RING AROUND THE ROSIE

RING AROUND THE ROSIE

Giambattista Vicchi had been a writer who, however prolific____he has written hundreds of works___his fame, not to mention his existence, had not crossed the walls of the town ( city) where he was born and lived all his life. Oh, there, within the walls of his city, he was well known, and was much appreciated, indeed even celebrated. , since one day didn’t pass that he  was not interviewed or invited to give his eagerly awaited opinion on the most disparate issues  or matters. So he was asked from about waste collection to  school canteens ….his opinion was requested  even to know what time, during the day, was the best to take the dogs out for a walk, and then also about  which present give to the very old and much silk grandfather for his birthday…..

There was no day that professor Vicchi did not appear on television or that he was not interviewed by, at least, one of the newspapers with the chronicle of his beloved city, Quiquonzi

Even his numerous publications had covered a variety of topics all concerning the history, the customs, and then , of course, people, and food, and monuments, and streets, and churches, and factories of his city.

Of course, there were (had been) also the publications of his own subject, Roman history, which professor Vicchi, after several years of teaching history and philosophy in one high school of Quiqonzi,  had taught at the university, complete with the chair of Full Professor, even this one of his loved city, which, although a provincial city, it, Quiqonzi, had managed at the end to become  the seat of an University of study. Everyone knew that he, professor Vicchi, had been the busiest among the notable personalities of the city for Quiqonzi could finally have its university.

Among the numerous works of professor Vicchi there was also a book of fairies tales, titled : “FAIRIES ARE WALKING IN OUR CITY”, with the subtitle: How many fairies I met walking in Quiqonzi!

When his book of fairies tales came out, there had been rumors about the professor’s wife, a rather extravagant woman who, even if it was now at the end of the 20^th century, always wore 19^th century dresses, with long and wide skirts, squeezed waist, wide necklines and with a lot of jewels , which all people thought they were fake ,that is ,costume jewelry, but which, nevertheless, impressed, dazzling, glittering, as they were. As for her hair Professor’s wife exhibited dizzying hairstyles, with her hair gathered in a high dome, when she didn’t keep them loose, v  they were so long that reached her waist.

Then, when his book about fairies, had come out, there were those who said: “ Eh, but of course that Professor Vicchi has written fairies tales, eh, he must have been inspired by his wife, ah, she is a fairy that woman!”But there were also those who___oh, deep down, in a low voice_____said that the wife of such a professor, that woman, called Costanza Federica, but what fairy ! If anything she was rather a witch!

Twenty years had passed since the death of the highly esteemed Professor Vicchi when a young

journalist, who led a daily talk show on the most important local television, promoted celebratory ceremonies in honor of such a prestigious citizen of Quiqonzi. These celebratory initiatives induced  one of the most important publishers in the country to republish the fairies tales of Giambattista Vicchi, whose book he, the editor, had read only after the Professor’s death, remaining enchanted, absolutely enthusiastic: it was a literary work of great stature, he claimed.

The professor’s wife, she was now a woman of advanced age, but she hadn’t stopped to be extravagant. Indeed, after she had become a widow, she had started to indulge even more, at least as regards clothing, makeup , and hair , and wigs too, _____there were those who insinuated, of course in a low voice, that lady Costanza did not indulge only with regard to clothing and makeup. Oh, of course they were voices that were whispering, but how these voices, so much thin as silk threads, how they darted and spread. These rumors, these insinuations were largely due to the fact that lady Costanza , despite her increasingly advanced age , after her husband’s death had begun to alternate with the sumptuous nineteenth century dresses, dresses as a young girl, indeed as a teen ager, with hips teen ager hairstyles, too.

Indeed there were also people who whispered about strange parties that the widow of the distinguished professor used to give in her country villa.

At the presentation in the town hall of the re-edition of “ Fairies are walking in our city” by Giambattista Vicchi, the widow of the professor appeared in a very extravagant clothing. She was barefoot, she wore a red miniskirt, her legs were sheathed in green stockings, she sported  a hairdo made up of numerous little braids. But even more than with her mise the professor widow caused a great uproar with what she told. When she was asked if her husband, the very eminent, very illustrious professor Vicchi, had really met fairies, as he claimed in his book, the lady not only replied in affirmative about her husband, saying that , yes, he had often met fairies, that she too  had been present at many of his meeting with the fairies, but she even added that she continued to receive those wonderful creatures , the fairies, in her house.

“ But lady Costanza, what  are you telling us ? We all know that fairies don’t exist!” A journalist snapped.

