"There," cried Libereso and put out a hand to catch it, but Maria-nunziata let out a cry, "Ut!" and the frog jumped back into the water. Libereso began searching for it, his nose almost touching the surface.
She began following him along the gravel paths, What a strange boy this Libereso was, with that long hair, and picking up toads in his hands.
"NOW, or on your next birthday ?"
"Good-bye, Libereso."
"Wait. I want to give you something. Something really nice. Come along."
Libereso had now looked into all the lilies. He came up to her holding one hand over the other.
They were both crouching down behind the dahlias, and Maria-nunziatas rosy knees were grazing the brown, scratched ones of Libereso. Libereso cupped his other hand over the back of the toad, and caught it every now and again as it tried to slip Out.
He put out his hands, as if to protect it. "I dont want to. Its SO nice."
"Oh!" said Maria-nunziata, but she did not come any nearer.
"Libereso," said the gardeners boy.
down to his shoulders and a beard right down to his chest. And he wears shorts in summer and winter. And I do drawings for the Anarchist Federation windows. The figures in top hats are business men, those in caps are generals, and those in round hats are priests; then I paint them in water colours."
He took her hand again and led her through the flower-beds.
"What, dont you know when Assumption Day is ?" She began laughing.
Maria-nunziatas eyes clouded over. It was sad to refuse a present, no one ever gave her presents, but the toad really did revolt her.
"Mammamial"
"What a pity. I try to give you a present and you dont want it."
Now hed taken the toad by file scruff of the neck like a cat and put it in the palm of his band. Maria-mmziata, still chewing the edge of her apron, came nearer and crouched down beside him.
"Look, its moving," said the boy. Then she saw something which looked like a moving stone or leaf, something wet, with eyes and feet; a toad.
But Maria-nunziata did not want to stroke the fish either.
Maria-nunziata burst out laughing: "Senjosef! Saint Joseph, not Senjosef, Libereso!"
Libereso was now peering closely between the winding branches on the wall.
"We dont eat the flesh of dead birds or animals."
"Something nice. Come and see. Quickly."
Libereso put the toad back on the ground and it quickly hopped off and squatted under the leaves.
"Something very nice. Youll see."
"Back home there are lovely processions. Its not like here, back home. There are big fields full of bergamots, nothing but bergamots, and everyone picks bergamots from morning till night. Ive fourteen brothers and sisters and they all pick bergamots; five died when they were babies, and then my mother got tetanus, and we were in a train for a week to go to Uncle
"Why, are you always in Lent ?"
"A hedgehog."
"Wait a second," said Maria-nunziata, and shut the window.
"What ?" he said. "www.99lib.net;You dont want it ?"
"A nice toad ?"
"How old are you, Libereso ?"
"Its late. The Signoras sure to be looking for me."
"Ill catch it."
"Here," said Libereso. "Dont you like them ?"
"No," she said.
"Hallo," said the gardeners boy. The skin on his face, neck and chest was dark brown; perhaps because he was always half naked, as now,
"Are you frightened? Its only a toad! Why are you frightened ?
Libereso laughed, some ants now even crawling from his neck on to his face.
"Come along," said Libereso, and took her hand again.
"No, not by the hair."
"My brother," said Libereso, "is called Germinal and my sister Omnia."
Carmelos, and eight of us all slept in a garage there. Tell me, whyve you got such long hair ?"
"I must go and do the washing up. The Signora will be cross if she cant find me."
"Why ?" asked Maria-nuuziata. "Why are you letting yourself get covered with ants ?"
"There it is."
"Look," said Libereso and put a hand on the trunk. The ants could be seen crawling over his hand but he didnt brush them off.
She pointed at it with a trembling finger. "Kill it."
Maria-nunziata held out her hands timidly, and Libereso poured a cascade of rose-chafers of every colour into them.
"Very well, then, Ill give you a really big present, Ive decided. The biggest present I can."
But the boy beckoned again, and pointed at the pots of dahlias with his other hand. Why was he pointing at those dahlias ? Maria-nunziata opened the window and put her head out.
