Time does not go so fast as that."
"Play something more."
The mother seated herself by the bedside. Rico placed himself at a
little distance, and began to play on his fiddle. Silvio could not have
enough of it; and no sooner had Rico finished one piece than he shouted,
"Play another." Six times each, at the very least, had all the pieces
been repeated, when Mrs. Menotti went out, and returned with a plate
filled with yellow grapes, saying that Rico ought to rest, and sit down
by the bedside, and eat some grapes with Silvio.
She went out into the garden herself while the children were eating, and
was glad to be able to do so, and to attend to various little matters of
her own; for it was seldom that she could leave the bedside of her
little cripple, for he would not let her leave him, and cried bitterly
for her to return; so it was a real blessing to her to be able to get
away for a few moments.
The two boys soon came to a most excellent understanding of each other;
for Rico could reply very well to Silvio's questions, and managed to
make himself very well understood, even when he could not find exactly
the proper words, and it was very amusing to Silvio to talk with him.
His mother had plenty of time to look at all the flower-beds, and to
examine the fine fig-trees in the orchard, and to overlook every thing,
without being called for once by her little boy.
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