Page:Under the shadow of Etna; Sicilian stories from the Italian of Giovanni Verga (IA undershadowofetn00vergrich).pdf/159



HEY had bought it at the Fair of Buccheri when it was still a young colt, and if it caught sight of a she ass, it would run to it and try to nurse; for this reason, it had got blows and kicks on its rump, and it was all in vain for them to shout "arricca"—get up—to it.

Compare Neli, when he saw how lively and obstinate it was, and how it licked its nostrils when the blows fell, and how it kept wagging its ears, said,—

"That's the one for me."

And he went straight up to the proprietor, with his hand in his pocket on thirty-five lire.

"The colt is handsome," said the proprietor, "and is worth more than thirty-five lire. No matter if it has a white and black