trembled. + +"So you love my Tina very much, yes?" asked Guido. He laid his hand on +Tony's little brown cap. "You would like to own her, eh?" + +"What do you say?" screamed the old woman. "Talk louder! I cannot hear." + +"The boy would like to own the dog," repeated Guido, louder. + +"He would like to own the world!" shrieked the old woman. + +She started to drag Tony away, but he escaped her and ran back to Guido. + +"Let me stay with you!" he cried. + +Then he lowered his voice so the old woman could not hear what he said. + +"The witch is cruel to me," he whined. "She beats me every morning. Ah, +I am not happy." + +"What is that? What is he saying?" squealed the old woman, straining to +hear. + +But Tony kept his voice low. + +"Let me live with you, sir!" he went on. "I am a good boy and always do +as I am told!" + +Tony's guardian took hold of the Marionette Man's sleeve. + +"Please, sir," she implored. "You must not believe the tales Tony tells +you. I am sure they are lies. I have been good to him. But each day he +comes home with pockets empty. Yet I know he has begged money from the +foreigners and has spent it on the way home." + +[Illustration: LAKE COMO] + +Guido gave Tony an amused look. + +The old woman continued, "Always animals!" she groaned. "This stupid +child would feed every cat, dog, goose, and donkey while I starve!" + +In a way, the old woman was right. Tony did just this with his money. +He spent it on food for stray animals. + +Or, sometimes he gave it to beggars who sat on church steps. They were +not so fortunate as he. For he was beautiful to look at and people +always believed his sad tales. He was a splendid actor. + +He also knew that the old woman had enough for herself. So why should +he bring home his pennies when men and beasts starved on the streets? + +But he did not put it this way to his guardian. It was so much easier to +turn his pockets inside out and say, with a roguish smile, "Niente! +(Nothing!)" + +"How would you like me to take the lad to live with me?" asked Guido, the +Marionette Man. + +"Heaven protect you, sir!" cried the old woman. "You do not know Tony!" + +But here she was wrong, for Guido did know Tony. He had often watched +him on the streets, begging. Such a clever child would be able to help +in the Marionette show. + +"Let me have him," said Guido, pleasantly. "I am not afraid of little +boys who do not tell the truth. I will teach him as I teach my little +trained dog, eh?" + +He laughed and looked into Tony's eyes. Tony smiled at him and brushed +away the tears. + +"Yes, I will come to live with you--and with the little dog," he said. +"Then I can be with her always!" + +"Yes, indeed," agreed Guido. He turned to the old woman. "Are you +willing?" he asked. + +"Willing?" she cried. "Do you ask one who suffers with toothache if he +is willing to part with the aching tooth? He is a rascal and cares +nothing for me. Indeed I am willing to let you keep him. Yet--" + +She hesitated. A softer expression came over her face. + +"You must promise to be good to him," she added. "His mother was my +friend. When she died she left him in my care. For her sake, you must +promise to treat Tony well." + +"I shall treat him as if he were my own," replied Guido, the Marionette +Man. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +TONY AND THE BALILLA + + +Several weeks passed. Tony was living with Guido. + +Each day the Marionette Man sent him to the hotels to beg. Each evening +he had to help with the show. He set the tiny stage and dusted the +theatre. + +If he did not do his work properly, Guido would smile and say, "No supper +tonight for lazy people!" + +This would not have mattered so much to Tony if it had not been for Tina. +But when Tony did not eat, then neither did Tina. + +The small scraps that Guido threw to the dog were not enough to keep her +alive. So Tony always divided his meals with the friend he loved. + +[Illustration: "I DIE OF HUNGER!"] + +Today, as usual, Tony, with his dog, trudged along on his way to the +hotels. Once there, he stood outside of one and waited. Two foreign +ladies appeared at the door. Immediately, tears gathered in Tony's eyes. +He ran up to them eagerly. + +"Ah, dear ladies, I am a poor, orphan boy!" he moaned in Italian. Then he +burst into English: "No mudder! No fadder!" he wailed. + +The ladies looked at him pityingly. But just then the hotel manager came +out. + +"Go along!" he commanded Tony. "You are not allowed here. Run!" + +He shooed Tony as if he had been stray chickens. Tony scampered a few feet +away. When the hotel manager had gone, he again began to make mournful +signs to the strange ladies. + +But now they only laughed and shook their heads, for they knew what a scamp +he was. So Tony laughed, too, and began to sing good-naturedly. A Naples +street boy is like that. + +The ladies drove off in a carriage and as they passed they threw money to +the rascal. You see, nobody ever took the trouble to explain things to +Tony. Foreigners enjoyed his pretty acting, which only spoiled him. + +For several hours Tony stayed around the hotels, dodging hotel managers, +and crying his way into the hearts of strangers. Then, he started toward +the place he called home, walking along the broad drive that faces the +Bay of Naples. + +Naples is built like a giant theatre stage. The shore is where the plays +take place. The shining Bay is the vast blue audience. + +Out, facing the shore, is the famous Castle of the Egg. Many stories are +told about this historical building. + +It was once the home of Lucullus, a Roman general who was very fond of +eating. + +One legend tells that the poet, Virgil, put an enchanted egg between the +walls of the castle. So long as this egg remained in its place, the city +of Naples was supposed to be safe. + +But the real reason for the castle's strange name is, no doubt, its +egg-like shape. + +High up on a hill of Naples is a park of rare beauty. From here one +looks down upon the island of Nisida. Like the Castle of the Egg, this +island was once the home of great Roman generals. Today they are +both prisons. + +But let us go back and find Tony. He now turned into the crowded part of +the city where the noise and the smells begin. He felt more at home there. +He stopped and bought a meal of fresh fish for Tina at a small stand. + +Then he stuffed himself full of macaroni and candies. At last he had only +a few pennies left. + +A boy in uniform had been watching Tony. He was dressed in olive-green +breeches and black shirt. He wore a small cap with a tassel on it. + +He belonged to the Balilla, the Italian Boy Scouts. The Government is +directing them in sports and work of all kinds. They are growing up to be +strong and loyal to their country. + +[Illustration: "I WANT TO HELP YOU," SAID THE BOY] + +"Hello," said the boy to Tony. + +"Good-bye," said Tony to the boy. + +He began to saunter off. + +"Wait," said the boy. "I would like to speak with you." + +Now, every young Italian hopes to join the Balilla. So, of course, Tony +did, too. But how could a little beggar, who had hardly enough to eat, +expect to belong to such a grand company? + +Tony did not even want to talk with this modern son of Italy. + +"I must go," he mumbled. + +But the boy walked over to him and began to speak earnestly. + +"I just noticed that you were very hungry," he said. "Why was that?" + +Tony's eyes gleamed angrily. "Because I had eaten too much!" he snapped. + +What right had this fellow to detain and mock him because he was poor? + +"I mean no harm," said the lad. "I only want to help you. Do you know +that you may join the Balilla if you want to?" + +"I?" inquired Tony. + +[Illustration: BOYS OF THE BALILLA] + +"Yes, you, or any other boy who wishes to join." + +"But I have no money to pay for the uniform," said Tony. + +"If you cannot pay, the State will give you a uniform. Every boy in Italy +should belong to the Balilla." + +As he said this he saluted. His arm shot out stiffly, the palm of his +hand exposed. He drew himself up like a soldier. + +"It is fine to march with a band," he went on. "The State will help to +educate you and will send you to a seaside camp in summer." + +"A poor boy like me?" Tony's eyes were wide. + +The other smiled. "Have you never heard how the Balilla started?" he +asked. + +Then he told Tony about another poor boy who had lived in Genoa years +ago. When the Austrians attacked his city, he threw a stone and started +an uprising. The enemy was driven away. + +"That boy's name was 'Balilla,'" explained Young Italy. "Before he threw +the stone, he went forward with the words, 'Shall I begin?'" + +Tony's face shone with pleasure. + +"Shall I begin? Shall I begin?" he muttered to himself. Why not? It would +be glorious to march through the parks, waving banners. He would study +hard and learn to be a soldier. + +But then, Tony thought of the training and discipline. He did not want +to be trained. He wanted to run wild and beg money of foreigners. + +And what of Tina? There would be no place for a little dog in a military +group of boys. + +Besides, Guido would never allow him to join. Guido needed him. + +But suppose he should run away from Guido? Oh, then he felt sure that the +Marionette Man would starve Tina. + +[Illustration: TINA WAS VERY SERIOUS] + +Tony always saw that the dog had enough to eat. It was he who cared for +her, dressed her in her fancy costume and put her through her little +tricks between each act of the puppet show. + +She slept with Tony and