"I know that much. He was a king very fond of women," said the old man with a grin on his great toothless mouth.
"Maestro Pane, how do you know that?"
"Because I'm not a scholar do you think I know nothing? Victor Emmanuel liked hoeing his garden, and Queen Esther liked picking lavender in the fields, and that King Luigi liked girls."
"You seem to have read a great deal."
"I? I wish I had. My dear boy, all are not born under a lucky star, like you!"
Anania next knocked at Nanna's low door, but the old madman sitting on a stone close by told him she wasn't at home.
"I'm waiting for her myself, you must know. Last night Jesus Christ told me he was wanting a servant."
"Where did you see Jesus Christ?"
"Down there, in the lane. He had a long cloak and his shoes were burst. Why don't you give me a pair of shoes, Nania Atonzu?"
"They're too tight," said the boy, looking at his feet.