Italo Calvino
The NEW gardeners boy had long hair which he kept in place by a piece of stuff tied round his head with a little bow. He was walking along the path with his watering- filled to the brim and his other arm stretched out to balahe load. Slowly, carefully, he watered the nasturtiums as if p out coffee and milk, until the earth at the foot of each plant dissolved into a soft black patch; when it was large and moist enough he lifted the watering- and passed on to the plant. Maria-nunziata was watg him from the kit window, and thinking what a nice calm job gardening must be. He was a grown youth, she noticed, though he still wore shorts and that long hair made him look like a girl. She stopped washing the dishes and tapped on the window.
"Hey, boy," she called.
The gardeners boy raised his head, saw Maria-nunziata and smiled. She laughed back at him, partly because she had never seen a boy with such long hair and a bow like that on his head. The gardeners boy beed to her with one hand, and Maria-nunziata went on laughing at the funure hed made, and begauring back to explain that she had the dishes to wash.
But the boy beed again, and poi the pots of dahlias with his other hand. Why was he pointing at those dahlias ? Maria-nunziata opehe windout her head out.
"Whats up ?" she asked, and began laughing again.
"Dyou want to see something nice ?"
"Whats that ?"
"Something nice. e and see. Quickly."
"Tell me what."
"Ill give you it. Ill give you something very nice."
"But Ive the dishes to wash, and the Signorall e along and not find me."
"Do you want it or dont you? e on, now."
"Wait a sed," said Maria-nunziata, and shut the window.
When she came out through the kit door the gardeners boy was still there, watering the nasturtiums.
"Hallo," said Maria-nunziata.
Maria-nunziata seemed taller than she was because of her high- heeled shoes, which were a pity to work in, but she loved wearing them. Her little face looked like a childs amid its mass of black curls, and her legs were thin and childlike too, though her body, uhe folds of her apron, was already round and ripe. She was always laughiher at what others or she herself said.
"Hallo," said the gardeners boy. The skin on his faed chest was dark brown; perhaps because he was always half naked, as now,
"Whats your name ?" asked Maria-nunziata.
"Libereso," said the gardeners boy.
Mafia-nunziata laughed aed: "Libereso... Libereso ... what a funny name, Libereso."
"Its a name in Esperanto," he said. "In Esperanto it means liberty. "
"Esperanto," said Maria-nunziata. "Are you Esperanto?"
"Esperantos a language,"explained Libereso. "My father speaks Esperanto."
"Im Calabrian," exclaimed Maria-nunziata.
"Whats your name ?"
"Maria-nunziata," she said and laughed.
"Why are you always laughing ?"
"Why are you called Esperanto ?"
"Not Esperanto, Libereso."
"Why ?"
"Why are you called Maria-nunziata ?"
"It is the Madonnas name. Im called after the Madonna and my brother after Saint Joseph."
"Senjosef?"
Maria-nunziata burst out laughing: "Senjosef! Saint Joseph, not Senjosef, Libereso!"
"My brother," said Libereso, "is called Germinal and my sister Omnia."
"That hing you mentioned," said Maria-nunziata, "show me it."
"e on, then," said Libereso. He put dowering- and took he