and grapes. At the opposite end of the room, Scarammuccia was
perched up on his hindquarters in a corner, with his mouth wide open to
catch the morsel of bread which he evidently expected the child to throw
to him. What the elder sister was doing, the priest had not time to see;
for the dog barked the moment he presented himself, and Nanina hastened
to the door to ascertain who the intruder might be. All that he could
observe was that she was too confused, on catching sight of him, to be
able to utter a word. La Biondella was the first to speak.

"Thank you, Father Rocco," said the child, jumping up, with her bread in
one hand and her grapes in the other--"thank you for giving me so much
money for my dinner-mats. There they are, tied up together in one little
parcel, in the corner. Nanina said she was ashamed to think of your
carrying them; and I said I knew where you lived, and I should like to
ask you to let me take them home!"

"Do you think you can carry them all the way, my dear?" asked the
priest.

"Look, Father Rocco, see if I can't carry them!" cried La Biondella,
cramming her bread into one of the pockets of her little apron, holding
her bunch of grapes by the stalk in her mouth, and hoisting the packet
of dinner-mats on her head in a moment. "See, I am strong enough to
carry double," said the child, looking up proudly into the priest's
face.

"Can you trust her to take them home for me?" asked Father Rocco,
turning to Nanina. "I want to speak to you alone, and her absence will
give me the opportunity. Can you trust her out by herself?"

"Yes, Father Rocco, she often goes out alone." Nanina gave this answer
in low, trembling tones, and looked down confusedly on the ground.

"Go then, my dear," said Father Rocco, patting the child on the
shoulder; "and come back here to your sister, as soon as you have left
the mats."

La Biondella went out directly in great triumph, with Scarammuccia
walking by her side, and keeping his muzzle suspiciously close to the
pocket in which she had put her bread. Father Rocco closed the door
after them, and then, taking the one chair which the room possessed,
motioned to Nanina to sit by him on the stool.

"Do you believe that I am your friend, my child, and that I have always
meant well toward you?" he began.

"The best and kindest of friends," answered Nanina.

"Then you will hear what I have to say patiently, and you will believe
that I am speaking for your good, even