Every day Antonio, their gondolier, came to take the Sunbonnet Babies
and their parents for a ride in his graceful boat.
Antonio usually wore blue trousers and a white shirt, open at the neck
and fastened with a large red tie. But some days he dressed all in
white, with a bright red sash around his waist. Then he looked very
handsome indeed.
One morning Antonio invited the Sunbonnet Babies to visit his home and
see his little girls. Antonio had lived in America seven years and
could speak English quite well.
"My little girls want to see you very much," he said. "I have told
them all about your pretty blue eyes and your big sunbonnets. Will you
come with me to-day?"
So it happened that Molly and May were soon gliding through narrow
canals into a part of Venice they had not seen before.
It was morning, and they passed a milk man delivering his milk in a
flat-bottomed boat.
"That is a new kind of milk cart," exclaimed Molly. "In Naples they
have live milk carts, and in Holland they have dog carts, and here in
Venice they have boats."
"And see! There is a man with a boat load of vegetables," said May.
"He has just sold a string of onions and a cauliflower to the woman
standing in the doorway. If she should step out of her door she would
step right into the canal. O Antonio! Is that the only door into her
house?"
"Oh, no!" said Antonio. "Nearly every house in Venice has a canal door
on one side and a footpath door on the other side."
"See the woman up there on her balcony," said Molly. "She is lowering
a basket by a long rope. What is she saying, Antonio?"
"She wants a cauliflower and a string of onions, too, but she thinks
the man is asking too much for them. She has put a lira into her
basket and she is telling the man that he must not touch it unless he
is willing to give her a good cauliflower and a long string of onions
for it. The other woman had to pay a lira and a half for them. We will
watch and see what happens."
[Illustration: _He put them into the basket and look out the lira_]
"The man talks as if he didn't like it," said Molly. "But see! He is
putting them into her basket and is taking out the lira. Now he has
laid a red rosebud on top of the onions. He is lifting his hat
and smiling at her while she pulls up the basket."
"I knew she would get them," said Antonio. "She is a good business
woman."
As they glided along under the arch of a low bridge, May asked, "How
can your water streets always look so clean, Antonio? Don't people
ever throw things into them?"
"Oh, yes!" answered Antonio, "But our canals are all washed out twice
a day. The tide brings two or three feet of water into every canal in
Venice, and when it goes out it carries all the refuse away into the
sea. It is very easy to keep our city streets clean."
"But, Antonio, why did the people want to build a city 'way out here
in the water? Why didn't they stay on the land?" asked Molly.
"Well, it was because, thirteen hundred years ago, the Huns came down
from the north and drove many of the Italian people away from their
homes and spoiled their towns. The only safe place for them seemed to
be out here on some small, low islands, so they came and began to make
new homes for themselves. They soon liked it here and built
better homes and fine ships. They sailed their ships far away and
traded with many people. They built their houses and beautiful palaces
and churches on great wooden posts which they brought from other
lands. After a while their city became the richest and most beautiful
city in all the world. We are not so rich now, but Venice is just as
beautiful and we are very proud of her."
"Of course you are," said May. "It is like living in a wonderful,
great picture book. I should like to live here always."
"Well, this is where my little children live," said Antonio, as he
stopped his gondola in front of a low door just above the water's
edge.
"Anita mia! Maria! Come quickly! Here are two little friends for you."
As he called, two little girls about as tall as Molly and May came
bounding to the door. They had large brown eyes and brown, curly hair,
and their cheeks were as pink as roses.
Molly and May thought the little Italian girls were lovely, but Anita
and Maria never had dreamed of such beautiful blue eyes and such
lovely golden hair as they found under the two pretty sunbonnets.
[Illustration: _They led the Sunbonnet Babies into their house_]
They took the Sunbonnet Babies each by the hand and led them into
their house. It was a large, stone house, and they lived on the first
floor, not much above the canal.
The little guests were taken through the large hall, which was the
parlor, too, out into a small courtyard beyond. Though this yard had a
stone floor, it looked like a real little garden. There were long
boxes of vines and blooming plants on the walls, and two or three
small trees in large pots. Lying on a pillow in a shady corner was a
dear little baby boy.
