"None yet! One's been here bargaining, and he liked it. But he
objected to the price, and went off again with the money in his
pocket. There he is, over yonder with the white cap, beyond that flock
of sheep. He hasn't bought anything yet; that means, he'll be back
again."
The woman was about to squat down on a couple of stones near her foal,
to see whether it would be sold or not. But her husband said to her,--
"Off with you. If they see you are waiting, they won't finish the
bargain."
Meantime the foal was nosing about between the legs of several
she-asses that were passing by. It wanted to nurse, for it was half
starved. It was just opening its mouth to bray when the _padrone_
reduced it to silence by a shower of blows because they had not wanted
it.
"It's still there," said _compare_ Neli in his brother's ear,
pretending to turn round and look for something. "If we wait till the
Ave Maria, we may be able to get it for five _lire_ cheaper than the
price that we offered."
The May sunshine was warm so that gradually amid all the noise and
bustle of the fair a great silence followed throughout the whole
field, as if no one were there: then it was that the mistress of the
young ass came to her husband again and said:
"I wouldn't hold out for five _lire_ more or less, for to-night we
have not enough to buy our supper and you know well that the foal will
eat his head off in a month if he remains on our hands."
"If you don't go off," replied her husband, "I'll give you a kick that
you'll remember."
* * * * *
Thus passed the hours at the fair; but of all those who passed in
front of the Saint Joseph's ass not one stopped to look at it, and
that, too, though the _padrone_ had chosen the most humble place near
the animals of small value, so that with its magpie skin it might not
be compared with the beautiful bay mules and the sleek horses! Some
one like _compare_ Neli was wanted to buy his Saint Joseph's ass, at
the sight of which every one at the fair was laughing.
The colt, after such a long waiting in the sun, let his head and ears
hang down; his _padrone_ went and squatted on the stones, with his
hands also hanging between his knees and the halter in his hands,
gazing at the long shadows that began to be cast across the plain from
the sun, which was preparing to set, and at the legs of all those
animals that had not as yet found purchasers.
Just then _compare_ Neli and his brother, and a friend of theirs whom
they had picked up for the occasion, came sauntering by, with their
noses in the air; but the owner of the young ass turned his head aside
so as not to seem to be on the look out for them. And _compare_ Neli's
friend, squinting up his eyes, remarked as if the idea had just
occurred to him:
"O, see that Saint Joseph's ass! Why don't you buy that one, _compare_
Neli?"
"I bargained it this morning; but he asks too much for it. Besides, I
should be the laughing stock of the town if I were seen with that
black and white beast. You see no one has had a thought of buying it
so far."
"That's so, but the color makes no difference in the use that you make
of one."