Eulalie Osgood Grover

“ The road finally left the shore and climbed up over the green hills that separate the Gulf of Salerno from the Bay of Naples. It led through large vineyards and through groves of orange and lemon and olive trees, until at last it reached 86 the beautiful town of Sorrento. But Pippo did not stop his horses until he had taken his party to the prettiest and quaintest little whitewashed hotel in the town.
The nicest thing about the hotel was its garden. It seemed as if all the fruits and flowers Molly and May had ever heard of were growing in this garden. ”

“ The travelers spent two happy days with their friends in the herdsman's cabin. They would like to have spent the rest of the summer with them. Jack and Joe would like to have learned how to milk the goats and how to blow the great alpine horn.
But there were many other things which they wanted to do and to see in this wonderful little country of Switzerland, so they shouldered their knapsacks and started once more on the trail.
The way soon became steep and rocky. Gray clouds hid the snow-covered peaks. The wind blew cold, and the boys were glad of the hard climb to keep themselves warm. ”

“ Who wants to drive in the park again to-day?"
"I do!" and "I do!" and "I do!" cried Molly and May and their mother.
"Please may we drive first through the Spanish Piazza and buy some more flowers?" begged May. "Perhaps we may find Maria on the big steps. If she is there, father, may we ask her to drive in the park with us?"
"Yes, indeed!" answered her father. "We may meet the king and queen in the park. They drive there nearly every day."
"Oh! oh!" exclaimed May. "Let's buy the loveliest roses we can find and toss them into the king's carriage." ”

“ My name is Gretel."
"Do you go down to the village to school, too?" asked Joe.
"Yes," answered the little girl. "But this is vacation time now. I often take another path when I go to school. Sometimes I ride [111] home on that big car, which helps me up the mountain as far as the waterfall."
"Do you go to school all winter?" asked Jack.
"Oh, yes! except when the snow is so deep I just can't get there. All of us girls and boys have to go to school forty weeks every year. I am glad we do. I like to go to school." ”

“ There was a strange old Clock Tower which has been standing there since the time Columbus discovered America. Two big bronze men stand on top of the tower and strike the hours on a great bell with their heavy hammers. First one man raises his hammer and strikes the bell and then the other man strikes it, until the right hour has been struck, from one to twenty-four o'clock, which is midnight.
It seemed strange for Molly and May to go to bed at nineteen o'clock instead of seven, but that was what they did in Italy, for there the clock faces have twenty-four hours on them instead of twelve. ”

“ Nearly every afternoon they sat by a small table under an orange tree, or beside the blue water, or on a city sidewalk, and had nice things to eat and drink.
The people were always kind to them and the sky was nearly always sunny. It is a land of sunshine and flowers and fruit, like our own sunny Florida, though Italy is much more beautiful. It is hardly twice the size of Florida, but nearly one-third as many people live there as live in the whole of our great United States. It is a crowded, happy, lovely country, and Molly and May will never forget their wonderful journey through it. ”

“ I believe it is like the boat Molly and May's Uncle Dirk owns. A family is living on it. They have a canary bird and a dog and a cat and flowers, just as they have on Uncle Dirk's boat."
"I should rather go to Holland than to Switzerland," said Joe. "Let's ask the people on that houseboat to take us up to their Water Land."
"No, sir! I want to go to Switzerland," said Jack. "I want to see the great mountains all covered with snowbanks and forests and flowers. There is not a mountain in the whole of Holland."
[11]
"Look!" shouted Joe. "I see the first castle! ”

“ May we have them?" they cried all together
"I should rather sell flowers than write letters," said Tessa.
"So should I!" exclaimed May. "Look at the beautiful roses that man has to sell. He wants us to buy some. Please stop, Pietro!"
But before Pietro could stop his horses, the man had sprung up onto the low step of the carriage and was holding a big bunch of beautiful roses right in front of the three happy children.
"Oh! oh! oh! May we have them? How much are they?" they cried all together. 46
"Una lira, signorine, una lira," said the man, smiling and lifting his cap. ”