"Show me, first."
It was a lizard green with black markings, basking in the sun.
"No."
But at that moment the Signora rang the bell, and Maria-nunziata vanished.
"Poof!"
"Its a name in Esperanto," he said. "In Esperanto it means liberty. "
"What lovely flowers," said Maria-nunziata. "Dyou ever pick them ?"
"But I must go and finish washing the dishes. Tile Signora doesnt like me coming out in the garden."
"No, you cant come up. What have you got there ?"
Maria-nunziata stepped back, but between her feet she saw a great big toad. And behind it were five little toads in a line, taking little hops towards her across the black and white tiled floor.
"It is the Madonnas name. Im called after the Madonna and my brother after Saint Joseph."
"What are you going to give me now ?"
Smiling his brown and white smile, Libereso took his hand away from the tree and began nonchalantly dusting his arm. But he was obviously touched.
Maria-nunziata peeped over his shoulder. Libereso bent down to move a pot, lifted another by the wall, and pointed to the ground.
"Maria-nunziata," she said and laughed.
"Fifteen. And you ?"
The NEW gardeners boy had long hair which he kept in place by a piece of stuff tied round his head with a little bow. He was walking along the path with his watering-can fil九_九_藏_书_网led to the brim and his other arm stretched out to balance the load. Slowly, carefully, he watered the nasturtiums as if pouring out coffee and milk, until the earth at the foot of each plant dissolved into a soft black patch; when it was large and moist enough he lifted the watering-can and passed on to the next plant. Maria-nunziata was watching him from the kitchen window, and thinking what a nice calm job gardening must be. He was a grown youth, she noticed, though he still wore shorts and that long hair made him look like a girl. She stopped washing the dishes and tapped on the window.
"Male and female," repeated Libereso. "Theyre making tadpoles." A cloud passed over the sun. Suddenly Maria-nunziata began to feel anxious.
"Well, what do you eat then ?"
Maria-nunziata had just finished washing the dishes when she heard a pebble beat against the window. Underneath stood Libereso with a large basket.
"Why are you called Esperanto ?"
"Because it grows like that. Youve got long hair too."
"Dont be frightened, they wont bite you."
Maria-nunziata was laughing too, but every time she saw the lizard she skipped back and pulled her skirt tight about her knees.
When she came out through the kitchen door the gardeners boy was still there, watering the nasturtiums.
"You stroke it, Maria-nunziata," he said.
"No," she said firmly.
"Me? No."
"Youll see," he said, "but you must promise me to take care of it."
"All toads are nice. They eat the worms."
"Why poof?"
"Dyou want to see something nice ?"
The girl hid her hands in her apron.
"When you hold them tight they tickle; would you like to feel ?"
He thrust in a hand and pulled it out in his closed fist.
"Im not like a girl. You dont tell a boy from a girl by the hair."
"Get rid of them, Libereso. Put your arm in water!"
"Im a girl. If you wear long hair, youre like a girl."
"A toad!" gasped Maria-nunziata.
Italo Calvino
"Not Esperanto, Libereso."
"You can take it home if you like. Itll keep you company."
But he got closer to the lizard, very slowly, with both hands open; a jump, and hed caught it. He laughed happily, showing his white teeth. "Look out, its escaping!" First a stunned-looking head, then a tail, slithered out between his closed fingers.
"Ill give you it. Ill give you something very nice."
"Not by the hair ?"
Maria-nunziata approached, no longer laughing, and looked on open mouthed. "No ! No ! Dont touch it !"
"But its yours. Im giving it to you," said Libereso.
His hand was now quite black, and they were crawling up his wrist.
"That nice thing you mentioned," said Maria-nunziata, "show me it."
"Libereso! Ill do whatever you like! Ill accept all those presents you gave me."
The boy showed her his big brown hands, the palms covered with a layer of yellow callouses.
"Why not by the hair ?"
"Dont you waｈtｔp://wwｗ.９９liｂ.ｎｅｔnt a present ?"
