Part 2

Many of the beautiful paintings on the walls of the houses, as well as lovely marble vases and fountains, are almost as perfect now as when they were buried so many, many years ago. But the sun and the rain and the air might spoil them if they were left in the uncovered houses, now that the ashes have been taken out. So the best things have been carried up to the city of Naples and put in the museum there for safe-keeping.

It was some of these interesting old things Tessa wanted the Sunbonnet Babies to see. They wandered together through room after room of the great museum, looking at vases and dishes of all shapes and kinds. There were queer old bronze pots and pans and kettles, and lovely bottles and pitchers made of beautiful blue-green glass. There was an iron fireplace, and there were queer bronze lamps and money chests and rings and bracelets and combs and needles and thimbles and fishhooks. But the children were most interested in some slates and slate pencils and inkstands and pens and musical instruments which they found there.

"It looks as if the boys and girls who lived two thousand years ago had to study and practice just as we do now," said Molly.

"Yes, and the women baked bread, too," said Tessa. "Here are some round loaves that a poor woman was taking out of her oven when the ashes from the volcano covered her."

"And here are jars of apricots and olives which were put up nearly two thousand years ago. I wonder how they would taste now."

"I am glad I don't have to eat them," said Molly. "But when are we going to Pompeii to see where all these things were found, father?"

"We will go to-morrow, if you like," said her father. "But I am hungry now, and Pietro is waiting outside to take us back to the hotel."

"We are all hungry, and I guess we are all tired, too. I know I am," said May.

As the little party drove back through the busy streets they were not too tired to enjoy the sights around them.

"I believe half the people of Naples live out of doors," said Molly. "See, there is a shoemaker working at his bench right on the sidewalk. And look at that tailor, sitting by his shop door, sewing as fast as he can sew."

"Do you know what that man on the corner is doing?" asked Pietro.

"He is writing," said May.

"Yes," said Pietro. "He writes letters for people who cannot write for themselves. He is writing a letter now for the woman who stands beside him. She tells him what she wants to say and he writes it down for her. A great many of our people cannot read or write, so the public letter writers do a very good business."

"I should rather sell flowers than write letters," said Tessa.

"So should I!" exclaimed May. "Look at the beautiful roses that man has to sell. He wants us to buy some. Please stop, Pietro!"

But before Pietro could stop his horses, the man had sprung up onto the low step of the carriage and was holding a big bunch of beautiful roses right in front of the three happy children.

"Oh! oh! oh! May we have them? How much are they?" they cried all together.

"Una lira, signorine, una lira," said the man, smiling and lifting his cap.

"O father!" cried May. "He will sell us a big bouquet of beautiful roses for one lira. That is only a few cents, isn't it? Please buy some for us."

In a moment one bunch of the lovely roses was in Molly's hands and another bunch was in May's hands and another in Tessa's hands, while the happy flower man hurried back to his stand with three whole lire in his pocket.

A little later Pietro and Tessa were driving alone toward their home on a crowded side street. Tessa still held the lovely roses, and tied up in her handkerchief was the money the Sunbonnet Babies' father had paid Pietro and his little daughter for taking care of them all the forenoon. It seemed a real fortune to Tessa. She had a wonderful time planning how she would like to spend it, and thinking about her generous little American friends.

AN AFTERNOON IN THE PARK

That afternoon the Sunbonnet Babies begged to visit the lovely park near the shore of the bay. They wanted to run and play games with other children under the tall green trees.

"How would you like to take a look under the deep water and see all the strange creatures that live there?" asked their father.

"Oh, that would be wonderful! But how can we do it?" asked Molly.

"We can do it easily when we get to the park," said her father.

"Let's do it the very first thing. Just think of seeing how all the big and little fish live 'way down in the deep, deep ocean!"

"I am afraid we shall be drowned," said May. "I think I shall not like to go under the deep water any better than I liked to walk on top of the volcano."

"Why, it will be as easy as walking on this path," said their father. "Here we are at the door already. Shall we open it and take a look into the fish world?"

"Oh, dear! I feel as if I were Alice in Wonderland," said May. "Is this the door into the long, dark tunnel? I wonder if we shall fall down, down, down the tunnel just as Alice did. O father! Will the fish talk with us, the same as the rabbit and all the other animals talked with Alice?"

"If you should happen to fall asleep, as Alice did, the fish will probably tell you all their secrets," said her father. "But there is no long, dark tunnel here down which you must fall. We will each pay this man at the door two lire, then he will open the door and let us go in."

In another moment the door closed behind them, and they stood in the strangest place they had ever seen. It looked like the bottom of the great ocean, with ragged rocks and slippery seaweed everywhere, and many kinds of strange fish swimming quietly about them.