did not have to shiver outside any more. No, +Tony could not leave Tina! + +"Will you come with me now?" asked Young Italy. "Will you begin?" + +Tony wiped the traces of macaroni from his mouth. He looked straight +at the boy in uniform. + +"I do not wish to join," he lied. + +Then he ran off. + +When he reached home Guido asked, "Where is the money?" + +Tony handed him two pennies. + +Guido laughed. "The rest! Come, that is not all!" + +"It is all," said Tony. + +He was not even thinking of what he was saying. He was thinking only +of the Balilla and of the words, "Shall I begin?" + +"If you do not give me all the money, you and the dog will get no supper +tonight!" growled Guido. "Come, how much did you make?" + +"Shall I begin?" muttered Tony. + +Guido looked at him curiously. Had he lost his wits? + +"What are you mumbling about?" asked the Marionette Man. + +Tony shrugged his shoulders. "I should lie if I told you!" he answered. + +This was Tony's favorite expression. It means "I don't know" in the +language of Naples. But in Tony's language it meant exactly what it +said! + + + + +CHAPTER III + +NIKI + + +Italy! When you hear the word do you think, as I do, of beautiful +paintings and music? Of organ grinders, macaroni, and marionettes? + +The finest little marionette actors (or puppets) are made in Italy. +Naples is where they have been most popular. + +Today there are few left. Motion pictures have come to Naples as to every +other city in the world. + +Guido's theatre was a small place with crude, wooden benches. Tony helped +Guido work the puppets. Mrs. Guido played the squeaky piano. + +But the marionettes were really handsome. There were Kings and Queens in +velvet and purple. Knights in armour. + +[Illustration: THE MARIONETTES WERE VERY HANDSOME] + +Tina performed between the acts. She amused the audience while the scene +was being changed. + +She would walk in on her hind legs, a ruff around her neck. She would +throw kisses and nearly topple over backwards. + +She would turn 'round and 'round in a sort of old-fashioned waltz. She +might have been a white, furry merry-go-round but for the pink tongue +that popped out so frequently. + +When she finished her part, she always ran straight to Tony. While he +worked a puppet with one hand, he untied her ruff with the other. He knew +she disliked the stiff thing. + +This afternoon the theatre was well crowded. It was Saturday. As Tony +lifted Tina up on the stage, she turned and licked his face. Then, out +she waltzed and the people began to clap. + +When the clapping stopped, a child's voice suddenly piped up, "Oh, it's +Niki! Papa, Papa, it's Niki!" + +There was some laughter and whispering, and everyone turned to look. + +Tina made her final bow and her part was over. + +[Illustration: THE MARIONETTE THEATRE] + +After the show, as Tony was putting away the marionettes, a gentleman and +a little girl came to the back of the stage. They approached Guido. + +Tony heard angry talk between the two men. However, it did not interest +him until he heard the girl say, "I know it is my dog! I want my dog." + +Tony listened now. He heard Guido laugh nervously. + +"That is absurd," said Guido. "The little lady is mistaken. Tina is my +dog. She belongs to my show." + +The gentleman raised his voice. "My daughter is not mistaken," he said. +"That is her dog!" + +"It was stolen from us," added the little girl. + +"We searched for it all over Naples but could not find it," continued +her father. + +"I want Niki!" pleaded the child. + +"You have stolen my daughter's pet," said the gentleman. "I demand it +back!" + +Now Tony entered the scene. He held Tina close. The little girl put out +her arms and cried, "Niki! Niki! I want my Niki!" + +"Her name is Tina," said Tony. "She belongs to Guido--and me." + +[Illustration: THE BAY OF NAPLES AND VESUVIUS] + +"That is not true," said the gentleman. "This Guido, your father, has +stolen our dog. If he does not give it back at once, I shall call the +police!" + +Guido looked afraid and Tony noticed it. He must think of a way to save +Tina! With a broad grin the young beggar stepped up to the little girl. + +"It is true that Guido stole your dog, Niki," he said. "But this is not +Niki. You see, that was a long time ago and Niki died. Ah, poor thing!" + +He wiped away a false tear and stroked Tina's head fondly. + +"This is our own Tina," he added. + +"Oh, Papa!" wailed the poor little girl. "Niki is dead!" + +But the father was not so easily deceived. "Give me the dog," he said. +"I wish to see it more closely." + +Tony started to draw back with Tina, but the man snatched her out of +his arms. + +"What you have told me is a lie," he declared. "This is indeed my +daughter's dog. I recognize her by the peculiar marking under her +chin." + +He glared angrily at Tony. + +"You are a lying little scamp as your father is a thief!" he said. + +Then, he took his daughter's hand and the two, with Tina, departed. + +Tony stood like a figure of wax. He hardly heard Guido raging beside him. + +"Now what shall I do?" stormed the Marionette Man. "I must have another +dog. You shall steal one for me, Tony." + +As he said this, he turned to face Tony, but the boy had vanished. + +Tony had run out of the theatre after Tina and her owners. Now he stood +on the street, watching them as they stepped into an automobile. + +As the car started, Tony sprang onto the back of it. He held fast. + +This was his first automobile ride! It was not a pleasant one. It seemed +to him, holding on with all his might, that it would never end. On, on, +they sped. Where to, he wondered? + +Tony had never been outside of Naples. But often he had read or listened +to tales of other parts of his country. He knew that Italy was a fine +land. + +The school textbooks told him that "Italy is blessed by God. It is strong, +powerful, and feared." + +He loved to learn all he could about it. He was proud of being an Italian. + +Now the automobile had come upon the open road. Tony could see the Bay. He +could also see the great volcano, Vesuvius, which towers over Naples. + +It is a fire-mountain and smoke is always coming out of its top. + +In olden days people believed that a lame blacksmith lived under the +ground. He kept a furnace burning to heat his irons. His +name was Vulcan and from it comes the word, "volcano." + +Tony had heard that this volcano, or fire-mountain, had often caused much +damage. Villages had been destroyed when the giant spat fire and ashes +to earth. Houses rocked and fell. Towns were buried. + +But Tony was not thinking of this now. He was wishing with all his heart +that the car would stop. Until it did, however, he must remain at his +post. Tina was in that car! And where Tina went there went Tony! + +The thoughts went racing through his head as the car raced on. The father +of that little girl had called Guido a thief! Tony shuddered. He +remembered the time when the old woman had called him a thief. How +terrible it had made him feel! + +[Illustration: ANNA'S HOUSE] + +Thieves were bad men. Guido was a bad man. And they thought he was Tony's +father! What an insult! + +The car was slowing up. It stopped before a white house with trees and a +garden surrounding it. The gentleman and his daughter, with Tina in her +arms, got out. + +[Illustration: CAPRI] + +They went inside the house. Tony saw the front door close behind them. +He slid down from the back of the automobile. He ran to the house and +crouched under a window. He could look right into a room. + +He saw a sweet-faced woman greet the little girl and her father. She +kissed them both. Then she noticed Tina in the child's arms. + +"Why, Anna!" she exclaimed. "It is your little dog that was lost!" + +The girl named Anna laughed happily. She showed pearly teeth. Her whole +face lit up with joy. + +"Yes, Mama, it is Niki," she said. "At last we have found her! I am so +happy!" + +The father told how they had discovered Niki in the Marionette theatre. + +"It was the Marionette Man who stole Niki away from us," he said. "She +was performing on the stage." + +"And, oh, Mama!" exclaimed Anna, "his little boy said that Niki died, and +it wasn't true at all! That boy was a story-teller, wasn't he, papa?" + +"He was a young rascal," replied her father. "Still, he had such an +intelligent face. What a pity!" + +Tony, under the window, drew closer to listen. + +"The lad is already a clever liar and no doubt a beggar as well," Anna's +father continued. "One day he will become a thief like Guido!" + +Tony crouched lower and winced. "A thief like Guido!" The words had a +dreadful sound. + +"I should like to train that boy," remarked Anna's father. "I would +discipline him!" + +The gentleman looked very fierce as he said this. He frightened Tony, +who hated discipline! + +But if Tony had known exactly what he meant, he would not have been +frightened. Anna's father had always wanted a son of his own. He would +have been very proud of a son. + +[Illustration: TONY DREW CLOSER TO LISTEN] + +He would have taught him to be a loyal Italian. For Anna's father was a +real patriot. + +Robert Browning, the poet, has said, "Open my heart and you will see +inside of it--Italy." If Anna's father had been a poet, he might have +said something like this. + +"Dinner is ready," announced Anna's mother. + +Tony watched as the family left the room. He knew that they had gone +into the dining room. He waited patiently beneath the window until +they returned. + +When they came back, Anna's father eased himself