Here something happened that ought to have warned me and saved me. Little Anna, who till then had remained motionless, observing me, decided to express in a loud voice what Ada felt. She cried: “Is it true you’re crazy? Completely crazy?” Signora Malfenti threatened her: “Will you be quiet? Aren’t you ashamed, interrupting the grownups’ talk?” The threat only worsened things. Anna shouted, “He’s crazy! He talks with cats! We should get some ropes, quickly, and tie him up!”