And yet, the water did not wet the children, and they could not touch the fish. A strong glass wall held back both the water and the fish.

Molly and May walked along a narrow path close beside the glass wall, and watched the queer fish chase each other about in the water or lie lazily under the shadow of a big rock.

At last Molly said, "Why, the bottom of the ocean looks very much like the top of the earth. There are hills and valleys and rocks and sand and green things growing everywhere."

"See that tiny forest of pink coral. I suppose our coral neck chains grew at the bottom of the ocean in just that way."

"And see those timid little animals peeping from the doors of their pretty shell houses. I wonder if they like always to carry about such heavy houses on their backs."

"Here is a whole family of lazy turtles," called May. "Look at that big fellow! I believe his shell is large enough for me to creep into, if he were not inside of it."

"I advise you not to try it while he is there," said her father. "If he once took a bite of you, he would never let go."

"Oh, my!" exclaimed Molly. "But see those little starfish and that big soft jellyfish. They are not afraid of the turtle. And those eels are playing close about him."

Just then a frightened scream came from May, who had walked ahead of the others.

"Come quickly!" she cried. "Here is a big, big round thing with eight long arms, or legs, I don't know which they are. They keep reaching out as if they were trying to get hold of something. And its two big round eyes are looking straight at me! I'm glad the glass wall is between us. It's the worst looking thing I ever saw in all my life! What is it, father?"

"Well, well!" exclaimed her father. "That is an octopus. A real, live octopus! It is a big one, too. It can easily reach six or seven feet with those long legs."

"Why is it called an octopus, father?" asked Molly. "Why haven't we seen one before, and what does it do with so many legs?"

"It is called an octopus because it has eight feet, and the word octopus means 'eight-footed.' We have never seen one before because it lives at the bottom of the ocean, and we have not visited the bottom of the ocean until to-day. I suppose it uses its feet more in catching food than it does in walking. I have heard that when it winds them around anything it never lets go."

Just then their mother called, "Come with me! I have found the strangest fish you ever heard of. If you touch the fish, it will give you a tiny electric shock. Who wants to try it?"

"Oh, I do!" cried Molly, and in went her hand to stroke the sleepy fish lazily swimming about in a small tank of water. But the hand came out more quickly than it went in.

"Oh! oh!" she cried. "My hand prickles just as if it were asleep. What a strange, strange fish! You touch it, May."

"No!" said May. "I don't want to touch it. I don't want an electric shock. I want to go back to the park and play."

"Very well," said her father. "I believe we have stayed with these deep-sea creatures long enough. We will go out through the secret door, the way we came in."

And so, in a few moments, they were all standing in the bright sunshine looking out over the deep blue water which was the home of so many strange and interesting creatures.

"Have we really been 'way down under that deep water, father?" asked Molly. "Or was it just a fish museum that we were in?"

"That is a good name for it," said her father. "We have been in an aquarium. Many of the fish that are caught alive in the Mediterranean Sea are brought to this aquarium, so people may study and enjoy them."

"I feel as if I had really and truly been to the bottom of the sea," said Molly. "I am glad I am not a fish. I should much rather be a little girl and have a ride in that goat cart. Those Italian children have just had a ride. See, they are each paying the man a penny. O sir! Please may we ride next?"

"And please may I drive the goats?" asked May. "I know how to drive my pony."

In another moment Molly and May were climbing into the small cart. May then shook the reins and away they went, with the man following close behind them.

They passed groups of jolly boys and girls playing marbles, spinning tops, or rolling hoops. They were clean, well-dressed children, not ragged and poor like so many children Molly and May had seen in other parts of the city.

Smiling nurse maids pushed dear little babies about in handsome carriages, or sat on shaded benches watching the little children at their play.

Everyone was interested in the small goat cart with its happy passengers.

Suddenly a little boy who was rolling a hoop began to race with the goats. He ran along beside them, driving his hoop as fast as he could make it go. The goats did not want to be left behind, so they trotted faster and still faster, but the little boy with his rolling hoop kept up with them.

The Sunbonnet Babies began to be a bit frightened, they were riding so very fast. May pulled on the reins and cried, "Whoa! whoa! stop! stop!" The small Italian goats did not understand English, so they ran faster than ever. They were enjoying the race, and so was the man who owned them. But when he saw that his little passengers were afraid, he sprang forward to stop his team. Just at that moment the goats turned sharply about, and over went the cart, Sunbonnet Babies and all.

Everybody was then really frightened, though only for a moment. Molly and May were on their feet in a jiffy. The boys and girls all laughed and talked at the same time, and the man scolded his goats for their naughty trick.

