"Love's Education

Author: (Italian) Amichei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-11-01
Features:
Brave Ropeni
On the 21st day of the year, it was a Friday. At the beginning of the week, an accident occurred. On the way to school in the morning, I was repeating what the teacher had said the day before to my father. Suddenly, I saw the street was crowded with people, all rushing toward the school gate. Suddenly, my father said, "There's been an accident. It's not a good start to the year!" We struggled through the crowd. The hall was filled with parents and children. The teachers tried to get them into the classroom, but there was no space. Everyone looked toward the principal's office. I heard them saying, "Poor child! Poor Ropeni!" Looking over their heads, at the far end of the room, we could see a police hat and the principal's bald head. Then, a gentleman wearing a top hat entered, and people began to speculate, "It must be a doctor." My father asked a male teacher, "What exactly happened?" "A wheel ran over his foot," the teacher replied. "His foot was crushed!" another said. He was a second-grade boy who, on his way to school, saw a younger child run away from his mother and fall in the middle of the road. At that moment, a bus was approaching the child, and it was just a few steps away from hitting him. Ropeni immediately rushed forward to help the child up and push him to a safe place, but before he could pull his own foot back, the bus's wheels ran over it. He was the son of the cavalry commander.
When we were told about it, a woman, like a madwoman, rushed into the hall, desperately squeezing through the crowd: She was Ropeni's mother, who had just arrived. Another woman hurried toward her, embraced her, and burst into tears: She was the mother of the child who had been saved. The two of them rushed into the room, and desperate cries filled the air: "Oh, my Giulio! My child!" A moment later, a carriage stopped at the door, and the principal came out with the boy. The boy's head was slumped against the principal's shoulder, his face pale, his eyes closed. Everyone stood silently, only hearing the sobs of the boy's mother. The principal paused for a moment, his face also quite pale, and slowly lifted the boy a little so that everyone could see him. All the male and female teachers, parents, and children murmured, "Brave, Ropeni! Brave, poor child!" They all waved kisses toward the boy; the female teachers and children kissed his hands and arms. He opened his eyes and said, "My schoolbag!" The mother of the child who had been saved brought the schoolbag to him and said tearfully, "I'll hold it for you, my dear little angel, I'll hold it for you!" Meanwhile, she helped the mother of the boy, who was covering her face with her hands and crying. They went out, carefully placing the injured boy into the carriage, and then left. Then, we all quietly entered the school.
The Calabrian boy
On the 22nd day of the week, it was Saturday. Yesterday afternoon, when the teacher was telling us that poor Ropeni would have to use crutches, the principal brought in a new student. This person had a brown face, black hair, and large black eyes, with two thick eyebrows on his forehead. He was dressed entirely in dark clothes, with a black Moroccan leather belt around his waist. The principal whispered to the teacher.