into an armchair. + +"Come, little Anna," he said. "I am going to read to you." + +Anna crawled on to his lap with Tina clasped lovingly in her arms. Tina +had a puffed, happy look, as if she, too, had dined well! + +Tony smiled to himself. He was going to hear Anna's father read stories. +No one had ever read to Tony. He loved reading. + +The night was warm. The moon shone. The window was open. Tony listened. + +Would you like to listen, too? + +Very well. + +Wouldn't Anna's father be surprised if he knew about his big audience? +Under the window is a poor Italian boy--Tony. Out in the great United +States are other boys and girls--you who are reading this tale! + +So be very quiet and don't make a noise for fear of disturbing Anna's +father while he reads. + +Let us crouch under the window with Tony! + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +ROME + + +"Tonight," began Anna's father, "we are going to read about one of our +Italian cities. Many fine stories have come out of it. + +"Rome is called 'The Eternal City' because there is a saying that it will +live forever. It is built upon seven hills. + +"A long time ago there lived a great artist named Michelangelo. He built +the dome of St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome. This is the largest church in +the world. Thirty services may be conducted in it at the same time. + +"The bones of St. Peter are believed to have been buried beneath the +Cathedral. + +[Illustration: ST. PETER'S: ROME] + +"But the oldest church of all is the Pantheon, which means 'all the Gods,' +It was built when people worshipped more than one God. It has no windows +but only a hole in the top called an 'eye.' Today it is the burial ground +of renowned writers and artists. + +[Illustration: THE PANTHEON: ROME] + +"Near Rome are the famous catacombs. It was here that the early Christians +buried their dead. + +[Illustration: THE VATICAN: ROME] + +"The catacombs are long, narrow passages with graves built into the walls, +one above the other. When the Christians were not allowed to worship in +their own way, they often fled to these underground cemeteries to pray. + +"There is a curious park in Rome," went on the father. "One which you, +little Anna, would like." + +Anna looked up. "Why, Papa?" she asked. + +"Because it is filled with cats," answered her father. "Tabbies and +Tommies, black and white, grey and yellow. They wander about and sprawl +in the shade of fine old trees. They have plenty to eat and nothing +to fear. It is a kitty paradise!" + +"I want to go to that park some day," said Anna. + +"There is a magic fountain in Rome," read her father. "It is said that +he who drinks from the Fontana Trevi will some day be drawn back to The +Eternal City. + +"The Appian Way is sometimes called The Queen of Roads. It was a great +highway built by the ancient Romans. Parts of it are still in use. + +"These ancient Romans were very clean. They dotted their city with many +fine public baths. We are able to see by the ruins how very handsome +they were. + +[Illustration: THE COLOSSEUM: ROME] + +"Outdoor theatres, called 'circuses,' were also numerous. The oldest of +these is the Circus Maximus, where races were held. + +[Illustration: INSIDE THE COLOSSEUM: ROME] + +"The Colosseum is a huge outdoor arena where slaves and criminals were +thrown to hungry lions. People sat about and enjoyed the show. + +"Of course the poor men were killed. But the audience watched this +terrible sport as naturally as we, today, watch a tennis game. They +pitied the victims no more than we pity the tennis balls!" + +Anna squirmed unhappily. "Now read something nice," she said. "The +story of Romulus and Remus, because I like the good wolf." + +Her father smiled and turned a page. Always stories about animals for +little Anna! + +"Here we are," he said. "The old myth goes that Romulus and Remus were +twin babies, cast upon the River Tiber by a jealous king. Their basket +floated ashore and was found by a mother wolf. + +"Taking pity on the babies, she brought them to her cave and cared for +them. But at last the good wolf was killed by hunters and Romulus and +Remus, now grown boys, ran away. + +[Illustration: TREVI FOUNTAIN: ROME] + +"A herdsman found them and gave them a home. They were very wild and +strong and they were wonderful hunters. + +"One day they learned the story of their lives. They discovered that +they were really meant to be kings. So they determined to punish their +enemy and take their rightful place in the world. + +"Remus was killed in battle, but Romulus became the first king of Rome. + +"The legend tells that, at this time, there were very few women in Rome. +Romulus wished his people to marry women of the neighboring cities. But +the neighbors refused to marry the Romans. + +"So Romulus invited a people called The Sabines to a great feast. During +the entertainment the Romans seized the young Sabine women and carried +them off. Later, however, this savage act was forgotten and the two +nations became one. + +"In 218 B.C. Rome suffered a defeat. Hannibal, a great general +of ancient Carthage, crossed the tall Alps and attacked the Romans. + +"His army consisted of 90,000 foot soldiers, 12,000 horsemen, and 37 +elephants. This march over the Alps is considered one of the most +wonderful military feats of ancient days. + +[Illustration: A PARADE PASSING THE COLOSSEUM: ROME] + +"Nero was one of the most wicked emperors who ever ruled Rome. In the +year 64 a terrible fire broke out. For six days flames swept the city. +Yet Nero made no attempt to stop the fire nor to help the suffering +people. + +"Some say that the cruel Emperor played upon his fiddle while Rome burned. + +"After the World War there came to Rome a new kind of King. He was really +not a king at all but...." + +"Il Duce! (The Commander!)" interrupted Anna. + +"Yes, my dear," agreed her father. "His name was Benito Mussolini, the +great chief of Italy. + +"Mussolini was a poor boy, the son of a blacksmith. Like wicked Nero, he +sometimes played upon his fiddle. But while he played, Rome did not burn. +It grew. + +"He founded a new system of government called Fascism. + +"A wise man once was asked, 'What is the best quality for a child to +have?' He replied, 'Obedience,' 'And the second best?' 'Obedience,' +'And the third?' 'Obedience!' + +"This is what the Fascist teachers believe. Their moral is: 'Be strong +to be pure. Be pure to be strong,' Il Duce has taught our people this +wonderful lesson. + +"At one time there were many lazy ones in Italy. Now we work and clean +and teach. It is better that way. Italy is a beautiful land. It is worth +working for." + +Tony, under the window, felt a great pride in his heart. He began to see +ahead into the future when he would be an Italian soldier. He would fight +for beautiful Italy! + +He waggled his head back and forth against the side of the house. He +muttered to himself, "Viva Italia! (Hurrah for Italy!) Viva! Viva.... +Ouch!" he cried suddenly. + +He had bumped his head! + + + + +CHAPTER V + +TONY AND ANNA + + +"Did I hear a noise outside?" asked Anna's father. + +Anna hugged Tina. "It must have been a little mama animal putting its +babies to bed," she said. + +Her father sighed. Some day Anna would be a little mama herself. That was +what Mussolini wanted all of Italy's women to be. + +But Anna's father would so have liked a son. One who would be more +interested in the Balilla than in "little mama animals." + +Yet he loved his daughter very dearly. He now kissed her dark curls as he +said, "It is time for bed, mia cara (my dear). Tomorrow night more +stories." + +Anna sat up in his arms. Tina awoke and blinked. + +"Before I go to bed, I must put Niki to bed, too," said Anna. + +Her father answered, "Then we must make a house for her." + +Tony saw him open a chest of drawers and take out some curious things. + +"Now," he said to his daughter, "Come into the back garden, and we shall +see what kind of house-builder I am!" + +Tony watched them leave the room and saw a light switch on in the hallway. +Then the back door opened. Father, daughter, and dog went into the garden. + +They found an old crate with the top missing. They covered it with what +appeared to be a fancy tablecover. They tied the little dog securely to +the side. + +"There!" said Anna's father. "It looks like a tent on the desert. Niki +will feel like an Arabian Princess!" + +[Illustration: "AH. TINA MIA, I HAVE FOUND YOU AGAIN."] + +Anna stooped down and caressed her pet. + +"Felicissima notte, Niki," said Anna. This meant "Happiest night, Niki," +and it is what the Italians say for "Good-night." + +When Anna and her father had left, Tony ran over to the kennel-tent. +Tina nearly wagged herself to pieces with joy. Tony sank down beside +her. He buried his head in her soft hair. + +"Ah, Tina mia (my Tina)!" he said. "I thought they had taken you from +me forever! But I have found you again." + +He started to untie the dog. He would run away with her. Far away! +Never back to Guido! Guido was a thief. A man who stole little dogs! + +Then, suddenly, Tony remembered that he, too, was about to steal a +little dog! He, too, would be a thief if he did that. Tina did not +belong to him. She belonged to little Anna. + +But how could he bear to leave Tina? A tear ran down his cheek. Tina +licked it sadly. She seemed to know what he was thinking about. + +How he longed to snuggle up close to the little dog and go fast asleep. +Just as he had done every night since he went to