Marzo - Le scuole serali. 2, giovedì March|The|schools|evening|Thursday Marzo - Escuelas nocturnas. 2, jueves Março - Escolas nocturnas. 2, quinta-feira March - The evening schools. 2, Thursday

Le scuole serali 2, giovedì the|schools|evening|Thursday The evening schools 2, Thursday Mio padre mi condusse ieri a vedere le scuole serali della nostra sezione Baretti, che eran già tutte illuminate, e gli operai cominciavano ad entrare. My|father|me|he took|yesterday|to|to see|the|schools|evening|of the|our|section|Baretti|which|they were|already|all|lit|and|the|workers|they started|to|to enter My father took me yesterday to see the evening schools of our Baretti section, which were already all lit up, and the workers were starting to enter. Arrivando, trovammo il Direttore e i maestri in gran collera perché poco prima era stato rotto da una sassata il vetro d’una finestra: il bidello, saltato fuori, aveva acciuffato un ragazzo che passava; ma allora s’era presentato Stardi, che sta di casa in faccia alla scuola, e aveva detto: - Non è costui, ho visto coi miei occhi: è Franti che ha tirato, e m’ha detto: - Guai se tu parli! arriving|we found|the|Director|and|the|teachers|in|great|anger|because|shortly|before|it was|has been|broken|by|a|stone|the|glass|of a|window|the|janitor|jumped|out|he had|caught|a|boy|who|was passing|but|then|he had|presented|Stardi|who|he lives|at|home|opposite|face|to the|school|and|he had|said|not|he is|this one|I have|seen|with|my|eyes|he is|Franti|who|he has|thrown|and|he has|said|woe|if|you|you speak Upon arriving, we found the Director and the teachers in a great rage because just before, a window had been broken by a stone: the janitor, having jumped out, had caught a boy who was passing by; but then Stardi, who lives across from the school, had come forward and said: - It’s not him, I saw with my own eyes: it’s Franti who threw it, and he told me: - You better not say a word! - ma io non ho paura. but|I|not|I have|fear - but I am not afraid. E il Direttore disse che Franti sarà scacciato per sempre. and|the|Director|he said|that|Franti|he will be|expelled|for|always And the Director said that Franti will be expelled forever. Intanto badava agli operai che entravano a due a tre insieme, e n’eran già entrati più di duecento. meanwhile|he was watching|to the|workers|who|they were entering|at|two|at|three|together|and|they had|already|entered|more|than|two hundred Meanwhile, he was watching the workers who were entering two or three at a time, and more than two hundred had already entered. Non avevo mai visto come è bella una scuola serale! not|I had|ever|seen|how|it is|beautiful|a|school|evening I had never seen how beautiful an evening school is! C’eran dei ragazzi da dodici anni in su, e degli uomini con la barba, che tornavano dal lavoro, portando libri e quaderni; c’eran dei falegnami, dei fochisti con la faccia nera, dei muratori con le mani bianche di calcina, dei garzoni fornai coi capelli infarinati e si sentiva odor di vernice, di coiami, di pece, d’olio, odori di tutti i mestieri. there were|some|boys|from|twelve|years|up|above|and|some|men|with|the|beard|who|they were returning|from the|work|carrying|books||notebooks|||carpenters||firemen|||face|black||masons|||hands|white|of|lime||apprentices|bakers||hair|dusted with flour||one|one could smell|smell|of|paint||glues||tar||smells||all||trades There were boys aged twelve and up, and men with beards, returning from work, carrying books and notebooks; there were carpenters, stokers with black faces, bricklayers with hands white from lime, bakers' apprentices with floury hair, and the smell of paint, tar, pitch, oil, the scents of all trades could be felt. Entrò anche una squadra d’operai d’artiglieria vestiti da soldati, condotti da un caporale. he entered|also|a|squad|of workers|of artillery|clothed|by|soldiers|led|by|a|corporal A team of artillery workers dressed as soldiers also entered, led by a corporal. S’infilavano tutti lesti nei banchi, levavan l’assicella di sotto, dove noi mettiamo i piedi, e subito chinavan la testa sul lavoro. they were slipping in|everyone|quickly|in the|desks|they were lifting|the small board|of|under|where|we|we put|the|feet||immediately|they were bowing|the|head|on the|work They all quickly squeezed into the benches, lifted the footboard underneath, where we put our feet, and immediately bowed their heads to work. Alcuni andavan dai maestri a chieder spiegazioni coi quaderni aperti. some|they went|to the|teachers|to|to ask|explanations|with the|notebooks|open Some went to the teachers to ask for explanations with their notebooks open. Vidi quel maestro giovane e ben vestito - «l’avvocatino» - che aveva tre o quattro operai intorno al tavolino, e faceva delle correzioni con la penna; e anche quello zoppo, il quale rideva con un tintore che gli aveva portato un quaderno tutto conciato di tintura rossa e turchina. I saw|that|teacher|young|and|well|dressed|the little lawyer|who|he had|three|or|four|workers|around|the|small table|and|he made|some|corrections|with|the|pen|and|also|that one|lame|the|who|he laughed|with|a|dyer|who|to him|he had|carried|a|notebook|all|damaged|of|dye|red|and|blue I saw that young and well-dressed teacher - "the little lawyer" - who had three or four workers around the small table, making corrections with a pen; and also that lame one, who was laughing with a dyer