"Whats your name ?" asked Maria-nunziata.
"Im Calabrian," exclaimed Maria-nunziata.
"Id like to have a lipstick and paint my lips red on Sundays to go out dancing. And a black veil to put on my head afterwards for Benediction."
"What is ?"
"What do you mean ?"
"Are you mad ? Dont you know they burn when you touch them, and make your hand swell up ?"
Libereso opened his hands and let her look inside. His palm was full of multi-coloured rose-chafers, red and black and even purple ones, but the green were the prettiest. They were buzzing and slithering over each other and waving little black legs in the air. Maria-nunziata hid her hands under her apron.
They had stopped.
In the petunia bed the earth was very soft, and Libereso dug about with his fingers and pulled out some long, soft worms.
Maria-uunziata hesitated. "Tell me what it is first."
"Whats that ?"
On every plate she had left to dry there was a crouctfing frog; a snake was coiled up inside a saucepan, there was a soup bowl full of lizards, and slimy snails were making iridescent streaks all over the glasses. In the basin full of water swam the lonely old goldfish.
"Come and see."
"What for ?"
"Take your hand away," moaned Maria-nunziata. "Youll get them all over you."
"Once I used to train snakes. I had a dozen of them, one was long and yellow, a water snake. But it shed its skin and escaped. Look at this one opening its mouth, look how its tongue is forked. Stroke it, it wont bite."
"Has that passed yet ?"
"Put your hands clown here, stroke it," said Libereso. "You can feel it breathing; it has fins like paper and scales that prickle. not much though."
"On Sundays," said Libereso, "I go to the woods with my brother and we fill two sacks with pine cones. Then, in the evening, my father reads out loud from Kropotkin. My tither has hair
"Mammamia! The Signora! The Signoras calling me!"
Under the water a frog could be seen swimming up with sharp little strokes of its green arms and legs. It suddenly surfaced, jumped on to a water-lily leaf and sat down in the middle.
"Its there."
"The Mass is in Latin, too."
She threw her arms round his neck and started to brush off the ants.
"There," he said.
"On my next birthday. Assumption Day."
"Hallo," said Maria-nunziata.
"Mesembryanthemum."
She was chewing the edge of her apron and trying to watch from the corner of her eyes.
Now his whole arm was covered with a veil of moving black dots; they reached his armpit but he did not brush them off.
"Whats your name ?"
Libereso began moving among the arum lilies, budding white trumpets silhouetted against the sky. Libereso looked into each, groped around with two fingers, and then hid something in his fist. Maria-nunziata had not gone into the flower-bed, and was watching him, with silent laughter. What was he up to now?
"I dont know about t九九藏书hat."
"Oh, it wont hurt me," he said. "And its so pretty."
"Male and female stuck together," said Libereso. "Look what they are doing." And he tried to put the frogs into Maria-nunziatas hand. Maria-nunziata wasnt sure if she was frightened because they were frogs, or because they were male and female stuck together.
"What is it ?" asked Maria-nunziata. She could not see any-thing; the corner was in shadow, full of wet leaves and garden mould.
They came to a pond with round water-lily leaves floating on it.
"Do you want it or dont you? Come on, now."
Maria-nunziata lowered her eyes, glanced at the toad, and lowered them again quickly.
"Wait."
"Hey, boy," she called.
"Mammamia!" she exclaimed.
But Maria-nunziata was frightened of snakes too. Then they went to the rock pool. First he showed her the fountains, and opened all the jets, which pleased her very much. Then he showed her the goldfish. It was a lonely old goldfish, and its scales were already whitening. At last; Maria-nunziata liked the goldfish. Libereso began to move his hands round in the water to catch it; it was very difficult, but when hed caught it Maria-nunziata could put it in a bowl and keep it in the kitchen. He managed to catch it, but didnt take it out of the water in case it suffocated.
"Senjosef?"
"Esperantos a language,"explained Libereso. "My father speaks Esperanto."
"This plants called Mesembryanthemum in Latin. All flowers have Latin names."