live with Guido. + +[Illustration: ANNA] + +Why did Anna have to love Tina, too? + +He would stay. Just tonight. He would crawl into Tina's tent with her. +In the morning he could decide what to do. He was so sleepy now. + +He yawned, brushed his tears away, and wriggled into the tent. He +curled up in there, with Tina in his arms. + +But just as sleep came creeping over him, a sound was heard in the +garden. Tony gave a start and opened his eyes. Tina gave a low growl. + +Tony looked out and saw a white figure approaching the tent. It was Anna. +She was coming back to see her new-found Niki once more. + +She would find Tony there. She would tell her father! What should he do? +His heart began to thump. He lay quite still. + +"Niki!" whispered Anna, softly. + +Silence. + +"Niki!" repeated Anna. "I have come to kiss you good-night. Here, Niki!" + +She bent down in front of the tent and looked in. It was dark inside. +Tony lay flat on the floor and kept very quiet. + +Anna put her hand inside the tent and felt for her pet. Tina tried to +hide from the hand, but it found her and lifted her out tenderly. + +Anna caressed the dog and spoke gently to her. + +"Now, Niki," she said. "You shall go back to bed and mama will cover +you up." + +She had brought with her a doll's blanket. She put Tina back into the +tent and tried to make her lie down flat. She could do this so easily +with her dolls. + +But, somehow, Tina was different. Tina did not want to lie down flat! +The real reason for this was because Anna was spreading Tina on Tony's +face! + +The poor dog struggled and kicked. The poor boy tried his best to lie +still and make no noise. But would you enjoy a dog plastered upon +your face? + +So Tony wriggled. He snorted. He sneezed. + +Anna saw. She heard. She started and gave a little cry. Tony's head +came out of the tent like a turtle's head coming out of its shell. + +[Illustration: "HUSH," SAID TONY] + +"Hush!" said Tony. + +Anna drew back. "Who are you?" she gasped. + +"I'm Tony," he replied. "Please let me stay here with Tina tonight. +Tomorrow I'll go away." + +Then Anna recognized him. "Oh," she exclaimed. "You are that naughty +Marionette boy who told a lie! I am going to call my father!" + +She turned toward the house but Tony quickly caught her arm. + +"No, no!" he pleaded. "I mean no harm. I love the little dog. Let +me stay. Only one night. Do not tell your father--please!" + +In the moonlight Anna could see that tears filled his eyes. She +began to feel sorry for him. + +"Are you a very poor little boy?" she asked, innocently. + +"Oh, yes, very, very poor!" he moaned. "I have no home. No mother. +No father. Everyone is cruel to me. The little dog was my only friend, +and now you have taken her from me." + +[Illustration: AMALFI] + +Tony was born with the Italian gift for beautiful acting. He now acted +his best for Anna. While some of his pitiful tale was true, some was +sprinkled with the fairy dust of fancy. + +"Every morning Guido beats me," he made up. "He uses a big stick. And +when he stops beating me, he makes me sing to him. Then, all day long +he feeds me bird-seed mixed with soap and nothing else!" + +Anna's gentle eyes grew wider and wider, her tender heart softer and +softer. + +Tony warmed to his work. His success encouraged him. He began to gesture +with his arms. He began to invent wild tales. + +"Often I fall upon the streets because I am so hungry," he continued. +"When it rains, Guido makes me lie outside the whole night through. + +"One morning, when I awoke, I found myself in a pool of water. I had +to swim all the way home!" + +[Illustration: TONY BENT LOW AND KISSED HER HAND] + +The little girl's lip began to tremble. This gave Tony added courage. +He drew a deep breath. His style improved. + +"And once I was thrown over a cliff. Lions came prowling...." + +He stopped, for little Anna had begun to cry. + +"Oh, you poor boy!" she sobbed. "I am so sorry for you! I shall tell +my father and mother. They will take care of you." + +"No, you must not do that," said Tony, quickly. "If your father knows +I am here, he will discipline me!" + +"But my father is good," said Anna. + +"That is why he will discipline me," replied Tony. "Because I am bad." + +Now, to a very little girl like Anna, that seemed sensible enough. She +believed what Tony told her. She even believed that her father might +not be kind to the beggar boy. Often her father was very severe. + +So she promised that she would not tell. + +"You may stay here every night, poor little boy," she said. "I will +bring food and leave it for you in a dish. I will put a soft cushion +inside the tent. I will never tell my father that you are here." + +"Ah, grazie signorina (thank you, Miss)," said Tony, charmingly. He +smiled and showed his white teeth. "How kind you are! And will you +also put some candy on the dish?" + +"Yes, I will, poor little boy," she answered. "What kind do you like?" + +Tony thought a moment. Then he replied, "Torrone." (This is the finest +and most expensive Italian candy.) + +Anna promised to leave some torrone. Tony bent low and kissed her hand +as he had seen the marionettes do in romantic plays. + +"Felicissima notte, bella signorina! (Good-night, beautiful Miss!)" +he murmured. + +Again his play acting and falsehoods had brought him success! He did +not even know that he had done anything wrong. Poor neglected little +Tony! + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +CITIES, ANIMALS, AND DISCIPLINE + + +Next day Tony left Anna's garden early in the morning. He ambled along +the smooth motor road, singing and begging whenever he found someone +to beg from. + +On each side of the road were black posts with white caps on them, +glistening in the sun, polished to shine. Snow-white oxen passed, driven +by farmers. + +In vineyards grapevines climbed and twisted about old trees. In nearly +every archway a baby, a goat, or a donkey stood and stared at Tony as he +passed. + +Women and children with large baskets or bundles on their heads trudged +by. Tiny donkeys carried mountainous loads on their backs. + +[Illustration: ALONG THE ROAD, NEAR NAPLES] + +Occasionally, there would be an automobile. Tony liked the little cars +named "Balilla," after the Boys' Group. They are the smallest Italian +cars made. + +[Illustration: ALONG THE ROAD] + +Tony bought chestnuts and munched them. Chestnuts often take the place +of bread among the poor people. + +Toward the end of day Tony began to miss Tina. He had seldom been +separated from her for such a long time. So he returned to Anna's house. + +He hoped that Anna had not forgotten to leave his dinner. He also hoped +that her father would not forget to tell more stories tonight. This was +a pleasant life. + +But, of course, Tony was too wise to think that he could go on living +like this forever. Guido might find him. Or Anna's father might discover +him. + +Yet if he ran off with Tina he would be a "thief like Guido!" No, that +would never, never do! + +Oh, how difficult it all was! + +But upon arriving at Tina's tent he forgot his troubles, for he found +there a neatly covered dish. It contained macaroni, meat, and salad. +An ideal meal for an Italian boy! + +Also, Anna had really left some torrone on the plate. Tony sighed with +pleasure and began to eat. Good little Anna! + +All day the little girl had been thinking of the beggar boy. However, +she had kept her adventure a secret. + +But, oh, Tony, beware! Anna is very young, and it is difficult for small +children to keep secrets. Especially, when secrets are as interesting as +you are! + +This evening the weather was cooler. The moon did not shine. When Tony +finished his dinner, he slipped under the window as he had done before. +He hoped Anna's father would tell more stories of Italy. + +Presently, he saw the family enter the room. They had dined. The mother +took up her sewing. The father settled himself in his chair with a book. + +Anna, with her dog, nestled down in his lap. Tony knew that now more +stories were coming. He leaned against the side of the house. + +[Illustration: FLORENCE AND THE ARNO RIVER] + +He closed his eyes contentedly and listened. + +[Illustration: PIAZZA DELLA SIGNORIA: FLORENCE] + +"It is early," said Anna's father. "We shall have a long time to read +tonight. Shall we hear more about the cities of Italy?" + +[Illustration: ST. MARK'S: VENICE] + +"Yes, and about animals, too," said Anna. + +Her father laughed. "Perhaps we shall meet some as we wander," he said. +"Listen, now, while I tell you of Florence. + +"It is a city of ancient palaces! In the days of the civil war, homes +of the rich were built like fortresses. This was to protect them from +the enemy. Most of these prison-like palaces still stand. + +"Florence is a city of art! The famous Campanile, or bell tower, +reminds us of its artist-architect, Giotto. Here is a story told +about the painter when he was a peasant lad tending his father's sheep. + +"One day a great artist named Cimabue paid a visit to the countryside. +He was impressed by a sketch which the young shepherd had made. + +"He gained the consent of Giotto's father to take his son to Florence. +There he promised to teach the boy how to paint. + +"So Giotto became Cimabue's apprentice, or helper. He worked hard and +learned a great deal. But, like all boys, he was fun-loving. One day +he played a joke upon his master. + +"Cimabue had gone out, leaving in the studio an unfinished portrait of +a gentleman. When he returned, there was a fly