"Please don't scold the goats," said the little boy with the hoop. "You ought to praise them. They knew if you stopped them they would lose the race, so they tried to turn around and go in the other direction. Then the cart tipped over and spoiled the fun."

"It was fun, wasn't it?" exclaimed Molly. "But let's not do it over again. Let's have a tea party now."

"Oh, yes! Let's have a tea party!" cried May. "Here is a lovely place for it in front of this pretty tea house. Who wants some grape juice and some little cakes?"

"Oh, I do!" "And I do!" cried two happy voices in real American English, for the little boy with the hoop was an American, just like the Sunbonnet Babies. And so they had the jolliest tea party under the big trees in the park that three little American children ever had together, which is saying a very great deal.

THE BURIED CITY

"Goody! This is the day we are going to Pompeii!" cried May, as she opened her eyes quite late next morning. "I hope father has not forgotten his promise."

"Indeed he has not!" said her mother. "We have the nicest kind of a surprise for you, but we were afraid you were going to sleep all day."

"Oh, what is it? What is the surprise, mother?" cried both little girls at once.

"It is something splendid, and it will last a whole week, perhaps longer," said their mother. "Each morning you shall hear about the surprise for that day, but only for one day at a time."

"Please tell us what it is for to-day," begged Molly. "What fun it will be to have a new surprise every day!"

"Well," said their mother, "how would you like to have a picnic dinner to-day?"

"Oh, we should like it better than anything else we can think of!" exclaimed May. "But I thought we were going to Pompeii to-day."

"We are," said their mother. "We shall have our picnic in the prettiest place we can find in old Pompeii. People do not live in the ruined city now, for the houses have no roofs. But father says they have the cunningest little inhabitants he ever saw. They are part of the surprise, so I must not tell about them now."

"Is the picnic basket ready, mother?" asked Molly. "Is it brimful of good things to eat?"

"Yes, everything is ready, and Pietro will take us to the station just as soon as you have had your breakfast."

After a short but very rough ride the train stopped at a small station, and a man called, "Pompeii!" as he walked quickly down the platform unlocking the doors of the compartments.

As the Sunbonnet Babies stepped from the train, they expected to see the famous ruined city, but they saw only a few whitewashed houses which did not look ruined at all.

"O father!" cried Molly. "People are living in this town. This can't be Pompeii."

"Yes it is," said her father. "This is new Pompeii. The old city which we have come to see is only a short walk from here."

When they finally passed through the gate into the city, which had lain buried more than seventeen hundred years, Molly and May felt as if they were in another world. They walked down the narrow, quiet streets, looking into the empty shops and houses, trying to imagine twenty thousand people living and working and playing here so long, long ago. The smoking volcano not far away made them wonder what the people were doing when the hot ashes buried their city.

The guide said many of the people probably escaped, though some stayed to care for their homes and were buried in them. He told how a little mother bird was found sitting on her nest, buried by the ashes. She would not leave the little eggs that needed her wings for protection. He told, too, how a Roman soldier had been found standing at his place of duty when all his friends had run for safety.

Many of the streets were not wide enough for two small carriages to pass, and the sidewalks were so narrow that the Sunbonnet Babies could hardly walk side by side on them.

Molly and May thought it great fun to jump across the streets on the high stepping-stones which they found at every crossing. They played they were dainty ladies of two thousand years ago who did not want to soil their pretty shoes.

At last they came to a house where a watchdog with a rope around his neck lay in front of the door. He looked rather fierce, but they were not afraid, for the dog was not alive. He was only the picture of a watchdog, made by means of small black and white stones placed close together in the sidewalk. Just below him were two Latin words meaning "Beware of the Dog."

The outside walls of most of the houses had no openings, except the front door, though some had small shops on each side of the door, where the owner carried on his business.

Molly and May stood behind the counter in one of these shops and played they were selling ripe figs to the passers-by. They went through a small door into the house and found that the rooms all opened upon a lovely little court and garden, around which they were built.

This house was not so badly injured as some, so it looks much as it did when people lived in it long ago. Everything has been left almost as it was found when the ashes were taken out. The little garden has been replanted with flowers and green grass.

Around the four sides of the garden there is a broad porch, and opening from the porch are living rooms, bedrooms, and dining rooms. On the walls are many pictures, which are almost as beautiful as when they were first painted.

While they were walking about in this lovely old house, May suddenly saw a queer little animal. It was as green as grass, and it had a long pointed tail and four big feet.

"What can it be?" she cried.

"I think I know," said Molly. "It is one of the tiny inhabitants mother said we should find here. I think it is a lizard. Look! There are two more. How fast they run! They are frightened. Poor little things!"

