Then
nothing would do but Luisa must admire his fine plumage, and his father
must declare that he was quite the finest pigeon he had ever seen. It took
the combined force of the family to consider what message they should send
old Paolo in the morning, and, after a great deal of discussion, Giovanni's
stiff old hand penned the simple words on a bit of paper:
"Buon giorno!"
So the days passed; every few mornings Chico essayed some new flight until
Paolo declared he was satisfied that the bird knew his way perfectly within
a certain radius and must now venture farther from home. After this it was
not so easy, and on several occasions Chico had adventures that tried even
his stout little heart, and brought many an hour of anxiety to his friends.
CHAPTER VII
DANGER AHEAD!
The earnest little fellow carrying his bird in a basket was now a familiar
object in Venice and attracted much attention from tourists and bystanders
who often collected in little groups to watch the graceful flights. To some
it was the subject of jest, and to them it seemed nothing short of folly to
spend so much time in the training of a pigeon, while others were loud in
exclamations of delight.
"Bello! Bello Colombo! [Footnote: Beautiful! Beautiful pigeon!] He's a
mighty fine bird, my boy!"
As for Chico, one could see that he greatly enjoyed his experience. He no
longer showed resentment at being shut up in the basket, but evidently
considered that a necessary prelude to his glorious flights.
Pages:
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49