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Italo CalvinoThe 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 rais>?</a>ed 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 her by the hand.
Maria-uunziata hesitated. "Tell me what it is first."
"Youll see," he said, "but you must promise me to take care of it."
"Will you give it to me ?"
"Yes, Ill give it to you." He had led her to a er of the garden wall. There the dahlias standing in pots were as tall as themselves.
"Its there."
"What is ?"
"Wait."
Maria-nunziata peeped over his shoulder. Libereso bent down to move a pot, lifted another by the wall, and poio the ground.
"There," he said.
"What is it ?" asked Maria-nunziata. She could not see any-thing; the er was in shadow, full of wet leaves and garden mould.
"Look, its moving," said the boy. Then she saw something which looked like a moving stone or leaf, somethi, with eyes a; a toad.
"Mammamial"
Maria-nunziata went skipping off among the dahlias in her high heeled shoes. Libereso squatted down by the toad and laughed, showing the white teeth in the middle of his brown face.
"Are yhtened? Its only a toad! Why are yhtened ?
"A toad!" gasped Maria-nunziata.
"Of course its a toad. e here," said Libereso.
She poi it with a trembling finger. "Kill it."
He put out his hands, as if to protect it. "I dont want to. Its SO nice."
"A oad ?"
"All toads are hey eat the worms."
"Oh!" said Maria-nunziata, but she did not e any nearer.
She was chewing the edge of her apron and trying to watch from the er of her eyes.
"Look how pretty it is," said Libereso and put a hand on it.
Maria-nunziata approached, no longer laughing, and looked on open mouthed. "No ! No ! Dont touch it !"
With one finger Lihereso was stroking the toads grey-green back, which was covered with shiny warts.
"Are you mad ? Dont you know they burn when you touch them, and make your hand swell up ?"
The boy showed her his big brown hands, the palms covered with a layer of yellow callouses.
"Oh, it wont hurt me," he said. "And its so pretty."
Now hed takeoad by file scruff of the neck like a cat and put it in the palm of his band. Maria-mmziata, still chewing the edge of her apron, came nearer and crouched down beside him.
"Mammamia!" she exclaimed.
They were both croug down behind the dahlias, and Maria-nunziatas rosy knees were grazing the brown, scratched ones of Libereso. Libereso cupped his other hand over the back of the toad, and caught it every now and again as it tried to slip Out.
"You stroke it, Maria-nunziata," he said.
The girl hid her hands in her apron.
"No," she said firmly.
"What ?" he said. "You dont want it ?"
Maria-nunziata lowered her eyes, gla the toad, and lowered them again quickly.
"No," she said.
"But its yours. Im giving it to you," said Libereso.
Maria-nunziatas eyes clouded over. It was sad to refuse a present, no one ever gave her presents, but the toad really did revolt her.
"You take it home if you like. Itll keep you pany."
"No," she said.
Libereso put the toad ba the ground and it quickly hopped off and squatted uhe leaves.
"Good-bye, Libereso."
"Wait a minute."
"But I must go and finish washing the dishes. Tile Signora doesnt like me ing out in the garden."
"Wait. I want to give you something. Something really nice. e along."
She began following him along the gravel paths, What a strange boy this Libereso was, with that long hair, and pig up toads in his hands.
"How old are you, Libereso ?"
"Fifteen. And you ?"
"Fourteen."
"NOW, or on your birthday ?"
"On my birthday. Assumption Day."
"Has that passed yet ?"
"What, dont you know when Assumption Day is ?" She began laughing.
"No."
"Assumption Day, when theres the procession. Dont you go to the procession ?"
"Me? No."
"Bae there are lovely processions. Its not like here, bae. There are big fields full of bergamots, nothing but bergamots, and everyone picks bergamots from m till night. Ive fourteen brothers and sisters and they all pick bergamots; five died when they were babies, and then my mot tetanus, and we were in a train for a week to go to Uncle
Carmelos, a of us all slept in a garage there. Tell me, whyve you got such long hair ?"
They had stopped.
"Because it grows like that. Youve got long hair too."
"Im a girl. If you wear long hair, youre like a girl."
"Im not like a girl. You dont tell a boy from a girl by the hair."