who had brought him a notebook all stained with red and blue dye. C’era pure il mio maestro, guarito, che domani tornerà alla scuola. there was|also|the|my|teacher|healed|who|tomorrow|he will return|to the|school My teacher was also there, recovered, who will return to school tomorrow. Le porte delle classi erano aperte. the|doors|of the|classes|they were|open The classroom doors were open. Rimasi meravigliato, quando cominciarono le lezioni, a vedere come tutti stavano attenti, con gli occhi fissi. I remained|amazed|when|they started|the|lessons|to|to see|how|everyone|they were|attentive|with|the|eyes|fixed I was amazed, when the lessons began, to see how everyone was paying attention, with their eyes fixed. Eppure la più parte, diceva il Direttore, per non arrivar troppo tardi, non eran nemmeno passati a casa a mangiare un boccone di cena, e avevano fame. yet|the|most|part|he said|the|Director|to|not|to arrive|too|late||they were|not even|passed|at|home||to eat|a|piece|of|dinner|and|they had|hunger Yet most of them, the Director said, in order not to arrive too late, had not even stopped at home to eat a bite of dinner, and they were hungry. I piccoli, però, dopo mezz’ora di scuola cascavan dal sonno, qualcuno anche s’addormentava col capo sul banco; e il maestro lo svegliava, stuzzicandogli un orecchio con la penna. the|small|but|after|half an hour|of|school|they were falling|from the|sleep|someone|also|he was falling asleep|with|head|on the|desk|and|the|teacher|him||teasing him|a|ear|with|the|pen The little ones, however, after half an hour of school, were falling asleep; some even dozed off with their heads on the desk; and the teacher would wake them up by poking their ear with a pen. Ma i grandi no, stavano svegli, con la bocca aperta, a sentir la lezione, senza batter palpebra; e mi faceva specie veder nei nostri banchi tutti quei barboni. but|the|big|not|they were|awake|with|the|mouth|open|to|to hear|the|lesson|without|to blink|eyelid|and|to me|it made|strange|to see|in the|our|benches|all|those|beggars But the older ones did not, they stayed awake, with their mouths open, listening to the lesson, without batting an eyelid; and it struck me to see all those beggars in our desks. Salimmo anche al piano di sopra, e io corsi alla porta della mia classe, e vidi al mio posto un uomo con due grandi baffi e una mano fasciata, che forse s’era fatto male attorno a una macchina; eppure s’ingegnava di scrivere, adagio adagio. we went up|also|to the|floor|of|above|and|I|I ran|to the|door|of the|my|class|and|I saw|at the|my|place|a|man|with|two|big|mustaches|and|a|hand|bandaged|who|maybe|he had|done|injured|around|to|a|machine|yet|he was trying|to|to write|slowly|slowly We also went upstairs, and I ran to the door of my classroom, and I saw in my place a man with two big mustaches and a bandaged hand, who perhaps had hurt himself around a machine; yet he was trying to write, slowly but surely. Ma quel che mi piacque di più fu di vedere al posto del muratorino, proprio nello stesso banco e nello stesso cantuccio, suo padre, quel muratore grande come un gigante, che se ne stava là stretto aggomitolato, col mento sui pugni e gli occhi sul libro, attento che non rifiatava. but|that|what|to me|pleased|to|more|it was||to see|at the|place|of the|small bricklayer|exactly|in the|same|desk|and||||||||||||that||||||wrapped||||||||||||not|he breathed again But what I liked the most was seeing, in place of the little mason, right at the same desk and in the same corner, his father, that mason as big as a giant, who was sitting there all curled up, with his chin on his fists and his eyes on the book, so focused that he didn't even breathe. E non fu mica un caso, è lui proprio che la prima sera che venne alla scuola disse al Direttore: - Signor Direttore, mi faccia il piacere di mettermi al posto del mio muso di lepre; - perché sempre chiama il suo figliuolo a quel modo... Mio padre mi trattenne là fino alla fine, e vedemmo nella strada molte donne coi bambini in collo che aspettavano i mariti, e all’uscita facevano il cambio: gli operai pigliavano in braccio i bambini, le donne si facevan dare i libri e i quaderni, e andavano a casa così. and|not|it was|by no means|a|case|he is|he|exactly|that|the|first|evening|who|||||||||||the|||||||||||||||||to||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||home|like this And it wasn't just a coincidence, it was he who, on the first evening he came to the school, said to the Director: - Mr. Director, please put me in place of my hare's face; - because he always calls his son that way... My father kept me there until the end, and we saw many women with children in their arms waiting for their husbands in the street, and at the exit they made the switch: the workers took the children in their arms, the women were given the books and notebooks, and they went home like that. La strada fu per qualche momento piena di gente e di rumore. the|street|it was|for|some|moment|full|of|people|and|of|noise The street was for a moment full of people and noise. Poi tutto tacque e non vedemmo più che la figura lunga e stanca del Direttore che s’allontanava. then|everything|it fell silent|and|not|we saw|more|than|the|figure|long|and|tired|of the|Director|who|he was moving away Then everything fell silent and we saw nothing more than the long and tired figure of the Director walking away.