“ And just hear the thunder!" said Joe, looking out of the car window. "It sounds as if giants were rolling rocks down the mountain sides. I hope they will not hit our train."
"Look! The train is stopping," said Jack. "The conductor says we must all get out here and take another train. How can we change while it is pouring so hard!"
The rain was really pouring down so fast that umbrellas were of no use at all. But the Overall Boys ran to the end of the platform and climbed into the high front seat of a queer little car. ”

“ Already the Sunbonnet Babies had learned that in Italy a public square is called a piazza, and their driver told them that this square was the Spanish Piazza.
"It should be called the Flower Piazza!" exclaimed May. "It looks like a big flower market. May we buy some of those lovely cherry blossoms?"
"Yes, indeed! Buy all you want," said their driver. "This is only one of our flower markets. There are many others in the city."
"Why are the people waiting on those great stone steps?" asked Molly. "And why do they wear such odd, pretty clothes?" 119
"It should be called the Flower Piazza!" ”

“ In a few moments they were falling so fast and so thick the trampers could see only a short way ahead of them. It was hard climbing now. The path was steep and slippery. The boys had to stop often to get their breath, and their knapsacks suddenly grew very heavy.
"I suppose it is because we are up so high," said Jack. "The air is so thin up here we can't get enough of it to breathe. It is always like that on the high mountains, they say."
"I don't care," said Joe. "We are in a snow blizzard, anyhow. ”

“ It would be hard to tell all that Molly and May did and all that they saw during four happy days on the island. The people of Capri seem to live out of doors, for the warm sunshine and fresh breezes make summer and winter much alike there.
Some of the streets of the little old town are no wider than American sidewalks, and most of those that lead uphill have steps in them. Long ago, when these streets were built, there were no horses and carriages on the island. People carried their heavy loads on their heads, or on the backs of faithful donkeys. ”

“ The drummer boy and the schoolmaster and the dog led the way, while the other boys followed, two by two.
Swiss boys nearly always carry knapsacks or botany cans on their backs when they are tramping. They like to gather and study the [68] wild flowers and plants that grow by the way. Of course they always carry fresh rolls and sweet chocolate in their knapsacks, too.
These boys think nothing is so good for lunch as rolls and sweet chocolate, and the Overall Boys are sure that they are right. They are also sure that no other sweet chocolate is as good as that made in Switzerland. ”

“ Two small boys carried strings of onions over their shoulders
Soon the road led through a village where the people seemed very poor indeed. The little children were ragged and dirty and hungry, and there were, oh, so many of them! Most of the children were too small to earn money, but they were not too small to beg for it.
"Oh, I never, never saw such poor little children!" cried May. "Where do you suppose they all come from? See, they are running after our carriage and begging for un soldo. Let's give them some pennies, Molly." ”

“ These mountains are covered with green trees."
"These are not the real mountains, Joe," said Jack. "The great snow-covered mountains are farther away. I guess we shall see them [23] before long. I heard some one say that, on a clear day, the view of the snow-covered Alps from this city is one of the finest in all Switzerland, and that the sunsets here are wonderful. But let's have our breakfast now."
"All right," said Joe. "Then let's be off to hunt for the bears. But why do the people keep bears right in the middle of their city?" ”

“ We are going to have bread and honey and delicious hot chocolate for breakfast," said Molly. "And best of all, we are going to eat it under this lovely orange tree."
While they were enjoying the sweet taste of the bees' honey and the sweet smell of the orange blossoms, a more wonderful sweetness came to their ears. It came from a tall, dark tree near by. It was the sweetest bird's song the little Americans had ever heard.
"O Maria! Please tell us the name of that wonderful bird," they begged the pretty Italian maid who brought them a fresh pot of honey. ”