"Not by the hair ?"
"No, not by the hair."
"Why not by the hair ?"
"Would you like me to give you something nice ?"
"Oh, yes."
Libereso began moving among the arum lilies, budding white trumpets silhouetted against the sky. Libereso looked into each, groped around with two fingers, and then hid something in his fist. Maria-nunziata had not goo the flower-bed, and was watg him, with silent laughter. What was he up to now?
Libereso had now looked into all the lilies. He came up to her holding one hand over the other.
"Open your hands," he said. Maria-nunziata cupped her hands, but was afraid to put them under his.
"What have you got in there ?"
"Something very nice. Youll see."
"Show me, first."
Libereso opened his hands a her look inside. His palm was full of multi-coloured rose-chafers, red and blad even purple ones, but the greehe prettiest. They were buzzing and slithering over each other and waving little black legs in the air. Maria-nunziata hid her hands under her apron.
"Here," said Libereso. "Dont you like them ?"
"Yes," said Maria-nunziata uainly, still keeping her hands under her apron.
"When you hold them tight they tickle; would you like to feel ?"
Maria-nunziata held out her hands timidly, and Libereso poured a cascade of rose-chafers of every colour into them.
"Dont be frightehey wont bite you."
"Mammamia!" It hadnt occurred to her that they might bite her. She opened her hands and the rose-chafers spread their wings and the beautiful colours vanished and there was nothing
to be seen but a swarm of blasects flying about aling.
"What a pity. I try to give you a present and you dont want it."
"I must go and do the washing up. The Signora will be cross if she t find me."
"Dont you want a present ?"
"What are you going to give me now ?"
"e and see."
He took her hand again and led her through the flower-beds.
"I must get back to the kit soon, Libereso. Theres a chi to pluck, too."
"Poof!"
"Why poof?"
"We dohe flesh of dead birds or animals."
"Why, are you always i ?"
"What do you mean ?"
"Well, what do you eat then ?"
"Oh, all sorts of things, artichokes, lettuces, tomatoes. My father doesnt like us to eat the flesh of dead animals. Or coffee ar, either."
"What dyou do with yar ration, then ?&qu<u>.</u>ot;
"Sell it on the black market."
They had reached some climbing plants, starred all over with red flowers.
"What lovely flowers," said Maria-nunziata. "Dyou ever pick them ?"
"What for ?"
"To take to the Madonna. Flowers are for the Madonna."
"Mesembryanthemum."
"Whats that ?"
"This plants called Mesembryanthemum in Latin. All flowers have Latin names."
"The Mass is in Latin, too."
"I dont know about that."
Libereso was now peering closely between the winding branches on the wall.
"There it is," he said.
"What is ?"
It was a lizard green with black markings, basking in the sun.
"Ill catch it."
"No."
But he got closer to the lizard, very slowly, with both hands open; a jump, and hed caught it. He laughed happily, showing his white teeth. "Look out, its esg!" First a stunned-looking head, then a tail, slithered out between his closed fingers.
Maria-nunziata was laughing too, but every time she saw the lizard she skipped bad pulled her skirt tight about her knees.
"So you really dont wao give you anything at all ?" said Libereso, rather sadly, and very carefully he put the lizard ba the wall; off it shot. Maria-nunziata kept her eyes lowered.
"e along," said Libereso, and took her hand again.
"Id like to h<s></s>ave a lipstid paint my lips red on Sundays to go out dang. And a black veil to put on my head afterwards for Beion."
"On Sundays," said Libereso, "I go to the woods with my brother and we fill two sacks with pine es. Then, in the evening, my father reads out loud from Kropotkin. My tither has hair
down to his shoulders and a beard right down to his chest. And he wears shorts in summer and winter. And I do drawings for the Anarchist Federation windows. The figures in top hats are business men, those in caps are generals, and those in round hats are priests; then I paint them in water colours."
They came to a pond with round water-lily leaves floating on it.
"Quiet, now," anded Libereso.
Uhe water a frog could be seen swimming up with sharp little strokes of its green arms and legs. It suddenly surfaced, jumped on to a water-lily leaf and sat down in the middle.