sitting upon the nose +of his painting. + +"He tried to brush off the fly but it would not move. He looked more +closely and discovered what had happened. His mischievous young +apprentice, Giotto, had painted that fly! + +"The master was not angry. He enjoyed the joke and recognized the lad's +skill. + +"Giotto became known as the father of one of the first schools of +painting. + +"Florence is also a city of great men! + +"One day, long ago, a nine-year-old boy named Dante went to the feast +of flowers, which is celebrated every year. Here, among the beautiful +blossoms, he beheld one more beautiful and sweet than all the rest. + +"But this one was not a flower. She was a little maiden and her name +was Beatrice. All day long Dante watched her as she played about, and +never, throughout his whole life, did he forget her. + +"Though they seldom met, the little girl named Beatrice was forever +with Dante in his dreams. To her he wrote most of his marvelous poetry. +For Dante became Italy's greatest poet! + +"Florence, city of wonders! + +"A legend tells that when Christ went to heaven he carried with him +a cricket. So, each year, before Ascension Day, everybody buys a +cricket. + +"They guard their crickets most carefully. For, if one should die, +misfortune befalls its owner. + +"On Ascension Day a crowd gathers in the park. Here there is much +gaiety, with balloons, music, and fireworks. + +"At a certain time each person opens the door of his cricket's cage +and frees it. + +[Illustration: A CANAL IN VENICE] + +"This is an anxious moment. For, if the cricket leaps into the air, +good fortune will follow the owner. But if he creeps slowly away, +his poor owner will suffer bad luck. + +[Illustration: THE LEANING TOWER OF PISA] + +"Of course, today few people really believe this. But they still keep +up the quaint old custom. + +"Florence is a grey cluster of narrow streets and dignified squares. It +seems to bulge with art treasures, and it has a charm of its own. + +"Near Florence, in Pisa, is the curious Leaning Tower. It is one of the +Seven Wonders of the World. It seems to be toppling over. Yet it has +stood this way for hundreds of years. Maybe it is tired." + +Anna's father stopped reading. + +"Is my little girl tired, too?" he asked. "Shall I put down the book?" + +"No, no, Papa!" said Anna. + +Tony, under the window wanted to answer, "No, no!" too. But, then, his +opinion had not been asked. + +"The next story is about Venice," continued the father. + +"Once upon a time there lived in Italy a people known as the Veneti. +They were not fish, yet they built a city in the water. + +"Savage tribes had driven them from their land. They had no home. So +they settled upon some small islands at the head of the Adriatic Sea. +They called their island-city Venice. + +"Fish were plentiful. They salted them and traded them for treasures +of all kinds. People began to come from everywhere to buy these +treasures. Venice became the most important market in Europe. + +"St. Mark is the patron saint of Venice. To him the Veneti, or +Venetians, have built a wonderful cathedral. In front stands the +statue of a lion, the favorite animal of St. Mark. + +"Four huge horses adorn the door. Though they are made of bronze, they +have travelled widely. They have been moved to different places at +many times. + +[Illustration: THE BRIDGE OF SIGHS: VENICE] + +"Inside, the cathedral is decorated with mosaics. They are made of +bits of colored stone or glass fitted together. + +[Illustration: THE DOGE'S PALACE: VENICE] + +[Illustration: IN A GONDOLA] + +"St. Mark's Square is the largest piece of ground in Venice. The rest +is water. Streets are canals. Boatmen guide long, black boats called +gondolas through these canals. They sing and cry out strange signals +to other boatmen. + +"In years gone by Venice, like Rome, was a world of its own. A Doge, +or Duke, ruled over the city. + +[Illustration: FEEDING PIGEONS IN ST. MARK'S SQUARE] + +"Between the Doge's Palace and the prison is a bridge. Over this bridge +marched those condemned to prison by the Doge. As they marched they +sighed and that is why the bridge is known as 'The Bridge of Sighs.' + +"On one of the little islands live the glass blowers. Just as you blow +soap bubbles, so they blow melted glass into vases and bowls. Venetian +glass is famous. + +"There are hundreds of pigeons flying about St. Mark's Square. While +you are in Venice, you must surely allow a pigeon to sit upon your +head. If you do not do this, your visit will not be complete and I am +sure the pigeon will be disappointed! + +"Naturally (and this is most important to the pigeon) you must put some +corn on your head first. It is not your hair nor your hat which attracts +him! + +"Venice is a city of Dreams! And--animals!" + +The father looked up from his book. Anna laughed. + +"Yes, that is true," she said. "There was St. Mark's lion, the bronze +horses, the pigeons, and--and--oh, yes, the fish!" + +[Illustration: JULIET'S GRAVE: VERONA] + +"You have forgotten some of the other animals we read about in the +stories of other cities," said her father. + +Anna looked puzzled. + +"Don't you remember the crickets of Florence?" asked her father. "And +that fly which Giotto painted on the nose of Cimabue's painting!" + +"Oh, that was a nice chapter," said the little girl. "Now some more." + +Her father began to read again: + +"The greatest playwright in the world was Shakespeare. He was an +Englishman. He wrote a play called 'Romeo and Juliet.'" + +"Was it about animals?" asked Anna. + +"No," smiled her father. "It was about two lovers. It is a very famous +story and the scene is laid in Verona, an Italian city. + +"In Verona there is a beautiful little grave where they say Romeo and +Juliet are buried. The statue of Shakespeare stands over it." + +"But how can they be buried if they were only book people?" asked Anna. + +"That is a good question," said her father. "Of course, it cannot be +true unless such people really lived." + +[Illustration: WASHING CLOTHES] + +"Maybe they buried the book which Mr. Shakespeare wrote!" decided Anna. + +Just then there came a queer, muffled noise under the window. Tony had +sneezed! Anna's father, turning the pages of the book, did not seem to +hear it. But Anna, who had been thinking of Tony, did. + +She wanted so much to tell her father about the poor boy. She really did +not think that her father would be unkind to him. Yet she had promised +to say nothing, and she must keep her word. + +"Papa," she suddenly asked. "If you had a little boy who told stories +and did not obey, what would you do to him?" + +Her father hesitated a moment. Then he answered, "I would try to teach +him the beauty of truth and I would discipline him." + +His voice had a very severe ring. He continued: + +"There are too many lazy little beggars in the streets of Naples, like +that lying young son of the Marionette Man. They have never been properly +trained, and they are a disgrace to a beautiful city. They should be +taught. They should be made to obey!" + +Upon the word "obey," his hand came down with a bang on the arm of the +chair. It made Tony jump. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +STATUES, MUSIC, AND CHEESE + + +Tony, under the window, squirmed unhappily. He was everything that Anna's +father had called him. Lazy! He begged! He did not always tell the truth. +He was a disgrace to beautiful Naples! + +But he did not want to be disciplined. He did not want to obey. He was +afraid of Anna's father with his ideas of discipline. + +He shivered and huddled up closer to the house. It was growing colder, +and his nose felt stuffy. How warm and cosy it looked inside! + +Anna's father found the page he had been looking for. + +"Now," said he, "we are going to hear about a strange mixture of things. +Statues, sailors, music, and cheese!" + +[Illustration: A FISH MARKET IN GENOA] + +Tony forgot the cold. He even forgot Anna's father except for his deep +voice. + +"The city of Genoa," read the deep voice, "is Italy's chief seaport. +Its streets are lined with palaces. It seems that everything in Genoa +takes place in a palace. Even schools are sometimes found in palaces! + +"The city is surrounded by forts and strong walls. + +"The Palazzo San Giorgio is the oldest bank in Europe. Here there is a +curious collection of statues. + +"They are the statues of men who have given money for public good. If +you see a seated statue, you will know that this man gave a large gift. + +"If a statue is standing, it means that the gift was not so large. No +doubt, they wish to make the generous ones more comfortable. + +"Genoa might be called 'America's Cradle.' Do you know why?" + +Anna did not know. But Anna was an Italian girl. You, who are Americans, +surely know that Genoa was the birthplace of Christopher Columbus. + +[Illustration: COLUMBUS' HOUSE: GENOA] + +"Christopher Columbus used to play about the water front when he was a +little boy," read Anna's father. "When he grew up, he sailed off one +day and discovered a new country--America! + +"Genoa possesses one of the largest theatres and one of the finest +cemeteries in the world!" + +"I would rather go to the theatre!" declared Anna. + +Tony agreed with her. + +So did Tina. For, at that moment, she gave a rumbling grunt, yawned, +and went back to sleep. + +Anna's father read on: + +"In 1813, in the Province of Parma, a baby by the name of Giuseppe +Verdi was born. One year after this, a terrible battle took place +in the