“ The boys [158] do a great deal of gymnasium work in the winter, which keeps them strong and trains them to be mountain guides and hunters and herdsmen.
There are three national languages in Switzerland—German and French and Italian. German is used much more than French or Italian, but nearly all Swiss boys and girls learn to speak at least two languages. Sometimes they learn three or four. In fact it is said that Swiss people learn to speak languages more perfectly than any other people in the world. They are certainly among the best educated and most courageous people in the world. ”

“ Anita said. "It helps to keep their little legs straight. And see, Giorgio's bands are fastened with red and green ribbons. Red and green are the Italian national colors, you know."
"Doesn't he like to play and to kick with his feet? Our babies do in America," said May.
"Oh, no!" answered Anita. "He isn't big enough yet to know that he has any feet. But see, he can smile for you."
"Mother is going to give baby a bath in the canal now," said Maria. "He thinks it is lots of fun and so do we. Would you like to watch him have his bath?"
"Oh, we should love to!" exclaimed Molly and May. ”

“ One of the mountain alps they crossed
"Oh, no! That was not an earthquake," said Gretel, laughing. "That was a piece of the glacier breaking off. It must have had a long fall before it found a place where it could stop."
"I am glad it couldn't fall in this direction," said Jack. "I thought I wanted to take a walk on a glacier, but I am not so sure about it now."
"Oh, yes, you must!" said Gretel. "It is lots of fun. I have been up to that glacier twice with father. There are great cracks in [124] it, so deep you can hardly see the bottom of them. It is perfectly safe to go with father. ”

“ Giorgio knows the way."
"They are going the long and easy way, while we are going the short and steep way," Giorgio said, with much motioning. "If these donkeys are not too lazy, we shall be there first," and he gave them each another quick rap on their backs with his hand.
"You should not strike your donkeys, Giorgio," Molly said. "We can make them go without your help."
"All right," said Giorgio, laughing. "You may try it, but you will never reach Anacapri."
"Oh, yes, we shall!" answered Molly. "Just watch us. Come on, May!" ”

“ Sep led the procession with his seven little goats
"The cows know what it means when the bells are tied to their necks. The summer on the alps is a long picnic for them. Mother and I go up a little way with the procession. Other families take their cows up the mountain the same day, and we sing and have a jolly time."
"Do you send all of your cows up to the higher alps in the spring?" asked Jack. [120] "Where did you get the delicious cream that your mother gave us to-day?"
"We keep one cow at home to give us milk and cream during the summer," said Gretel. ”

“ Molly and May walked along a narrow path close beside the glass wall, and watched the queer fish chase each other about in the water or lie lazily under the shadow of a big rock.
At last Molly said, "Why, the bottom of the ocean looks very much like the top of the earth. There are hills and valleys and rocks and sand and green things growing everywhere." ”

“ We have to tie her very carefully, or she runs away. She keeps going until she finds her friends 'way up the mountain. Then, of course, father or one of the boys must bring her down again."
"Oh, Gretel, when your brothers see you coming they will think you have run away because you are so lonesome without them," said Joe, laughing.
"Well, they must keep me a week before they take me home, or I shall run away again," said Gretel. "I am lonesome without them."
And so they talked, as they tramped along together up the mountain trail. Once they met a man with a large milk can on his back. ”

“ Molly and May paid him a whole lira for the fun they had in watching them.
As they were about to leave the market place they heard a clear, beautiful whistle which made them stop and listen.
"It is my blackbird, signorine," called a little boy. "See, he is here in this cage. I caught him in the field and taught him how to whistle. Now he can whistle better than any other blackbird in Florence. Would you like to buy him?"
"Why, yes, of course we should! But we cannot take care of a bird while we are traveling. He will be happier with you. ”

“ Gessler would not listen to her, [86] and the unhappy woman went away weeping.
"Tell was now sure that it was his duty to save his people from their suffering. So he let fly a swift arrow from his bow and it hit the mark, as his arrows always did.
"That was the last of Austrian Governors for Switzerland. The people have been free and have governed themselves ever since, and that, you know, is more than six hundred years," said the boys' father.
"Isn't it wonderful to be as brave as William Tell was!" said Jack after a moment.
"And isn't it wonderful to be as brave as Walter was!" said Joe. ”

