Reading time: 2 minutes

Read and listen: The little woman who counted sneezes

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Summary

Hello friends and dear friends from your Francesca Ruberto

Today I read to you "the little woman who counted sneezes" taken from the book "Fairy tales on the phone" by Gianni Rodari

Giovanni Francesco Rodari, detto Gianni[1] (pronuncia Rodàri, /roˈdari/; Omegna, 23 ottobre 1920 – Roma, 14 aprile 1980), è stato uno scrittore, pedagogista, giornalista e poeta italiano. È l’unico scrittore italiano ad aver vinto il Premio Hans Christian Andersen (1970). (leggi ancora)

la donnina che contava gli starnuti — La donnina che contava gli starnuti 4

Let's read together

Once upon a time in Gavirate there was a little woman who spent her days counting people's sneezes, then she reported the results of her calculations to her friends and they all chatted about it together.

“The pharmacist made seven,” the little woman said.
"Possible!"
"I swear, my nose would drop if I don't tell the truth, he made them five minutes before noon".

They chatted and chatted and in conclusion they said that the pharmacist put water in castor oil.

"The parish priest made fourteen of them", said the little woman, red with emotion.
"Aren't you mistaken?"
"My nose would drop if he made one less."
"But where will we end up!"

They chatted and chatted and in conclusion they said that the parish priest put too much oil in the salad.

Once the little woman and her friends all got together, and there were more than seven of them, under Signor Delio's windows to spy on. But Signor Delio didn't sneeze at all, because he didn't sniff tobacco and didn't have a cold.

"Not even a sneeze," said the little woman. “Here the cat hatches us”.
“Sure,” her friends said.

Signor Delio heard them, put a good handful of pepper into the fly-killer sprayer and without being seen blew it on those gossips, who were hiding under the windowsill.

“Etcì!” said the little woman.
“Here! Etcì!” said his friends. And down all together to make one sneeze after another.

“I made more,” said the little woman.
“More us,” her friends said. They grabbed each other by the hair, kicked it right and sideways, tore their clothes and each lost a tooth.

After that time the little woman never spoke to her friends again, she bought a booklet and a pencil and went around all alone, and for every sneeze she heard she ticked a cross.

When he died they found that little book full of crosses and they said: “Look, he must have marked all his good deeds. But how many did he make! If she doesn't go to Heaven, no one goes at all ”.