Page:De Amicis - Heart, translation Hapgood, 1922.djvu/135

 your body; it is a serpent which gnaws at the brain and corrupts the heart.”

Every one stared at him except Derossi. Votini tried to make some answer, but could not; he sat there as though turned to stone, and with a white face. Then, while the master was conducting the lesson, he began to write in large characters on a sheet of paper, “I am not jealous of those who gain the first medal through favoritism and injustice.” It was a note which he meant to send to Derossi. But in the meantime. I saw that Derossi's neighbors were plotting among themselves and whispering in each other's ears, and one cut with a penknife from paper a big medal on which they had drawn a black serpent. Votini also noticed this. The master went out for a few moments. All at once Derossi's friends rose and left their seats, for the purpose of coming and solemnly presenting the paper medal to Votini. The whole class was prepared for a scene. Votini had already begun to quiver all over. Derossi exclaimed:—

“Give that to me!”

“So much the better,” they replied; “you are the one who ought to carry it.”

Derossi took the medal and tore it into bits. At that moment the master returned, and resumed the lesson. I kept my eye on Votini. He had turned as red as a coal. He took his sheet of paper very, very quietly, as though in absence of mind, rolled it into a ball, on the sly, put it into his mouth, chewed it a little, and then spit it out under the bench. Then school broke up. Votini, who was a little confused,