By Enrico Maso, translated into English by Ruth Stephens
Chapter 7
Donato explains the situation to the mayor and suggests that no action be taken against Giacomo. “After all,” he says “no one has been hurt and now the sky…”
“You’re joking!” exclaims the mayor “You’re talking about the sky? What about public safety? And the damage already done!”
“Yes, I understand that,” replies Donato, “But there’s also the electricity that could be saved. “Surely that’s important, too?”
But it’s no good. The mayor’s mind is made up; he wants Giacomo to face charges and says so, loudly. A journalist working in an archive nearby comes out to see what all the noise is about. His curiosity aroused, he approaches Giacomo, who is standing outside, and asks “Excuse me, but what is the mayor so angry about?”
Giacomo explains the facts to him.
“You?” says the journalist “You’re no saboteur, you’re a technician! This doesn’t make sense.”
“I know… I didn’t want it to cause trouble but this town does waste too much energy; there are lights everywhere. I have a list here of official proposals to remedy the situation.”
“Let’s have a look,” says the journalist taking the sheet of paper. He studies the proposals and can see that they would all be beneficial to the town. So he makes some notes on the story and writes a long article which appears in the paper the next day. It sets out the advantages and disadvantages of Giacomo’s ideas and then proposes a survey among the readers: are you in favour of a more ecological town or against it?
The entire town becomes involved in the discussion; it’s the topic of the day. So the mayor decides not to press charges against Giacomo; better to wait and see what the people think…
More?
Oppure scopri il testo in inglese con traduzione a fronte (.pdf) 