A HORSE FOR THE ISLAND

The Bettina of Cocolo, etc. retains the trusting innocence of youth and the charm of a foreign landscape in this story of the Italian island of Limore where Giovanni Tarlao, a farmer and a vintner, leases some land and overcomes the native suspicion of the villagers. A simple chain of circumstance leads to many changes on the island, Giovanni buys a horse, Cavallo, who almost drowns in the marsh with two children- and stirs some action toward the clearance of the swamplands; a Count, with a special taste for Giovanni's wine, decides that the island shall become a resort and many luxurious and extravagant innovations corrupt the simple standards which prevailed; nature exerts a judgment, and after an ordeal of snow and storm, the island is cut off and hunger and cold take their toll. But Benedetto, Giovanni's eldest- and a mute, recovers his powers of speech and with Cavallo, the horse, rides across the ice to save the girl he loves....A gentle fable which is not without its charm- but special.