When at last they paused for breath, they found themselves in a labyrinth of narrow alleys, with no idea of which way to turn to get back to the piazza. Beppina was frightened, but Beppo said confidently, “All we’ve got to do is to keep on going, and we are sure to strike either the piazza or the river, and we shall know how to get home from either one, so don’t you be afraid.”
Inspired by his boldness, Beppina followed him from one narrow passage to another, until at last the streets began to widen again, and they saw before them an open square, and heard the sound of music. They ran joyously forward and found themselves in a beautiful but strange piazza, with a great fountain playing in the centre, and fine old buildings surrounding it on all sides.
The source of the music was hidden by a throng of people gathered together near the fountain. “It’s a hand-organ,” cried Beppo eagerly. “Maybe there’s a monkey!” and he dashed into the midst of the crowd.
Beppina followed close behind, and the two worked their way under the elbows of the grown people until they reached the very centre, where they were thrilled to find a dark, swarthy man, holding a bear by a rope. The bear was dancing clumsily on his hind legs, and near by a woman with black eyes and hair and great rings in her ears was grinding an organ. On top of the organ sat a monkey in a red cap shaking a tambourine. Behind the group stood a yellow van, drawn by two donkeys gayly tricked out with scarlet nets and jingling bells.
The Twins had no sooner arrived upon the scene than the music stopped, the bear dropped upon all fours, and the monkey, hopping down from the organ, began to leap about among the people, holding out the tambourine for money. Then it was wonderful to see how rapidly the crowd melted away! In a few moments the children were the only ones left. Beppo gave his last coin to the monkey, and the woman, throwing a black look after the disappearing crowd, ground out another tune for them on the organ, while the monkey, to Beppo’s great delight, leaped upon his shoulder and searched his pockets with her little black paws.
The man, meanwhile, was preparing to start away. He handed the bear’s rope to his wife and, climbing to the driver’s seat of the van, cracked his whip, and shouted, “Aiou! aiou! you laggards!” to the donkeys. The monkey leaped from Beppo’s shoulder to the back of the bear, and, as the caravan began to move, turned somersaults on the bear’s back with such wonderful agility that no boy on earth could have resisted following her. The woman said something to her husband which the children did not understand, though they did not know that it was because she spoke to him in the Venetian dialect; then she turned to Beppo and said with an insinuating smile, “Where is it that the Signore lives?”
Now here was a woman of sense! She called him Signore, as if he were already a grown man! Beppo swelled with satisfaction and answered promptly, “In the Palace Grifoni, across the river.”
“Si, si,” said the woman, which in Italian means “Yes, yes.”
“We are going in that direction. Would you not like to go with us and lead the bear?” Oh, if Teresina could have heard that! Here were people who thought him quite big enough to lead a live bear, while she—and Mammina, too, for that matter—thought he still should be followed by a nurse!
Beppo leaped boldly forward, though