"There," cried Libereso and put out a hand to catch it, but Maria-nunziata let out a cry, "Ut!" and the frog jumped bato the water. Libereso began searg for it, his nose almost toug the surface.
"There it is."
He thrust in a hand and pulled it out in his closed fist.
"Two of them together," he cried. "Look. Two of them, on top of each other."
"Why ?" asked Maria-nunziata.
"Male and female stuck together," said Libereso. "Look what they are doing." Aried to put the frogs into Maria-nunziatas hand. Maria-nunziata wasnt sure if she was frightened because they were frogs, or because they were male and female stuck together.
"Leave them alone," she said. "You mustnt touch them."
"Male and female," repeated Libereso. "Theyre making tadpoles." A cloud passed over the sun. Suddenly Maria-nunziata began to feel anxious.
"Its late. The Signoras sure to be looking for me."
But she did not go. Ihey went on wandering around though the sun did not e out again. And then he found a s was a tiny little snake behind a hedge of bamboo. Libereso wound it round his arm and stroked its head.
"Once I used to train snakes. I had a dozen of them, one was long and yellow, a water snake. But it shed its s..kin and escaped. Look at this one opening its mouth, look how its tongue is forked. Stroke it, it wont bite."
But Maria-nunziata was frightened of soo. Then they went to the rock pool. First he showed her the fountains, and opened all the jets, which pleased her very much. Then he showed her the goldfish. It was a lonely old goldfish, and its scales were already whitening. At last; Maria-nunziata liked the goldfish. Libereso began to move his hands round ier to catch it; it was very difficult, but when hed caught it Maria-nunziata could put it in a bowl and keep it i. He mao catch it, but didnt take it out of the water in case it suffocated.
"Put your hands here, stroke it," said Libereso. "You feel it breathing; it has fins like paper and scales that prickle. not much though."
But Maria-nunziata did not want to stroke the fish either.
Iunia bed the earth was very soft, and Libereso dug about with his fingers and pulled out some long, soft worms.
But Maria-nunziata ran away with little shrieks.
"Put your hand here," said Libereso, pointing to the trunk of an old peach tree. Maria-nunziata did not uand why, but she put her hand there; then she screamed and ran to dip it in the pool. For when she had pulled her hand away it was covered with ants. The peach tree was a mass of them, tiny black &quentine" ants.
"Look," said Libereso and put a hand orunk. The ants could be seen crawling over his hand but he didnt brush them off.
"Why ?" asked Maria-nuuziata. "Why are you letting yourself get covered with ants ?"
His hand was now quite black, and they were crawling up his wrist.
"Take your hand away," moaned Maria-nunziata. "Youll get them all over you."
The ants were crawling up his naked arm, and had already reached his elbow.
Now his whole arm was covered with a veil of moving black dots; they reached his armpit but he did not brush them off.
"Get rid of them, Libereso. Put your arm in water!"
Libereso laughed, some ants now even crawling from his ne to his face.
"Libereso! Ill do whatever you like! Ill accept all those presents you gave me."
She threw her arms round his ned started to brush off the ants.
Smiling his brown and white smile, Libereso took his hand away from the tree and began nonchalantly dusting his arm. But he was obviously touched.
"Very well, then, Ill give you a really big present, Ive decided. The biggest present I ."
"Whats that ?"
"A hedgehog."
"Mammamia! The Signora! The Signoras calling me!"
Maria-nunziata had just finished washing the dishes when she heard a pebble beat against the window. Underh stood Libereso with a large basket.
"Maria-nunziata, let me in. I want to give you a surprise."
"No, you t e up. What have you got there ?"
But at that moment the Sign the bell, and Maria-nunziata vanished.
Wheuro the kit, Libereso was no loo be seeher ihe kit or underh the window. Maria-nunziata went up to the sink. Then she saw the surprise.
On every plate she had left to dry there was a croug frog; a snake was coiled up inside a sau, there was a soup bowl full of lizards, and slimy snails were making iridest streaks all over the glasses. In the basin full of water swam the lonely old goldfish.
Maria-nunziata stepped back, but between her feet she saw a great big toad. And behind it were five little toads in a liaking little hops towards her across the blad white tiled floor.
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