Page:De Amicis - Heart, translation Hapgood, 1922.djvu/247

Rh railings to see her pass, and to put their arms through to greet her, once more offering her bits of bread, bites of apple, cheese-rinds, and all screaming together:—

“Good-bye! good-bye! good-bye! Come back tomorrow! Come again!”

As my mother made her escape, she passed her hand once more over those hundreds of tiny outstretched hands as over a garland of living roses, and finally reached the street in safety, covered with crumbs and spots, rumpled and dishevelled, with one hand full of flowers and her eyes swelling with tears, and happy as though she had come from a festival. And inside there was still audible a sound like the twittering of birds, saying:—

“Good-bye! good-bye! Come again, lady!”

Wednesday, 5th.

As the weather stays fine, they have made us pass from indoor gymnastics to gymnastics with apparatus in the garden.

Garrone was in the principal's office yesterday when Nelli's mother, that blonde woman dressed in black, came in to get her son excused from the new exercises. Every word cost her an effort; and as she spoke, she held one hand on her son's head.

“He is not able to do it,” she said to the principal. But Nelli seemed hurt at this exclusion from the apparatus, at having this added humiliation imposed upon him.