Story #14 ~ The Snakes (Geltrude)
03 May, 2025
"The morning, before going to school, I had to bring our cows to the countryside to graze. I would tie their ropes around my arm and as we walked, I would braid my hair to be ready for school. We lived far from the school and it would take an hour to walk there. When the cows were done, I took them back home and would take a shortcut through some properties so that I wouldn’t arrive too late at school. I knew however that there were snakes hiding in the countryside so I always held 2-3 stones in my hand. When I approached the houses on these lands, I knew that there could be snakes closeby. So I would throw a stone. If no snake came out, I would start running. But if I would see a snake, I would stop and wait to see what direction it would take. When the snake left, I would start running again. I would almost always arrive late to school and would try to enter without being seen by the teacher. When she would see me, she would say: “Acciaioli, hurry! Come in and take a seat! " and made me sit in the front row. The teacher didn't scold me because she knew my family and knew I came from far away. She cared for me and never got angry with me."
~ Gertrude
~ Gertrude
