In the moonlight Anna could see that tears filled his eyes. She began to feel sorry for him.
"Are you a very poor little boy?" she asked, innocently.
"Oh, yes, very, very poor!" he moaned. "I have no home. No mother. No father. Everyone is cruel to me. The little dog was my only friend, and now you have taken her from me."
| AMALFI |
Tony was born with the Italian gift for beautiful acting. He now acted his best for Anna. While some of his pitiful tale was true, some was sprinkled with the fairy dust of fancy.
"Every morning Guido beats me," he made up. "He uses a big stick. And when he stops beating me, he makes me sing to him. Then, all day long he feeds me bird-seed mixed with soap and nothing else!"
Anna's gentle eyes grew wider and wider, her tender heart softer and softer.
Tony warmed to his work. His success encouraged him. He began to gesture with his arms. He began to invent wild tales.