By Giovanni Galavotti, translated into English by Ruth Stephens
Chapter 4 – The Photograph
The following day at school, during the break, Michele shows his classmates the photo. They look at it open-mouthed, even Francesco, the one with three goldfish.
The story of Michele’s goldfish quickly goes around the school. A few days later one of his classmates comes up to him and says “Michele, you and I are friends. I want to see your big goldfish. Can I come to your house?”
“When?” asks Michele.
“Well, maybe today?”
“No,” says Michele, “Today’s no good. I have to go swimming.”
“Tomorrow, then?”
“Tomorrow? We’ll have to see.”
But the next day Michele invents another excuse. And then another and another. At home he becomes more and more worried and his homework suffers. He and Antonio ask their sister Elisa for advice.
“You must tell your classmates the truth,” she says.
But Antonio doesn’t agree. “You can’t do that. If you tell them the truth they’ll be angry with you and no one will ever believe what you say again.”
That night Michele doesn’t sleep; he worries and puzzles and thinks until suddenly an idea comes to him.
Perhaps he has found a solution!