“ Then, madam, if you regularly frequent fairies, , why didn’t you bring some of these fairies you know to the presentation of the Professor Vicchi’s book, which precisely tells of fairies?” This was one of the provocative questions which people, who attended at that great event , addressed her, without , however, succeeding  in embarrassing the lady even in the least. She , in fact, began to explain, with great calm and conviction, that oh, she can see that whoever had asked the question did not know the fairies at all, oh, that he had not the farthest idea of which creatures they were. Since only they, the fairies , could decide who can see them.

“ But…Mrs Vicchi, you’re  talking to us about fairies with an admiration, with a veneration indeed, which seems to be that (what) we are usually quite used to reserve  for Saints” The Bishop came out, somewhat indignantly. The Professor’s widow, not at all intimidated by what could be considered a warning, given the undisputed authority of whom ( of that who) had made that observation, oh then that incredible woman had gone wild. And that ( what), were they , the fairies, less than the Saints? Perhaps did Monsignor Bishop believe this? Eh, if the most excellent Bishop believe this, oh, he was wrong! Since it was said that Saints made miracles, it was only said, lady Costanza claimed, then who knows if the miracles which people believed had been made by Saints, eh, who knows that they were just fables, yes ,inventions…..Ah, she really couldn’t decide about it….When , instead, she could assured that fairies really made miracles ! She knew , she had seen with her eyes the fairies’ miracles! And what miracles!

At that point the Bishop, all red in his face, had begun to cough painfully, and he had been escorted out of the hall, in the general embarrassment which had followed the declarations of the colorful widow. Even the mayor had made a very perplexed face, he seemed to be pondering whether to have that woman taken away by his municipal police thugs, or rather he had to call an ambulance to make ( have) her locked up in psychiatry.

“ Oh, lady Costanza, but is it true? That you’re aware of wonders, let’s so called them, if we don’t want to offend anyone talking of miracles, made by fairies?(so did you see wonders made by fairies?)” A woman asked, standing up. “ But of course! I can well say it! I myself have received miracles from the fairies, and which wonderful miracles!” The lady said, all excited and perky, that she suddenly seemed young again. The invitations to talk of  the miracles she had received became pressing , people were eager, impatient to know them, there was a great expectation in the wide hall ( of the city council) . The widow of the eminent professor had to be prayed and prayed again, more and more insistently, before she decided to talk of the wonders she had benefited for herself. She kept on hesitating, saying that, oh, maybe it would have been better that they had remained a secret between her and the fairies, since her cared her privacy , and the fairies too, that certain they, the fairies, didn’t need to advertise, unlike the Saints!

When she finally made up her mind ( decided) to speak, she left everyone stunned, incredulous, to say the least. But even more her telling caused a pandemonium, as people who crowded the hall began to ask loudly, to claim to be able to have concrete proofs of what Mrs Vicchi had told.

She, the widow of  the Professor, had declared how if she had benefited from miracles by fairies! She had been benefited from much more than a single miracle, since in the twenty years after the death of her husband , with whom she had not had children, she had given birth to ten children, thanks to the help of the fairies, of course. All people present were at all stunned at that revelation, which they would never have waited.

But how, did lady Costanza mean perhaps to say that she had brought her children into the world by resorting to artificial insemination? They  had asked. And she, Mrs Vicchi, had been almost surprised, and even enraged to hear talking of artificial insemination. But what artificial insemination! She had given birth to her children, ten wonderful children, by parthenogenesis, thanks of the help of the fairies, sure, she had assured . Of course people present wanted to know why no one had ever seen these children of her. Ah, Lady Costanza then had laughed out loud and had said: oh, but you saw them, you just never thought they were my sons! All the present were completely stunned.

There were also curious people who had asked her why she and her husband had never had children., if perhaps they hadn’t wanted children. Maybe the Professor didn’t want children? The lady widow of such a man had replied almost snorting, with an air of sufficiency that ah, her husband  had not been able to have children.

At the presentation of the re-edition of Professor Vicchi’s fairy tales there were also  televisions  and the event had national resonance, perhaps even because the incredible revelations of the Professor’s widow.

All those present at the event remained between intrigued and incredulous about the lady’s shock revelation. Everyone kept on wondering if it could be true that the woman had had ten children without resorting to artificial insemination. Well, did these children really exist , or had lady Costanza, who had always been quite extravagant, invented everything? Had she invented her frequenting with fairies, as well  as  the miracles with which the fairies had benefited her, as had she invented her children, who no one had ever seen? Most people were in agreement that the children of that blessed woman did not exist at all.

But there were some people who swore to have seen, by nights of full moon a circle of children around the villa of Mrs Vicchi. The children were little boys and little girls all of the same height, who also seemed of the same age. They held by hands and sang”  Ring Around the Rosie” There were those who claimed to have also seen fairies flitting near the children.