village. + +"Women and children rushed to the church for protection. But the enemy +broke into the church. + +"Among these poor villagers was the mother of Giuseppe Verdi. With her +baby in her arms, she fled up into the belfry tower. Here she hid +until all danger from the battle was past. + +[Illustration: A QUAINT ITALIAN STREET] + +"Think what the world would have lost if she had not done this! For that +baby became the father of Italian opera! + +"His haunting melodies are sung everywhere. You have heard them though +you may not know it. + +"When Verdi was a little boy, he used to assist the priest in church. +One day the notes of the organ carried him far away to dreamland. He did +not hear the priest ask for some water. + +"No water came. The priest waited. Then he repeated, 'Water!' Still no +sign from Giuseppe. + +"'Water!' The priest was growing angry. He touched his dreaming assistant +with the toe of his shoe. Down the steps, head first, fell young Verdi! + +"The older he grew the more Verdi loved his native land. At this time +the people of Italy were ruled by the Austrians. They were unhappy and +wanted their own king, Victor Emmanuel. + +"Verdi's music always stirred within them a deep love of their country. + +"It was found that the name 'Verdi' could be spelled by using the first +letters of the words, '_V_ictor _E_mmanuel, _R_é _d_'_I_talia' (which +means, in English, "Victor Emmanuel, King of Italy"). + +"The Italians would cry 'Verdi! Verdi!' The Austrians thought, of course, +that these were only cheers for the popular composer. But they were +really crying, 'Victor Emmanuel, King of Italy!' Had the Austrians +known this, they would have been very angry." + +Anna's father looked up from the book once more. + +"Did you ever hear the saying, 'From the sublime to the ridiculous?'" +he asked. + +"No, Papa," said Anna. "What does it mean?" + +"It might mean," he replied, "that we are now going from beautiful +music to cheese!" + +Tony wondered whether the gentleman had suddenly lost his wits. + +"Of course, cheese is not at all ridiculous if you like it," he went +on. "And most Italians do like it. + +"Macaroni without cheese is like Mexican tamales without chile. It +is like fish without chips in England, or sausage without sauerkraut +in Germany! + +"Parma is not only the home of a famous composer; it is also the home +of a famous cheese! When I was there, I saw a poster of three, +huge-nosed gentlemen sniffing at a piece of Parmesan cheese. Their +eyes bulged with delight. + +"Just as Verdi once was carried away by music, so these gentlemen were +carried away by the odor of cheese!" + +Tony saw Tina's black nose wriggling in her sleep. He almost laughed +aloud. Did the little dog understand what was being said? + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +DANGER! + + +Tony was cold. He wanted Tina. He hoped that soon Anna would come out +to put the dog to bed. But as soon as that happened, the stories would +have to stop. + +Tony did not want them to stop. If only he had Tina and a warm blanket! +Then he would stay beneath the window and listen as long as the stories +continued. What fun! + +He sneezed again. + +Anna sat up in her father's arms. + +"I must go now and put Niki to bed," she said. "Then I will come back." + +Tony saw her climb down from her father's knee. Tina woke up and +blinked. Anna left the room, and Tony knew that she was coming out to +the garden. + +[Illustration: MILAN CATHEDRAL] + +He ran over to the dog's tent and soon Anna arrived. + +"Hello, poor little boy," she said. "I heard you under the window. Are +you cold? Are you sad?" + +"Ah, Signorina," wailed Tony. "I am nearly dead!" + +He made a most horrible face. + +"Today I have walked miles and miles, but nobody would help me or give +me anything to eat. They only kicked me off the road and--will you +bring me a blanket?" he asked suddenly. + +"Yes," she said. She put Tina into his arms. "Hold Niki and I will go +into the house for one." + +She ran back. Tony, with the dog in his arms, crouched once more under +the window. Through it he saw Anna come into the room. Her father called +her to him. + +"Come," he said. "One more chapter and then to bed." + +Anna's face fell. What should she do? She had promised to bring Tony +a blanket. Yet she could not say so. She must stay here until her +father finished reading. + +"Now," he began, "we shall visit Italy's largest city, Milan. The pride +of Milan is her beautiful cathedral. It is built of white marble brought +from the quarries by canal. The canal was built especially for that +purpose. + +"With its two thousand slender spires, this cathedral is like fairy +lace. Stories are told upon the many beautiful windows of stained +glass. + +"In the long ago, Milan was the fashion center of the world. Just as, +today, every lady wants a Paris gown, so, at that time, they wanted +Milan hats. They spoke of them as 'Milaners.' Can you see how the word +'milliner' was born? + +"From the hat to the shoe is a long way. The whole of Italy is shaped +like a boot. Milan is far up on the leg. Down at the tip of the toe is +the island of Sicily. + +[Illustration: VESUVIUS SEEN FROM POMPEII] + +"Sicily, originally settled by the Greeks, has often been called the +'football of Italy.' And it has truly been kicked about, for many +different nations have ruled it. + +"It is a beautiful island. Yet for many years its people have been +gradually leaving it. Many thousands went to America. + +"At one time the United States bought quantities of lemons from Sicily. +Now the Americans are growing their own. + +"There is a volcano on the island called Mt. Etna. Great sulphur mines +were made by this volcano, and for years Sicily supplied the world with +sulphur. But now the United States also supplies sulphur. + +"Another volcano is that of Stromboli. It is an island off the coast of +Sicily. For two thousand years this fire island has been like a glowing +torch in the water. It is therefore called the Lighthouse of the +Mediterranean Sea. + +"And while we are speaking of volcanoes, here is the terrible story of +Pompeii. I have told you many legends, but this tale is true. + +"Hundreds of years ago a beautiful little city called Pompeii nestled at +the foot of Mt. Vesuvius. + +"Here men, women, and children lived happy, carefree lives. Their +houses were small jewels. They feasted and lived in luxury. Pompeii +was a pleasure city. + +"Then, one day, a frightful thing happened. The volcano, Vesuvius, grew +very angry. Black smoke gushed from the hole in her great head. Ashes +and hot stones came tumbling down upon Pompeii. The earth rocked. +Thunder roared. Darkness fell upon the town. People fled, groping +their way through the streets. + +"Next day Pompeii, the jewel city, lay buried beneath the earth." + + * * * * * + +Tony felt a chill run up his back. He glanced at the fire-mountain +behind the house. Then he looked into the window again. Anna lay very +still in her father's arms. + +Anna had heard that story many times. Besides, Anna was very young. +She was now asleep! + +"Wake up, little sleepy one," said her father. He smoothed her hair +gently. + +Anna stirred and rubbed her eyes. She had been dreaming about Tony. Oh, +Tony, your secret is in danger! + +All at once she sat up straight and looked about in a startled way. + +She cried, "I must go out to Tony, Papa! I promised to bring him a +blanket!" + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE BURIED CITY + + +Tony clutched Tina and started. Anna's father looked at his daughter in +a puzzled way. + +"Who is Tony and what do you mean?" he asked. + +Then poor little Anna's heart sank. She had given away her friend's +secret! + +Tony balanced himself on his toes, squatting, ready to run. He saw +Anna burst into tears, heard her pour out her whole story. + +"He is such a poor little boy, Papa!" she wept. "He is so hungry and +cold! But I promised I would not tell and now ... oh...." + +She sobbed pitifully. Her father held her close. + +"There, my darling, don't cry," he said. "Tony is a bad boy. Come, let +us go out there to him and...." + +Tony did not wait to hear more. With Tina clasped tightly he ran. He +ran as fast as his legs would carry him, out, on to the main road. + +He saw Vesuvius towering above, a terrible giantess puffing on a +poisonous pipe! Would she ever again break out in anger? + +The wind blew. It had started to rain. The night was so black. + +His legs ached. But he must run, run far away from Anna's father. He +could never, never go back again. Now he was really a thief. He was +running away with Tina! + +The little dog began to shiver in his arms. He stopped for a moment, +took off his coat, and wrapped it around the animal. + +The rain came down harder and harder. Finally, Tony found a haystack, +and the boy and dog cuddled down for the night. + + +Early morning brought a blue sky. The rain was gone. The Bay shone +and the smoke from Vesuvius sailed straight up in a thin grey line. + +[Illustration: THE APPIAN WAY + _Photo by Courtesy of Italian Tourist Information Office_] + +But Tony awoke in a fever. Tina stood beside him, her tail beating a +pleasant tune on the ground. Her sweet, white face smiled down at him. + +Why did he not jump up and play with her as he always did in the +morning? Why did her little god lie so still? + +Tony's dark eyes sparkled unnaturally. There were red patches on either +cheek. + +For a moment he could not remember where he was. Then it all came