"To-day brings the great surprise," said the Sunbonnet Babies' father
one morning. "You remember I said we should visit a place here in
Italy which you would like even better than Sorrento or Capri. We are
going to that place to-day."
"Oh, where is it?" exclaimed both little girls. "How shall we get
there? What are we going to see?"
"You must not ask so many questions. It would not be a surprise if I
should tell you all about it," said their father. "But we shall take
the train this morning, and before we go to bed to-night we shall be
there."
All day Molly and May were much excited thinking about the wonderful
surprise awaiting them. Their train carried them slowly northward
through the lovely Italian country straight toward the high mountains.
"Must we go over those mountains, father, or can we go through them?"
May asked eagerly.
"We shall do both," answered her father. "We shall go over a part of
them and we shall go through the rest. In a moment our train will
enter the first tunnel."
"Oh! Oh! We are in it now!" exclaimed Molly. "How dark it is!"
Then, almost before she knew it, they were out in the bright sunshine
again, creeping along a high bridge above a deep valley. In and out of
many tunnels they went, and across many high bridges from which they
had wonderful glimpses of the valleys and rivers below and of the
mountains towering high above them.
"Is this Switzerland, father?" Molly asked at last.
"No, indeed," answered her father. "We are crossing the Apennine
Mountains, which stretch down through Italy like the backbone of
a fish. But we shall soon be leaving the mountains behind us and shall
see the canals and the rice fields on the other side of them. Then you
may think you are in Japan."
And so they traveled northward, seeing many new and interesting
sights, until just at sunset they came to what their father called the
"Jumping-off Place."
"Close your eyes for a moment," he said. "I will tell you when to open
them."
So Molly and May closed their eyes very tightly until their father
said, "Now you may look."
"Oh! Oh! Where are we? Our train is running right on the water!"
exclaimed May as she opened her eyes.
"Why, yes! There is water on both sides of us!" cried Molly. "There is
water all around us. It looks like the sea. O father! Is there a
bridge under us? Will our train sink?"
"No, our train will not sink," answered her father, laughing. "There
is a real railroad track under us. The track is built on strong
wooden posts or piles which are sunk deep down into the ground under
the water."
[Illustration: _"Our train is running right on the water!"_]
"How far out on the water will the train go?" May asked, in a voice
just a little frightened.
"About two miles," answered her father. "We are going to the City in
the Sea."
"Oh, I know now!" cried Molly. "We are going to Venice! We are going
to Venice, May! That is the wonderful surprise. We are almost there. I
can see some of the houses now."
A few moments later their train was pulling into a busy covered
station and everybody was getting off, for no one goes beyond Venice
by train. A porter took their bags, and the Sunbonnet Babies thought
he would show them where to find a carriage or a taxi to take them to
their hotel. But no, he led them to a long line of small black boats
which were drawn up to the station platform.
"O father! Are these boats gondolas?" asked Molly excitedly. "And is
this one of the water streets you have told us about?"
"Yes," said her father, "and this man is going to take us to our hotel
in his gondola. So jump in!"
When they were all seated, an old man standing on the platform gave
their gondola a push with his long pole and they were off.
The gondolier stood in the back of his graceful boat and paddled it
lightly forward with one long oar.
Out into the sunset glow of the broad canal they slipped quietly. The
soft colors of the setting sun, caught and reflected by the shining
water, made a picture more beautiful than they had seen in any
art gallery in Italy.
[Illustration: _They glided around corners and through narrow canals_]
They glided around corners and through narrow canals, until at last
their gondolier stopped his boat close by the marble steps of a
handsome stone building.
"This is to be our home while we stay in Venice," said the Sunbonnet
Babies' father.
"Oh! I wish we could stay here always," Molly said softly.
"And so do I," whispered May.
[Illustration: _The pigeons were as tame as little chickens_]
As the days went by, Molly and May did not change their minds. Venice
was like a fairy land to them, and the hundreds of beautiful pigeons
that live about the Piazza of St. Mark were the cunningest of
playmates.