[Illustration: _Lying on a pillow was a dear little baby boy_]
Anita and Maria were so proud of their baby brother they wanted to
show him to Molly and May the very first thing.
"His name is Giorgio," said Maria. "He is only three months old. See,
I can hold him in my arms."
"Where are his little feet?" asked Molly. "Why is he tied up so
tightly?"
"Oh, we always do our babies up in long linen bands," Anita said. "It
helps to keep their little legs straight. And see, Giorgio's bands are
fastened with red and green ribbons. Red and green are the Italian
national colors, you know."
"Doesn't he like to play and to kick with his feet? Our babies do in
America," said May.
"Oh, no!" answered Anita. "He isn't big enough yet to know that he has
any feet. But see, he can smile for you."
"Mother is going to give baby a bath in the canal now," said Maria.
"He thinks it is lots of fun and so do we. Would you like to watch him
have his bath?"
"Oh, we should love to!" exclaimed Molly and May.
So they watched Giorgio's mother unwind the yards and yards of linen
bands which held his tiny legs so stiff and straight. When the little
clothes were all off, the mother fastened a soft cord loosely around
under the baby's arms. Then from the stone steps in front of her door,
she lowered her baby very gently into the water of the canal. Up
and down she dipped him, up and down, while he laughed and splashed
like a real boy.
[Illustration: _Up and down she dipped him_]
"Just see him kick!" cried May. "He does know that he has feet, Anita,
and he knows how to use them, too. Isn't he having a good time?"
"And isn't he cunning?" said May.
At last the splashing and rubbing were over, and Giorgio's mother
covered him with a warm shawl and carried him into her kitchen. She
laid him on a high table, and wound the long linen bands around
the little legs once more.
"When Giorgio is a bit stronger," she said, "I shall loosen his bands
so that he can kick and play. Then it will not be long before he will
be wearing little pants. Now he must go back to his pillow in the
courtyard while I get our dinner. We want you little girls to have
dinner with us."
"Thank you!" said Molly and May. "We should like to very much. This is
a lovely kitchen. Do you keep all of your dishes on the walls?"
"Oh, no, indeed!" Maria answered, laughing. "Mother keeps only her
best brass and pewter dishes on the walls. Some of them are very, very
old. When Anita and I are married, mother will give them to us and we
shall put them on our kitchen walls. We think they are beautiful."
"Yes, they are lovely," said May, "but what an odd stove you have. It
looks like a part of the wall."
"It is built right into the wall," said Anita. "Our dinner is cooking
in the two black kettles hanging over the fire. It will be ready
very soon now."
There was boiled fish in one of the kettles and corn meal mush, or
polenta, in the other one. The poorer people of Venice have polenta
and boiled fish for dinner nearly every day. Perhaps once a week they
have meat and a fresh vegetable, and sometimes macaroni with grated
cheese sprinkled over it.
Molly and May liked the polenta and boiled fish very much. It was
nicely cooked, and they were hungry. When they had eaten all they
wanted, a basket of ripe red cherries was placed on the table. Antonio
had brought the cherries home as a special treat for the Sunbonnet
Babies and his own little girls. And how they did enjoy them!
After dinner Antonio took Molly and May back to their father and
mother in the hotel. Anita and Maria went, too, for they liked to ride
in their father's fine gondola, and they wanted to be with their
little new friends as long as possible.
"I wish we had something nice to give them, so they will never
forget us, May," whispered Molly, as they stepped out of the gondola.
[Illustration: _Anita and Maria liked to ride in their father's
gondola_]
"I know what we can do, Molly. Let's give them our sunbonnets. Mother
has two more in her trunk, and we are going home soon, you know."
In another moment the two pretty sunbonnets were changed from the
golden heads to the brown. Molly tied her pink bonnet over Anita's
brown curls and May tied her blue bonnet over Maria's brown curls.
"Now there will always be two Sunbonnet Babies in Italy," they said,
laughing. "Thank you for our happy, happy day. Addio, little Italian
Sunbonnet Babies! Addio!"
[Illustration]