back +to him. Anna! Anna's father! + +He had stolen Tina! He was a thief! + +He sat up suddenly. Perhaps they were already looking for him. + +He shivered and put on his coat. It was damp. Tina barked joyfully. They +were going for a walk! + +It was a long walk! Miles and miles. Hours and hours. Tony's head +throbbed. His feet ached. Tina's tongue swept the ground. + +At last they reached the buried city of Pompeii. Its ruins are now the +most famous in the world. Tourists visit it every day. Tony knew this. +He stood beside a wall and began to beg. + +"I die of hunger!" he whined. + +[Illustration: POMPEII] + +It was a lie. Tony felt too ill to eat. But he wanted to buy food for +Tina. + +He screwed up his face and added in English, "Poor leetle boy!" + +[Illustration: HOUSE OF THE VETTI: POMPEII] + +"Go away from here!" roared a guide. "And take that dog with you!" + +Tony scampered. He knew that dogs are not allowed in Pompeii. He +crouched beside a fence. When the guide's back was turned, he slipped +under the fence. + +He was inside the gates. He was in Pompeii. Really inside the gates +of Pompeii! Standing upon the long, silent streets, in the shadow of +stately ruins. + +Columns and statues stood like graceful ghosts. It was a place to +impress any child. To Tony, light-headed with fever, it was a wonder +and a dream. + +A guide came along, leading a party of tourists through the streets. +To Tony his voice droned like a swarm of bees. + +"It was a city of pleasure and wealth," said the guide. "Tinkling +fountains played. Painted chariots clattered over the cobble-stones. +Boys and girls laughed and sang." + +Tony saw it, felt it, heard it all! + +"See the tracks of the chariots in the pavements," droned the guide's +voice. "The plumbing was so good that the fountains are still running +today." + +Tony followed them through restored palaces, courtyards, wine shops. + +Some of the houses had four dining rooms--one for each season: Spring, +Summer, Fall, and Winter. Before one house was the word "Have." This +means "Welcome" in Greek. The Fascists say this when they salute. + +In the old Roman Bath was a case with images like mummies. The guide +entered the building with his tourist train--a train of human question +marks. + +Tony followed. He hid in a dark corner so they would not see him. + +"Here we have the forms of some of the ancient people found in the +ruins," explained the guide. "They are, however, only hollow forms. +They have been surrounded by lava." + +"What is lava, Mama?" squeaked a tourist child. + +"Hush!" said the mother. + +[Illustration: A STREET IN POMPEII + _Photo by Courtesy of Italian Tourist Information Office_] + +"I want some if it is to eat!" howled the child. + +"Lava," said the guide, "is the fiery fluid which comes out of a +volcano during an eruption. When it cools it hardens and becomes +like rock." + +"I don't want to eat any!" decided the child. + +"Here is the form of a dog," went on the guide. + +"I want a 'hot dog,' Mama!" whined the child. + +They finally left the building. Tony heard the child's irritable voice +far down the street. He came out from his corner. The building was +empty. + +He looked at the strange, rock-covered images. The little dog was about +the size of Tina. He shivered. He went outside. The sun had dropped +behind a hill. He could see Vesuvius puffing, puffing on her pipe. + +"Oh, you--you wicked one!" He shook his fist at the mountain. + +His head began to spin. The streets were more silent than ever, for +the sight-seers had all gone. Tall columns, like black knights, stood +guard over the buried city. + +Tony had heard the guide say that at a certain hour the gates would +close. Was that hour now past? Was he locked in the deserted city, +alone? Trapped, like victims of the volcano so long ago? + +He felt ill. He was burning with fever. He started toward the gate, +squeezing Tina until she grunted. + +Then, all at once, his legs seemed to disappear beneath him and he +sank to the earth. + +The ruins of Pompeii whirled all about him. Vesuvius blew a great +column of smoke in his face, and he knew no more! + + + + +CHAPTER X + +FEVER, FEAR, AND TROUBLED SLEEP + + +The next thing Tony knew, he was in ancient Pompeii. He was in the +buried city before it had been buried! + +"How could this be?" you ask. "A person cannot live in the past!" + +Ah, but Tony had arrived upon a queer ship. The name of the ship was +_Fever, Fear, and Troubled Sleep_. + +Tony really and truly lay upon the ground dreaming. He lay where he had +fallen when we last left him. But, in his dream, he was in old Pompeii. +Old Pompeii appeared to him just as Anna's father and the guide had +told about it. + +Tony believed that he lay in a corner of the Forum, the main square of +the town. It was night, and a group of beggars slept beside him. Tina +cuddled snugly in his arms. + +All about him slumbered Pompeii with the smoke from Vesuvius curling +above in the black sky. + +Tony looked up at the fire-mountain and, all at once, his heart seemed +to stand still. Why, that volcano was going to destroy Pompeii! It was +written in books of history! Everyone in the modern world knew it! + +But here nobody knew it. How could they? They were ancient people. He +was living in the past. Tony, the beggar boy, was the only one who knew! +He must tell them! + +He stood up. He saw those beautiful homes and gardens he had heard so +much about. Tomorrow they would be in ruins! + +Tomorrow? How did he know that the end would come tomorrow? Tony could +not explain. But he did know. Dreams are like that. + +[Illustration: OLD OLIVE OIL MILL: POMPEII] + +He woke the beggars. He warned them of the coming terror. Frantically +he tried to explain to them the danger of what was about to happen. + +"Vesuvius will erupt and destroy Pompeii," he said. + +[Illustration: POMPEII] + +But the beggars laughed at him. + +"Stuff!" said one. + +"Liar!" cried another. + +Then they went back to sleep. + +"You must believe me," cried poor Tony. "Run away before it is too late!" + +"Stop your silly talk," said one of the beggars. "If you do not let us +sleep, we shall have you arrested as a mad sorcerer!" + +Tony stole away with Tina under his arm. There was only one thing for +him to do. He must wake the town. + +Soon dawn would come. Then the mountain would begin to shoot flames and +the whole city would rock. + +He knocked at doors and tried to arouse the people. But angry, sleepy +voices told him to go away. Nobody would believe him. + +Tony began to wonder whether anyone would ever believe him again. He had +lied so often. And now he was a thief besides! + +He thought of little Anna. He had lied to her and he had stolen her pet. +He would be punished by the fire-mountain for all his wickedness! + +[Illustration: SORRENTO + _Photo by Courtesy of Italian Tourist Information Office_] + +But he and everyone else in Pompeii could still be saved if they would +only listen to him. + +He began to cry out in the streets and to run back and forth. A young +Paul Revere! + +"Awake! Awake! Vesuvius will erupt today! Pompeii will be buried! Run +and save yourselves!" he cried. + +"Go home to bed, stupid boy!" growled the people. + +But Tony would not go. He screamed louder and louder. + +"To jail with him," said someone. "He must have an evil spirit!" + +So poor Tony and his dream were thrown into jail in ancient Pompeii. + +Morning came. Over the top of the volcano hung a dark cloud. The leaden +sky frowned down. Tony kicked at the bars of the jail. He screamed. He +pleaded. He cried. + +"Quiet, foolish child," said one of the prison guards. "If you keep +your peace, you will be free tomorrow." + +"There will be no tomorrow!" wailed poor Tony. "Oh, believe me and let +us all run! Run from Pompeii!" + +"Ha! Ha!" laughed the guard. "You are only a lying little beggar! Nobody +believes lying little beggars!" + +"But I am telling the truth!" insisted poor Tony. "I am! I am! You must +believe me!" + +But it was useless. + +As time went on the black cloud grew larger. Suddenly, a great rumbling +started. An immense wall of fire-red stones came crashing down the +mountain, destroying everything in its path. + +The city was plunged into darkness. People began screaming and running +from their houses. Everything rocked back and forth. + +"Let me out!" cried Tony. "Oh, save me! Madonna mia, never again will +I lie or steal! Oh, never! Save me! Save me!" + +He held Tina tightly. She wriggled and tried to break away. All at +once she began to squeal. He had never heard a dog squeal like that! + +Stones came hurtling against the prison wall. Some entered through the +bars and hit Tony in the face. He closed his eyes. He put up his arm +to ward them off. + +Then the roar of the mountain ceased and the quaking of the earth +stopped. But that strange squealing went right on. A few small pebbles +still came flying. + +He opened his eyes. The sun was shining. The sky was blue overhead. +Grey ruins lay all about him. Old, old ruins! Tony was in the modern +world. He had awakened from his dream! + +But what was that something squirming to break away from him? It was +not Tina. It felt fat and slippery and.... He looked. + +He was holding, by one leg, a frisky, pink pig! Its piteous shrieks +filled the silent, ruined city of Pompeii. + +Where was Tina? + +Just then, a shower of stones from a near-by wall hit him. He turned. +There was Tina, standing upon the wall, digging with her two busy, +front paws. She was scattering ruined