Each morning the children hurried to the piazza to help give the doves
their breakfast of corn and peas. They were as tame as little
chickens. They would coo and flutter about the Sunbonnet Babies and
eat from their hands as if they had always been friends.
[Illustration: _Sometimes a brave little pigeon would stand on one of
the sunbonnets_]
Sometimes an especially brave little pigeon would stand on one of the
pretty sunbonnets, turning his head about very proudly to be sure that
everyone was seeing him. But the pigeon was no prouder than the little
girl under the bonnet, who stood very still lest she frighten the
pretty thing away.
There are very few dogs or cats in Venice, so the pigeons have nothing
to fear. They are the pets of the whole city, and they sleep in the
prettiest places near the tops of the buildings.
[Illustration: _The great bronze horses at the Cathedral of St. Mark_]
There are only four horses in the city, too, and they are great bronze
horses two thousand years old. They have stood above the doorway of
the beautiful Cathedral of St. Mark, on one side of the piazza, more
than seven hundred years. Napoleon carried them off to Paris and
placed them on top of a fine arch there, where they stayed for
eighteen years, but at last they were returned to Venice.
During the World War these famous horses were taken down again and
hidden away in a safe place where bombs and robbers might not
touch them.
Now once more they are standing above the beautiful doorway, with the
pretty pigeons flying lovingly about them.
There were many other things on the big piazza, aside from the doves
and the horses, which interested the Sunbonnet Babies. There was a
strange old Clock Tower which has been standing there since the time
Columbus discovered America. Two big bronze men stand on top of the
tower and strike the hours on a great bell with their heavy hammers.
First one man raises his hammer and strikes the bell and then the
other man strikes it, until the right hour has been struck, from one
to twenty-four o'clock, which is midnight.
It seemed strange for Molly and May to go to bed at nineteen o'clock
instead of seven, but that was what they did in Italy, for there the
clock faces have twenty-four hours on them instead of twelve.
There is another tower on the piazza, too, much taller than the Clock
Tower. It is the Cathedral Bell Tower, and it stands nearly in
front of the beautiful cathedral.
A few years ago the tower which had stood on this spot for a thousand
years fell quite suddenly, for the bricks with which its walls were
made were turning to dust. But the Venetian people soon built a new
tower just like the old one on the same spot, and they expect it to
stand another thousand years.
Molly and May climbed to the top of this tall tower and looked out
over the wonderful city surrounded by the beautiful blue water. They
saw the green trees of the public gardens, and the orange and blue
sails of fishing boats coming slowly in, loaded with fish caught out
in the deeper sea. They tried to count the many gondolas moving
quietly through the busy canals, and they watched the tiny pigeons
fluttering about on the piazza below.
Around three sides of the piazza are handsome little shops, with a
broad covered sidewalk in front of them. Nearly everything that is
nice can be bought in these shops, from beautiful laces to delicious
ice cream.
[Illustration: _The Sunbonnet Babies often had cherry ice cream_]
The Sunbonnet Babies often begged to sit by one of the small tables on
the covered sidewalk and have some cherry ice cream while the band
played in the center of the piazza.
The Piazza of St. Mark is really a wonderful place. It is the open-air
reception room for all the Venetian people, as well as for many
strangers who come to visit their city--yes, and for hundreds of
beautiful pigeons, too.
But Molly and May loved the whole of Venice. They liked to wander
along the busy, narrow footpaths and see how the people worked
and played. They found they could walk all over the city on these
narrow streets, for there are nearly four hundred little foot-bridges
which cross the many canals. Some of the bridges have steps going up
on one side and down on the other.
The largest and finest bridge is called the Rialto Bridge. It has two
rows of small shops on it, much like the famous bridge in Florence.
Molly and May liked to go shopping on the Rialto. They always bought a
bag of big red cherries, for Italian cherries are almost better than
chocolate creams.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: The Gondolier's Home]
[Illustration]