(Traduzione a cura della dott.ssa Mena Capolongo)
Once upon a time there was a city mouse called Gigione, who lived with his children and his sweet Ninetta in a railway man’s house, in an old barrel made of oak, which still had the smell of good wine.
“How nice it would be to travel!” the six young mice said to each other every night before slipping into their straw bed, thinking about their landlord.
“And to try all the different types of cheese…! Robiola, mascarpone, gorgonzola, caciocavallo, provolone, parmesan cheese, gruyère…”
“Stop, stop!... Just the thought of it makes my mouth water!”
It was a happy family, without a care. They always had enough food, because in the ce
llar there were all sorts of good things to eat and the house was safe and the garden big.
Father mouse repeatedly told his children to beware of the neighbor’s cat, a terrifying hunter, always lying in wait behind the bushes.
“He’s a very bad cat! He would eat you all together in one mouthful.”
“And if he were full” their mother added, “he would save you over for dinner!
“Our landlord’s cat let’s you play on his territory because we grew up together in this house. We are true friends…The others are our enemies! The instinct to eat mice is in their nature…you must run away every time you feel their presence, if you care about your lives!”
One sad day the railway man went away and with him the food that the cellar was always full of. In his place a poor family and a terrible black cat arrived disturbing the peace and quiet of their home. It seemed he didn’t have any other care in this world than pulling the mice’s tails and teasing them without mercy.
Only when the cat was sleeping soundly the mice could come out of their barrel and search for something to munch.
“We have to leave this house” mother mouse ordered one evening, “before it’s too late!”
While they were jumping over the hedge, the six small mice turned around to give a last glance at that bit of heaven where they had been so happy.
“We’ll find a better place!” they whispered holding each other in a long hug.
“Homesickness can kill you!” said father mouse, to give courage to his family. But his eyes were sad. “It’s time to go!”
He took his wife by the hand and led his children towards a new life.
* * *
It wasn’t easy to find a new place to live, in an unknown land, where the best ones had already been taken by other mice. They had to make the best of a temporary solution among the roots of an oak tree in the town’s square, until they found a bigger and more comfortable house.
The six small mice were very unhappy! Their life in the square was difficult and dangerous especially for a family used to the peacefulness of the cellar.
“You need to be patient” Gigione repeated continuously. “In spring it will be easier to find a garden, where no one will bother us anymore.
“But now we must think about winter that is on the doorstep” Ninetta said “and we need to be ready to face it.”
The rain started to fall and the wind began to howl, sweeping away from the square all the remaining food. Every morning mother and father mouse had to go farther and farther to find something for their children to eat.
One evening, Gigione, feeling discouraged, decided to ask an old owl, famous for his wisdom, for advice.
“Are you hungry?...Enter the town library. There you will find everything you need!”
“But… there are only books!”
“Great food for mice, my friend! Great food!... Eat them all. Nobody ever reads them anyway!” the owl pronounced. “At least they will satisfy your hunger!”
Without delay Gigione returned to the square and entered the town library that was full of dusty books on rusty iron shelves. He looked around in awe and opened his mouth wide at the sight of all those good things.
“So what are you waiting for?” He thought to himself.
He made his way, then, through dense cobwebs, jumping on an unlucky volume with a thick cover and gave it a bite without thanking the Lord.
He hungrily ate some of its pages to fill his empty stomach.
“It’s really delicious!” he exclaimed when he was full. “Tomorrow I’ll move my family here. This is the best place to pass the winter.”
Bursting with joy, he went back home to give his wife and his children the good news, hugging them several times.
Mother mouse caressed her six little mice one at a time, lovingly.
“Never lose faith in life!” she said afterwards, “tomorrow we are going to move into our new house.”
“Finally we’ll be able to run around and nose about without worrying about the bad cats and the people, right mom?”
“Yes that’s right, my darlings. Nobody ever enters the library!”
The next day they moved into their new dwelling and they got settled behind a big encyclopedia on animals.