"Oh, all sorts of things, artichokes, lettuces, tomatoes. My father doesnt like us to eat the flesh of dead animals. Or coffee or sugar, either."
"Fourteen."
to be seen but a swarm of black insects flying about and settling.
"What dyou do with your sugar ration, then ?"
"I must get back to the kitchen soon, Libereso. Theres a chicken to pluck, too."
"Whats up ?" she asked, and began laughing again.
"So you really dont want me to give you anything at all ?" said Libereso, rather sadly, and very carefully he put the lizard back on the wall; off it shot. Maria-nunziata kept her eyes lowered.
"Oh, yes."
"Put your hand here," said Libereso, pointing to the trunk of an old peach tree. Maria-nunziata did not understand why, but she put her hand there; then she screamed and ran to dip it in the pool. For when she had pulled her hand away it was covered with ants. The peach tree was a mass of them, tiny black "Argentine" ants.
"Why ?"
"Come on, then," said Libereso. He put down the watering-can and took her by the hand.
Maria-nunziata seemed taller than she was because of her high- heeled shoes, which were a pity to work in, but she loved wearing them. Her little face looked like a childs amid its mass of black curls, and her legs were thin and childlike too, though her body, under the folds of her apron, was already round and ripe. She was always laughing: either at what others or she herself said.
"Quiet, now,&qu九九藏书ot; commanded Libereso.
"What have you got in there ?"
"Two of them together," he cried. "Look. Two of them, on top of each other."
"Mammamia!" It hadnt occurred to her that they might bite her. She opened her hands and the rose-chafers spread their wings and the beautiful colours vanished and there was nothing
"Sell it on the black market."
"Yes," said Maria-nunziata uncertainly, still keeping her hands under her apron.
But Maria-nunziata ran away with little shrieks.
"No."
"Whats that ?"
"There it is," he said.
"But Ive the dishes to wash, and the Signorall come along and not find me."
"Tell me what."
"Will you give it to me ?"
When she returned to the kitchen, Libereso was no longer to be seen. Neither inside the kitchen or underneath the window. Maria-nunziata went up to the sink. Then she saw the surprise.
"Of course its a toad. Come here," said Libereso.
"Esperanto," said Maria-nunziata. "Are you Esperanto?"
"Look how pretty it is," said Libereso and put a hand on it.
"Would you like me to give you something nice ?"
"Why are you called Maria-nunziata ?"
The gardeners boy raised his head, saw Maria-nunziata and smiled. She laughed back at him, partly because she had never seen a boy with such long hair and a bow like that on his head. The gardeners boy beckoned to her with one hand, and Maria-nunziata went on laughing at the funny gesture hed made, and began gesturing back to explain that she had the dishes to wash.
"To take to the Madonna. Flowers are for the Madonna."
They had reached some climbing plants, starred all over with red flowers.
"Why ?" asked Maria-nunziata.
"Why are you always laughing ?"
"Maria-nunziata, let me in. I want to give you a surprise."
"What is ?"
"Wait a minute."
"Whats that ?"
"Yes, Ill give it to you." He had led her to a corner of the garden wall. There the dahlias standing in pots were as tall as themselves.
"Open your hands," he said. Maria-nunziata cupped her hands, but was afraid to put them under his.
Mafia-nunziata laughed and repeated: "Libereso... Libereso ... what a funny name, Libereso."
Maria-nunziata went skipping off among the dahlias in her high heeled shoes. Libereso squatted down by the toad and laughed, showing the white teeth in the middle of his brown face.
"Leave them alone," she said. "You mustnt touch them."
With one finger Lihereso was stroking the toads grey-green back, which was covered with shiny warts.
"No," she said.
The ants were crawling up his naked arm, and had already reached his elbow.
But she did not go. Instead they went on wandering around though the sun did not come out again. And then he found a snake: it was a tiny little snake behind a hedge of bamboo. Libereso wound it round his arm and stroked its head.
"Assumption Day, when theres the procession. Dont you go to the procession ?"