The guide gave a long, low whistle which made the little lizards raise their heads and listen. He whistled softly, until they had lost all fear, standing very still while the Sunbonnet Babies touched their soft, green backs. Molly even lifted one up gently by its long pointed tail. But this frightened the little creature again, and it jumped so hard it left its tail hanging between Molly's fingers, while it ran across the garden and up the wall of the porch, without any tail.

Poor Molly was now as frightened as the little lizard, for she thought it would surely die without its tail. But the guide said it would run away and wait for another tail to grow, though he thought lizards didn't like to lose their tails.

Soon they came to the market place of the old city, and the Sunbonnet Babies begged to have their picnic dinner there. It was not like any other picnic that Molly and May had ever had. There were no trees to sit under, and they were not allowed to build a bonfire. But they made believe that the tall columns of the old houses were great trees two thousand years old, and they were sure Mount Vesuvius was the biggest bonfire any picnic party ever had.

Before the afternoon was over, however, the Sunbonnet Babies had seen enough of the dead city. They were glad to leave it to the timid little lizards, while they went to find a real house in the new city of Pompeii where they could spend the night.

A LONG DRIVE

"What's the secret for to-day, mother?" asked Molly very early next morning. "Are we going to climb Mount Vesuvius?"

"I hope not," said her mother. "Solfatara was bad enough for me. I don't want to go so near to another volcano."

"Neither do I," said May. "But what _are_ we going to do, mother?"

"Father says he will tell us the secret at the breakfast table, under the orange trees in the garden. Who will be ready first?"

"I shall be!" cried Molly.

"No, I shall be!" cried May. "I am glad we didn't go back to noisy Naples last night. I love this dear little 'Tavern of the Sun'! I believe the garden is the only parlor the hotel has. It is a really and truly sun parlor, isn't it, mother?"

"We are ready for the secret, father," called Molly, a few moments later, as she skipped out into the lovely garden.

"Well, let us have some breakfast first. Then we will have the secret," said her father.

"Look! We are going to have bread and honey and delicious hot chocolate for breakfast," said Molly. "And best of all, we are going to eat it under this lovely orange tree."

While they were enjoying the sweet taste of the bees' honey and the sweet smell of the orange blossoms, a more wonderful sweetness came to their ears. It came from a tall, dark tree near by. It was the sweetest bird's song the little Americans had ever heard.

"O Maria! Please tell us the name of that wonderful bird," they begged the pretty Italian maid who brought them a fresh pot of honey.

"Why, that is our nightingale," answered Maria, laughing. "He has a nest somewhere here in our garden. I think there must be some little brown eggs in it now. During the month of April he sings all day and all night, except for two or three hours just after sunset. Oh, we love our little nightingale!"

"I love him, too!" cried Molly. "I wish he would live in our garden trees at home."

"Well, children, are you ready for the secret?" asked their father, at last. "Here is Pippo, who wants to take us for a long drive."

"Is that the secret, father?" asked the Sunbonnet Babies eagerly.

"Yes, Pippo is going to take us on one of the most beautiful drives in all the world. We shall spend two days on the way, for we shall not want to hurry."

A few moments later they were all seated in a low Italian carriage, with Pippo on the driver's seat, high in front of them. He cracked his long whip many times above the backs of the two small horses, but they seemed to like the sound, for they dashed along over the hilly road as if it were play.

After driving several hours over this lovely mountain road they came to the beautiful blue waters of the Gulf of Salerno. Now began the most wonderful part of the drive. The road followed the shore of the gulf, clinging all the way to the steep slopes of the mountains, which came close down to the water's edge.

Molly and May were wild with excitement over the strangeness and beauty of it all. Molly begged to sit up on the seat beside Pippo, where she could see better and where he could tell her all about the wonderful things they were passing.

At first the mountains sloped gently away, above and below the road. Small groves of orange and lemon trees and vineyards of purple grapes grew on the sunny slopes, while the blue waters of the gulf sparkled like millions of diamonds under the brilliant sunshine.

They passed tiny fishing villages where barefooted women and little children seemed to be the only inhabitants. The men were probably away on fishing trips, or were sleeping lazily in the shade. In one of the villages the Sunbonnet Babies begged to stop and buy some oranges.

"O Pippo! Please ask if we may pick a few oranges from that tree just above the road," begged May.

Pippo smilingly said a few words to a woman standing near by, and she smilingly answered, "Si, si, signor. As many as they wish."

Molly and May were out of the carriage in a moment saying, "Grazie, grazie, signora!" as they scrambled up the slope to a place where they could reach the ripe, yellow fruit. The woman kindly showed them the ripest and juiciest oranges. Then she broke a small branch from a higher part of the tree, and gave it with a pretty bow to the little American girls.