第6章 MY COMRADES.Tuesday,25th.

The boy who sent the postage-stamp to the Calabrian is the one who pleases me best of all.His name is Garrone:he is the biggest boy in the class:he is about fourteen years old;his head is large,his shoulders broad;he is good,as one can see when he smiles;but it seems as though he always thought like a man.I already know many of my comrades.Another one pleases me,too,by the name of Coretti,and he wears chocolate-colored trousers and a catskin cap:he is always jolly;he is the son of a huckster of wood,who was a soldier in the war of 1866，in the squadron of Prince Umberto,and they say that he has three medals.There is little Nelli,a poor hunchback,a weak boy,with a thin face.There is one who is very well dressed,who always wears fine Florentine plush,and is named Votini.On the bench in front of me there is a boy who is called “the little mason” because his father is a mason:his face is as round as an apple,with a nose like a small ball;he possesses a special talent:he knows how to make a hare's face,and they all get him to make a hare's face,and then they laugh.He wears a little ragged cap,which he carries rolled up in his pocket like a handkerchief.Beside the little mason there sits Garoffi,a long,thin,silly fellow,with a nose and beak of a screech owl,and very small eyes,who is always trafficking in little pens and images and match-boxes,and who writes the lesson on his nails,in order that he may read it on the sly.Then there is a young gentleman,Carlo Nobis,who seems very haughty;and he is between two boys who are sympathetic to me,—the son of a blacksmith-ironmonger,clad in a jacket which reaches to his knees,who is pale,as though from illness,who always has a frightened air,and who never laughs;and one with red hair,who has a useless arm,and wears it suspended from his neck;his father has gone away to America,and his mother goes about peddling pot-herbs.And there is another curious type,—my neighbor on the left,—Stardi—small and thickset,with no neck,—a gruff fellow,who speaks to no one,and seems not to understand much,but stands attending to the master without winking,his brow corrugated with wrinkles,and his teeth clenched;and if he is questioned when the master is speaking,he makes no reply the first and second times,and the third time he gives a kick:and beside him there is a bold,cunning face,belonging to a boy named Franti,who has already been expelled from another district.There are,in addition,two brothers who are dressed exactly alike,who resemble each other to a hair,and both of whom wear caps of Calabrian cut,with a peasant's plume.But handsomer than all the rest,the one who has the most talent,who will surely be the head this year also,is Derossi;and the master,who has already perceived this,always questions him.But I like Precossi,the son of the blacksmith-ironmonger,the one with the long jacket,who seems sickly.They say that his father beats him;he is very timid,and every time that he addresses or touches any one,he says,“Excuse me,”and gazes at them with his kind,sad eyes.But Garrone is the biggest and the nicest.

同窗朋友 二十五日

送邮票给格拉勃利亚小孩的，就是我所最喜欢的卡隆。他在同级中身躯最高大，今年十四岁，是个大头宽肩笑起来很可爱的小孩，却已有大人气。我已认识了许多同窗的友人，有一个名叫可莱谛的我也喜欢。他着了茶色的裤子，戴了猫皮的帽，常说着有趣的话。父亲是开柴店的，一八六六年，曾在温培尔脱亲王部下打过仗，据说还拿着三个勋章呢。有个名叫耐利的，可怜是个驼背，身体怯弱，脸色常是青青的。还有一个名叫华梯尼的，他时常穿着漂亮的衣服。在我的前面，有一个小孩绰号叫作“小石匠”的，那是石匠的儿子，脸孔圆圆的像苹果，鼻头像个小球，能装兔子的脸，时常装了引人笑。他虽戴着破絮样的褴褛的帽子，却常常将帽子像手帕似的叠了藏在口袋里。坐在“小石匠”旁边的是一个叫作卡洛斐的瘦长、老鹰鼻、眼睛特别小的孩子。他常常把钢笔、火柴空盒等拿来买卖，把字写在手指甲上，做种种狡猾的事。还有一个名叫卡罗·诺琵斯的傲慢的少年绅士。这人的两旁有两个小孩，我认为很好的。一个是铁匠的儿子，穿了齐膝的上衣，脸色苍白得好像病人，对于什么都胆怯，永远没有笑容。一个是赤发的小孩，一只手有了残疾，挂牢在颈项里。听说，他的父亲到亚美利加去了，母亲走来走去卖着野菜呢。靠我的左边，还有一个奇怪的小孩，他名叫斯带地，身材短而肥，颈项好像没有一样。他是个暴躁的小孩，不和人讲话，好像是什么都不知道的，可是先生的话，他总目不转睛地蹙了眉头、紧闭了嘴听着。先生说话的时候，如果有人说话，第二次他还忍耐着，一到第三次，他就要愤怒起来用脚来顿地了。坐在他的旁边的，是一个毫不知顾忌的相貌狡猾的小孩，他名叫勿兰谛，听说曾经在别的学校被除了名的。此外，还有一对很相像的兄弟，穿着一样的衣服，戴着一样的帽子。这许多同学之中，相貌最好、最有才能的，不消说要算代洛西了。今年大概他还是要得第一名的。但是我却爱铁匠的儿子，那像病人的泼来可西。据说，他父亲是要打他的，他非常老实，在和人说话的时候，或偶然触犯着别人的时候，他一定要说“对不住”，他常用了亲切而悲哀的眼光看人。至于最长大的和品格最高尚的，却是卡隆。