Page:De Amicis - Heart, translation Hapgood, 1922.djvu/63

 The principal called the porter and sent him to the school; and after a minute Garrone appeared on the threshold, with his big, close-cropped head, in perfect amazement. No sooner did she catch sight of him than the woman flew to meet him, threw her arms around him, and kissed him on the head, saying:—

“You are Garrone, the friend of my little son, the protector of my poor child; it is you, my dear, brave boy; it is you!”

Then she searched hastily in all her pockets, and in her purse, and finding nothing, she detached a chain with a small cross from her neck, and put it on Garrone's neck, underneath his necktie, and said to him:—

“Take it! wear it in memory of me, my dear boy; in memory of Nelli's mother, who thanks and blesses you.”

Friday, 25th.

Garrone attracts the love of all; Derossi, the admiration. Derossi has taken the first medal; he will always be the first. This year also no one can compete with him; all recognize his superiority in all points. He is first in arithmetic, in grammar, in composition, in drawing; he understands everything at a glance; he has a marvelous memory; he succeeds in everything without effort. It seems as though study were play to him. The teacher said to him yesterday:—

“You have received great gifts from God. Be careful not to squander them.”

And besides, he is tall and handsome, with a great