The Metal Pig

There was no living soul in the street; he was all alone; he climed on to the metal pig's back, leaned forward so that his little curly head rested on the animal's head, and before he knew what was happening he had fallen fast asleep.

It was midnight. The metal pig moved. The boy heard it say quite plainly, "Hold fast, little boy, for now I'm going to run off!" And away it ran with him!

It was a strange ride. First they reached the Piazza del Granduca, and the bronze horse on which the Duke's statue was mounted neighed loudly to them. The colored coats of arms on the old Town Hall glowed like transparent pictures, and Michelangelo's David hurled his sling; it was a curious form of life that moved about. The bronze groups of Perseus and the Rape of the Sabine Women were only too much alive; their death shriek resounded through the stately deserted Piazza. The metal pig stopped by the Uffizi Palace, under the arcade where the nobles assembled for the carnival celebration during Lent.

"Hold fast," said the animal. "Hold fast now, for I'm going up the stairs!"

The little fellow hadn't yet said a word; he was half frightened, half delighted. They entered a long gallery, which he knew well, for he had been there before. The walls were covered with pictures, and the statues and busts all stood in a light as bright as if it were day; but the most splendid sight of all was when the door to one of the adjoining rooms opened. Yes, the splendor here the little boy remembered, but tonight everything was especially magnificent.

Here stood the statue of a nude woman, as beautiful as only nature and the greatest marble sculptor could make her; she moved her lovely limbs, dolphins sprang to life at her feet, and immortality shone from her eyes. She is known to the world as the Venus de' Medici. Marble statues of superb men were grouped around her; one of them, the Grinder, was sharpening his sword; the next group was the Wrestling Gladiators. The sword was whetted, and the athletes wrestled for the goddess of beauty.