“ And so, with a hoe, the man scraped away two or three inches of loose gravel, and there they saw hot sand boiling and bubbling just like a hot pudding. A cloud of black smoke rose 35 from the boiling sand, and a very bad odor made Molly and May cover their noses with their handkerchiefs. May tried to pick up a small stone near her feet to carry home with her, but it was so hot she dropped it very quickly.
"Oh! oh!" cried May. "Is the world going to burn up?"
"Oh, dear! Oh, dear! Where are we? Is this a volcano?" cried Molly. ”

“ Slowly, slowly up the mountain crept the long train. It was carrying the Overall Boys far away from lovely Lake Lucerne. It was taking them over the wonderful Brünig Pass. It was carrying them even more slowly down, down the steep slope on the other side toward the head of the deep valley, where lay the pretty Swiss village of Meiringen.
They glided over high bridges
As the boys stood by the car window they could see the long line of track far below them. Sometimes when their train passed a sharp curve, they could even see the engine at one end of the train and the last car at the other end. ”

“ One woman stood on an iron balcony, lowered a basket by a long rope
As Molly and May watched the preparations for dinner on the little balcony, May suddenly cried, "Look! Look! They have a big dog up there!"
"No, that is not a dog, it is a goat," said her father. "I suppose it lives up there with the family and gives them milk every day. That family must have more money than most of the people who live on this street. They eat snail soup for dinner, they have a balcony in front of their window, and they keep a goat." ”

“ Raspberry lemonade, as it is made in Switzerland, is much nicer than plain lemonade, at least so the Overall Boys thought.
A few minutes later they began their tramp over one of the most beautiful roads in the world. It is called the Axenstrasse, because it is built along the side of the steep mountain called the Axenberg.
A part of the way the mountain is so steep the road could not be built on the outside of it, so a tunnel has been cut right through the rocky side. ”

“ Soon Amalfi was overcome by the people of Pisa, 83 who were jealous of its power and trade. And two hundred years later a terrible storm and earthquake swept away nearly all of its fine beach and harbor, leaving only a small group of houses clinging to the steep mountain side.
So Amalfi changed from being one of the most important towns in the world to one of the least important, except for the beauty of its location.
Thousands of people from all parts of the world still go to Amalfi every year, but not to buy and sell. ”

“ The road took them first through a short, dark tunnel, not far below the monastery where they had spent the night. It then clung to the sides of the steepest mountains the children had ever seen. Wonderful stone bridges led across deep gorges, and dark tunnels took them inside the mountains.
On one of the bridges which crossed a great crack in the mountain side the Sunbonnet Babies begged to get out of the carriage.
"Very well," said Pippo. "You will see an interesting old fishing village in that gorge."
"What! A fishing village in that dark place, Pippo?" exclaimed May. ”

“ The noise and the strange faces and the stranger language might have frightened even the Overall Boys just a little, if they had been with Molly and May.
But no one needed to be frightened. The men in Naples are fine drivers, though they do like to make a great show about it. And the nervous little horses enjoy dashing through the streets to the sound of cracking whips. 19
Everybody was jolly and happy, so the Sunbonnet Babies soon forgot their fears and began to enjoy their first drive in Italy. The carriage passed along a busy street where there were many small shops and handsome stores. ”

“ Men 11 are digging away the ashes and cinders now, so we can see just how the people used to live."
"Pompeii must be right over there," said May
"Pompeii must be right over there near the foot of the mountain," said May. "Isn't it strange to think that those trees and farms may be growing on top of an old, old city?"
"Look at the big city just ahead of our boat!" cried Molly. "It is Naples. We are almost there!"
"Why, the city is the shape of a big, new moon," said May. "It curves right around 12 the shore of this lovely, blue bay, and climbs up the hillside to meet the blue sky. ”