Pompeii in Tony's eyes as fast as +she could scatter! + +He freed the pink pig. It hurried off to its neighboring farm, a wiser +but sadder pig. It would never again go sight-seeing! + +"Here, Tina!" he called. + +She stopped her morning's work. She looked at her master. + +"Good-morning," wagged her tail. + +She jumped down into his arms and started to lick his cheek. + +"Oh, Tina, Tina," he sighed, as he hugged her close. "All this time I +have been asleep! I have been dreaming about old Pompeii! It was not +true. It was a dream. Dio mio, how happy I am!" + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +TONY, ANNA, AND TINA + + +Tony sat up and stretched. He felt very weak but the fever had passed. +The day was young. Nobody stirred in the streets of Pompeii. It was too +early for the gates to open. + +Tony arose. "Come," he said to his dog. "Let us go. We can crawl through +the fence. We shall have breakfast. Then, I know what I shall do." + +It was all so simple. It had come to him quite suddenly. He must be a +thief no longer! He must take Tina back to Anna. Tina was Anna's pet. + +He bought some food for the dog. But Tony himself could not eat. His +heart ached. He was going to lose his dear little friend. + +But it was the only thing to do. He saw that now. He shuddered as he +recalled his horrible dream. Why, perhaps if he had been a truthful +boy the ancient people might have believed him! + +If they had believed him, think how many lives could have been saved! + +He suddenly laughed aloud. + +"It was, after all, only a dream," he reminded himself. "But I shall +always remember how terrible it is not to be believed!" + +All morning he walked. Several times he would have liked to stop, for +his head felt curiously light and his legs trembled. But he was going +to bring Tina back to Anna. He could not be happy until he had done +that! + +He approached Anna's house. It looked so new and shiny. The flowers and +trees made a pretty frame for it. How different from the ugly houses +in the poor section of Naples where he lived. + +It would be pleasant to wake up in the morning and smell the fields +and the Bay. Not the horrible odors of narrow streets. Dust and dirt +and cooking things! + +[Illustration: TONY TRIED TO EXPLAIN EVERYTHING] + +He must go bravely to the front door and ring the bell. He must confess +to Anna's father all that he had done. He was ready to take his +punishment like a brave soldier of Italy! + +"Good-day." + +The front door opened. Anna's mother stood there with Anna close +beside her. + +When Anna caught sight of her pet, she cried out, "Niki! Oh, I thought +you were lost! I thought the naughty boy had stolen you! Come to me, +Niki!" + +She held out her arms. But Tony drew Tina away from her. Why did his +throat feel so full and queer? Why did his nose tickle and his eyes +blur with tears? + +No! No! He could not give up his Tina! Anna had everything and he had +only this little dog! It was not fair. + +He planted his poor, wobbly legs as sturdily as he could. His dark eyes +flashed at the little girl. + +"Do not touch her!" he cried. "She bites!" + +Anna shrank back, afraid. + +"She is a bad dog!" continued Tony. "It is not safe for you to keep +her. She has bitten me." + +The mother went forward and gently touched Tony's sleeve. + +"Where has the dog bitten you, my poor boy?" she inquired. + +"Er--on my back!" lied Tony. + +"Turn around and let me see," said the good woman. + +But Tony did not turn around. Instead, he fell upon his knees and +clutched the skirt of Anna's mother. + +"I have lied again! Oh, forgive me!" he sobbed. "What I just said +was not true. Tina does not bite. She is the gentlest little dog +that ever lived. And I am the greatest liar!" + +He was sobbing so that the woman could hardly understand him. He +tried hard to explain everything that had happened to him. But he +felt weak and could barely talk. + +Anna's mother raised him to his feet and led him to a bedroom. Here she +undressed him and prepared a bath. + +At first this frightened Tony. There were no bathrooms in the house +where he had lived! But somehow, he felt that this kind woman would not +hurt him. He allowed her to bathe him and put him to bed. + +He soon found himself tucked between clean, cool sheets. The woman was +offering him something to drink. His eyes were closing. Then he was +asleep. + +When he awoke it was late afternoon. The window shades were drawn and +the room was fairly dark. + +Tony lay gazing up at the smooth, white ceiling. He felt well and strong +now. He thought that he loved the mother of Anna better than anyone he +had ever known. Yes, better even than Tina! + +How could he have lied to Anna again? After promising himself that he +would change. After that terrible dream! Oh, surely that would be his +last lie! Surely! + +As he lay with his thoughts, the door slowly opened. Anna peeped in. +She held Tina in her arms. When she saw Tony's eyes open, she came into +the room. + +"I thought you would like to have Niki," she said. + +She approached his bed. Tony held out his arms for the dog. + +"Her name is not Niki. It is Tina," he said. + +The little girl smiled. + +"It is Niki," she repeated. + +"Tina!" said Tony. + +"Niki!" said Anna. + +She was laughing now. So was Tony. + +"Very well," he said. "Let us call her 'Fido.'" + +"Fido" is taken from an Italian word meaning "faithful." + +So Anna put "Tina-Niki-Fido" into Tony's arms and sat down beside him. + +"Papa says you are to stay here with us," she said. + +[Illustration: TONY, ANNA, AND TINA-NIKI-FIDO] + +Tony shot up in bed. A look of fear came over his face. + +"But your papa will discipline me!" he exclaimed. + +"No! No!" said Anna. "He says that you must not be afraid of him. +Discipline does not hurt. It will make you happy to grow up good." + +Tony's eyes grew wide. So Anna's father, with the deep voice, wanted to +make him happy! + +"Papa has just been to see the Marionette Man," went on Anna. "He told +him all about you, poor little boy!" + +"And will I have to go back to Guido?" asked Tony. + +"No, never," replied Anna. "You are to live with us, and Papa says you +shall join the Balilla." + +Join the Balilla! Live in Anna's pretty house! Never again be parted +from his beloved Tina! Oh, it was almost too good to be true! + +"But your father will punish me," he said, suddenly. He could not seem +to forget the gentleman's severe words. + +"No, no," said Anna. "He says he thinks you have been punished enough. +He thinks you will obey now and never lie again. Will you promise, Tony?" + +Tony hung his head. "I promise," he said. + +"Papa always wanted a little boy of his own," continued Anna. "He will +be so proud to have you march with the boys of Italy. And I ... I would +like a brother." + +"Have you never had a brother?" asked Tony. + +"No," she answered, solemnly. "But I once had a monkey!" + + * * * * * + +So Tony remained with Anna. He joined the Balilla and he never lied or +stole again. + +Well, _almost_ never. At first Anna's father had to talk with him very +seriously to make him understand the beauty of truth. + +When Anna grew a little older, she joined the "Piccole Italiane," the +girls' legion. + +Tina-Niki-Fido did not join anything. At least, I do not think she did. +However, if there is a "Bone-and-Biscuit Dog Scouts" in Italy, you may +be sure she became one. + +She now belonged to both Tony and Anna. Still, it was Tony who cared +for her, fed her, and slept with her. + +You see, between Tony and Tina it had been love at first sight! + + +THE END + + + + +PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY + + + Amalfi ä mäl´f[=e] + + Avanti ä vänt´[=e] + + Balilla b[)a]l l[=e]´l[=a] + + Bella signorina b[)e]l´[.a] s[=e]´ny[+o] r[=e]´nä + + Benito Mussolini b[)e]n [=e]´t[=o] m[=oo]s´s[+o] l[=e]´n[=e] + + Campanile k[)a]m´p[.a] n[)i]l + + Cimabue ch[=e]´mä b[=oo]´[=a] + + Colosseum k[)o]l´[)o] s[=e]´[)u]m + + Dante d[)a]n´t[+e] + + Dio mio d[=e]´[=o] m[=e]´[=o] + + Doge d[=o]j + + Felicissima notte f[=a] l[=e] ch[=e]´s[+e] m[.a] n[=o]´t[)e] + + Fontana Trevi f[)o]n tä´nä tr[)e]´v[=e] + + Genoa j[)e]n´[+o] [.a] + + Giotto jôt´t[=o] + + Giuseppe Verdi j[=oo] s[)e]p´p[=a] vâr´d[=e] + + Grazie gr[.a]tz´i [)e] + + Il Duce [=el] d[=oo]´ch[=a] + + Lucullus l[+u] k[)u]l´[)u]s + + Mia m[=e]´[.a] + + Milan m[)i] l[)a]n´ + + Niki n[=e]´k[=e] + + Palazzo San Giorgio p[)a]l ätz´[=o] sän j[+o]r´jy[=o] + + Piccole Italiane p[=e]´c[=o] l[)e] [)i] täl [)i] än´[)e] + + Stromboli str[+o]m´b[+o] l[+e] + + Tina t[=e]´nä + + Torrone tôr r[=o]´n[)e] + + Viva Italia v[=e]´vä [+e] täl´yä + + + + +Transcriber's Notes: + + +1. Passages in italics are surrounded by _underscores_. + +2. The list of illustrations with their page numbers have been added +after the table of contents. + +3. Images have been moved from the middle of a paragraph to the closest +paragraph break. + +4. In this etext, a letter with a diacritical mark is enclosed within +square brackets. For example, diacritical marks for letter 'e' are shown +below: + + [)e] represents 'letter e with breve above' + [=e] 'letter e with macron above' + [+e] 'letter e with up tack above' + +Similar representation is used for vowels other than 'e'. The following +two also appear within this etext: + + [.a] represents 'letter a with dot above' + [=oo] 'letters oo with combined macron above' + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Little Tony of Italy, by Madeline Brandeis + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40621 *** |