The Sunbonnet Babies in Italy

by Eulalie Osgood Grover

Fortunately the Sunbonnet Babies' father and mother understood Tessa's language, so they could tell Molly and May in English all that Tessa said in Italian. Before long the two little girls began to understand a little of the strange language themselves.

They spent nearly the whole forenoon in the museum looking at strange, old things that had once been in the homes of Pompeii.

The city of Pompeii was buried under many feet of ashes thrown out by the volcano in the year seventy-nine. It remained buried more than seventeen hundred years. In fact, the world had forgotten all about the old city, when one day an Italian workman discovered a very old house right underneath his farm. Some say he was digging a well when he discovered it.

Other men helped dig away the earth and ashes, and now, after more than a hundred years, a large part of the old city is uncovered.

The strangest thing about it is that the ashes and cinders which buried the city did very little injury to the houses, except to crush in the roofs.

Many of the beautiful paintings on the walls of the houses, as well as lovely marble vases and fountains, are almost as perfect now as when they were buried so many, many years ago. But the sun and the rain and the air might spoil them if they were left in the uncovered houses, now that the ashes have been taken out. So the best things have been carried up to the city of Naples and put in the museum there for safe-keeping.

It was some of these interesting old things Tessa wanted the Sunbonnet Babies to see. They wandered together through room after room of the great museum, looking at vases and dishes of all shapes and kinds. There were queer old bronze pots and pans and kettles, and lovely bottles and pitchers made of beautiful blue-green glass. There was an iron fireplace, and there were queer bronze lamps and money chests and rings and bracelets and combs and needles and thimbles and fishhooks. But the children were most interested in some slates and slate pencils and inkstands and pens and musical instruments which they found there.

"It looks as if the boys and girls who lived two thousand years ago had to study and practice just as we do now," said Molly.

"Yes, and the women baked bread, too," said Tessa. "Here are some round loaves that a poor woman was taking out of her oven when the ashes from the volcano covered her."