Il bambino dei topi [English translation]

We still talk about him

Under our breath when the evening comes

Sitting close by, with a bit of fear.

About the time he was chasing us

Laughing so strangely

And later hid

To spy on us from afar.

He lived there up the hill

He spent his days

Watching the sparrows fly

He played with the mouses, but he didn’t talk to us

We were pestering him

Trying to make him cry

But he didn’t mind us and went away

His father didn’t love him,

He beat him up everyday:

He couldn’t bear those strange eyes.

His mother consoled him,

He went away into the rain

Barefoot, he walked slowly.

They are so aloof

The things that happened once

But sometimes we still talk about him.

On summer evenings

When it’s boring here

Sitting close by, letting time fly by.