AS WE DROVE through the foothills of the Alps, two small boys stopped us on the outskirts of Verona. They were selling wild strawberries, scarlet berries that looked delicious against the green leaves lining the wicker baskets.
“Don’t buy,” warned Luigi, our cautious driver. “You will get fruit much better in Verona. Besides, these boys …” He shrugged his shoulders to convey his disapproval of their shabby appearance.
One boy wore a worn jersey and cut-off khaki pants, the other a shortened army tunic gathered in loose folds about his skinny frame. Yet, gazing at the two little figures, with their brown skin, tangled hair and dark earnest eyes, we felt ourselves strangely attracted. My companion spoke to the boys and discovered that they were brothers. Nicola, the elder, was 13; Jacopo, who barely came up to the door handle of the car, was nearly 12. We bought their biggest basket, then set off towards town.
Verona is a lovely city, rich in history, with quiet medieval streets and splendid buildings of an exquisite pale honey colour. Romeo and Juliet are reputed to have lived there. Bombed in the recent war, it has lost its bridges, but not its gaiety or charm.
Next morning, coming out of our hotel, we drew up short. There, bent over shoeshine boxes beside the fountain in the public square, doing brisk business, were our two young friends of the previous afternoon.
We watched for a while, then, as trade slackened, we went over. They greeted us with friendly faces. “I thought you picked fruit,” I said. “We do many things, sir,” Nicola answered seriously. He glanced at us hopefully. “Often we show visitors through the town … to Juliet’s tomb and other places of interest.”
This story is from the March 2020 edition of Reader's Digest India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the March 2020 edition of Reader's Digest India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
THE UNBELIEVABLE MR RIPLEY
The creator of Believe It or Not had an insatiable curiosity about strange and astonishing facts
HE OPENED UP THE ARC TIC
\"You don't just sit and wait for adventure to come,\" famed polar explorer Knud Rasmussen liked to explain.\"You go out and make it happen!\"
Discovering Babasaheb
This Dalit history month—which also marks the 134\" birth anniversary of Dr B. R. Ambedkar, we recount four momentous incidents from his life
Lion in the Living Room
Five decades after two young men brought a playful cub into their London home, the tale has touched a whole new generation
The Many Roles of SUNIL DUTT
Through many personal tragedies, this favourite matinee idol finds strength and solace in helping others
AGATHA CHRISTIE MURDER BY THE BOOK
More widely read than any other English writer, she baffled the world with masterly tales of murder and remained something of a mystery herself
THE DAY WE MADE Flying History
Ona sunny September day in 1913, the author set three world records ina homemade flying machine
THE COMMANDO WITH THE TATTOO
Ganesh Dhangde was just six years old when he got lost. Twenty years later, his mother had a visitor
MARILYN: HER MAGIC LINGERS ON
The real Marilyn Monroe was nobody you'd look at twice—unless she wanted you to
I Think, Therefore, I Spam...
...has become the way forward for too many e-mail pests. Here's how I deal with them every single day