“Daddy was right” the six young mice admitted, after looking around the place. “He couldn’t have found a better spot. Here we can play and eat undisturbed and when we’re in the mood we can read a book, there are plenty to choose from.”
Every evening I’ll read you a fairy tale” mother mouse told them, “So your sleep will be sweeter.”
* * *
“Mom, help!... Dad, help!...” the six small mice cried one Sunday morning, while they were nibbling the opening pages of an old yellowed book.
Gigione and his wife started running, jumping on the shelves afraid for their children.
“There’s a cat!...There’s a cat on the pages of the book!” the frightened mice screamed.
“Don’t be afraid!” mother mouse tried to calm them down. “He can’t hurt you. It’s only a picture!”
“Oh! What are you doing here?! Gigione asked him.
Can’t you see? They have printed me on this page to illustrate the story!” the cat answered proudly, aware of his great importance.
Gigione understood that the cat was imprisoned in that picture and he immediately carried out his diabolical plan. With slow movements of his tail he started to tickle the cat’s paws and back.
“Serves you right, ugly cat, to bother mice!” He screamed pleased with himself, continuing to rub him with satisfaction until he began to twist and turn and to whine in a long and funny way.
“Stop it, please!” He begged “You’ll make me burst from laughing!”
Deaf to the cat’s imploring, Gigione persisted in his naughty game, excited by his wife and children’s presence and by an audience of spiders, ants, insects, beetles and butterflies.
“Everybody, look at the triumph of your Gigione who has finally taken revenge, also on your behalf, against all the fear and the humiliation suffered!... Ah, what a pleasure, my dears! It’s a wonderful sensation, indescribable!” He exclaimed with joy, while he continued to pass his tail under the cat’s armpits.
“Mercy, Gigione, mercy!” the cat meowed loudly. “I beg your mercy for a poor defenseless cat who couldn’t hurt anyone, let alone you and your family.”
“A day like today, the cat repeated, ignoring his enemies pleading, “a day like today will go down in history!”
“If you leave me alone”, the cat begged, “in exchange I’ll look after your children when they are in the library. No one will ever bother them!”
The six small mice disapproved of the plan carried out by their father and his triumphal attitude.
“What satisfaction can you get, daddy, if your enemy is imprisoned and he begs you for mercy?... It’ll be a dishonor for our family!”
Hurt in his pride by his children’s right consideration, Gigione withdrew his tail and felt ashamed of himself.
“Please forgive me for all the harm that my fellow-creatures do to mice!” the cat tried to whisper, understanding Gigione’s dilemma. “Unfortunately nature has made us enemies”, he continued trying to calm him down, “and it has put us against each other, to recreate a constant balance between species that everyone has to respect!... But from now on we can be good friends, at least us, among these shelves. I know all the secrets that they hold and I can help you discover the wonders hidden among these pages!”
Ninetta agreed to the cat’s words with that sweet disposition that only mother mice are capable of. Then, in a joyful atmosphere, she hugged her children in a warm embrace as her husband gave out his hand to the feline in sign of peace, while the other animals present gave him an astonished look.
“Why are you so yellow?” the smallest mouse asked him, with the straightforwardness typical of youngsters.
“I have turned yellow… because everything here is yellow, closed and abandoned… from the moment the readers have been captured by the voice coming out of the television and by its moving images, forgetting the pleasure of reading a good book. Now I’m old and tired and I’m just waiting for my days to end. My only relief is the knowledge of being buried here forever among these treasures that no one appreciates anymore!”
“But now we’re here! If you guide us, we can face a long journey together and you will be useful again to those who would like to learn and read amazing stories!”
“Well, if your parents aren’t afraid to let their six little mice stay with an old cat like me, I know exactly where to bring you.
Gigione and Ninetta looked into each other’s eyes, reading the other’s mind.
“You can go!” they then exclaimed together. “Go children!... This is your world, the future of our family!” pointing to the shelves full of books.
Baiano, 28 June 1994