"You think you caught me sleeping, don't you?" "No." "No one in the village sleeps in the day." "Except once in a while in church on Sundays." "This is a normal village, you see?" "Just like any village anywhere, only it is in Sicily." "My people live simply." "Work hard." "They plant seeds when they should, and with God's help, those seeds grow as they should." "And it follows that in due time, we harvest our crops and our babies." "Crops and babies." "A normal village." "That is, this was a normal village, but not since the trouble came." "Jessica." "The new midwife." "A bit of fluff, a lock of hair, a fleeting smile, a wisp of a girl." "A wisp of an American girl, one of nature's more formidable accidents." "What has she done to my people?" "Well..." "(HORN BEEPING)" "She has reshaped the course of business." "(HORN BEEPING)" "Be still, darling." "FATHER ANTONIO:" "She has hopelessly tangled communications." "My sister's best teapot." "WOMAN:" "Beppi?" "Beppi, have you seen my teapot?" "Uh..." "FATHER ANTONIO:" "And because of her, property owners are denied their lawful rights." "(HORN BEEPING)" "She has caused the downward curve in our farm programs." "(HORN BEEPING)" "Of all the husbands, there is only one you could point to with pride," "His Honor, the mayor of the village." "But then, as has been said, to fast when you're not hungry, what is it?" "Meanwhile, every other husband is dreaming of a banquet." "Oh, Lord, we are in trouble." "Hello, Father!" "I'll talk to you later." "Hello, Jessica!" "Where are you going?" "Signor Risino." "My fist consignment on my own." "Oh, your first test." "Every woman in the village will be watching to see how you do, my child." "Does that worry you?" "I'm a good nurse, Father." "Yes, but it is not as a nurse that my people will judge you." "Ah, yes, I know." "Jessica Brown Visconti." "Girl midwife." "A most unusual midwife." "Because I'm an American?" "Oh, no, not at all." "I'm not a Sicilian and they accepted me as their own." "But there are other things about you, unusual in a midwife." "Jessica, do you mind?" "Why did you come here?" "Oh, I don't know, Father." "Oh, it's all right." "You don't have to tell me." "Oh, no, no, I..." "I really mean I don't know." "You see, all my life," "I've been making plans." "As a student nurse, I planned to be head nurse." "Then one day in the corridor, on the second floor of the Passavant Hospital in Chicago, Illinois," "I met a young medical student, Carlo Visconti." "So I had to make new plans." "We were married in his mother's home in Palermo, and everything went just as we planned, the wedding, the reception, setting off together on our honeymoon." "The only thing we didn't plan was the tree that had fallen across the road, and Carlo was driving much too fast." "He died and I came out of it without a scratch." "After that, I didn't make any more plans." "So, when your letter came to the hospital..." "Well, here I am." "Ah, that's Priscilla." "They told me about her." ""Priscilla, to Father Antonio,"" ""in gratitude for his help,"" ""from the boys of the third company,."" ""Fifth Army, USA."" "Yes." "Your American boys are, are so generous, so enthusiastic." "And our girls were so pretty." "Oh, well." "That was then." "Have you ever thought of marrying again?" "Of course I have, Father, but I've been too busy." "Uh-huh." "Let's see, let's see." "What single men have we?" "For one, there's Beppi Toriello, the messaggero municipale, who owns the wine shop with his sister." "You mean the teapot?" " You know him?" " Mm-hmm." "You're right, you're right." "No, no, no, he won't do at all." "Then, now, there is Edmondo Raumo." "Who?" "The marchese." "But no, no, no, he's not right, he's not right." "He's not like his father." " He's all wrong." " Really?" "Why, Father?" "(CART APPROACHING)" "Then there is, uh..." "Gianni!" "Hello, Father." "How are you?" "I'm well, Gianni." "This is Gianni Crupi." "Signora Visconti." " Did you say Signora, Father?" " I did." "Signora Visconti is our new midwife, from America." "Midwife, you?" "To take care of other people's babies?" "What a waste, Signora." "I hope your trip was a success, Gianni." "You've been gone, what?" "Two weeks?" "Anyway, a long time." "Too long, Father." "Yes, Nicolina must think so, too." "She must be waiting for you," "Nicolina." "Uh-huh." " FATHER ANTONIO:" "Gianni!" " Huh?" "Oh." "And Signor Risino must be wondering where I am." "It's going to be a lucky baby." "The first face it sees in the world will be yours." "Well, it might not be if I don't hurry." "If it's a boy, he'll wait." "FATHER ANTONIO:" "Jessica." "And one more thing." "Gianni Crupi is very fortunate." "He's going to inherit all the Lombardo farmland one day." "Old Maria Lombardo thinks of him as her grandson." "And as a matter of fact, he's going to marry her granddaughter Nicolina," " in a few weeks." " Nicolina." "Ah, yes, the gentle, pretty little girl." "Yes, with the strong, big grandmother." "Don't worry, Father, I'm not that lonely." "I won't cause trouble." "My child, you are trouble." " Mama, Mama!" " Yes, dear." "Father, pray for me." "I will." "Ever since you came I've been praying, for everybody." "Gianni!" "Nicolina!" "Hi, Gianni." "Rosario." "Oh, Gianni, where have you been?" "Having fun." "Gianni." "Oh, I have missed you so." "(CHUCKLING)" "What took you so long?" "My dear child, I was bringing to terms the sharpest olive dealer in Messina." "Did you get him?" "When I finished with him, even your stiff-necked grandmother would be pleased." "Gianni!" "NICOLINA:" "Gianni, don't." "GIANNI:" "Why not, little one?" "NICOLINA:" "Someone will hear." "GIANNI:" "Then don't struggle." "(CLEARING THROAT)" "Gianni, I meant what took you so long on the curve by the wheat field?" "I saw you talking with Father Antonio and Jessica." " Who?" " Signora Visconti, the American girl." "Isn't she pretty?" "I didn't notice." " You didn't?" " Why should I?" "A married woman?" "What is she to me?" "She's not married, she's a widow." "A widow?" "Really?" "Then her name is Jessica." "Gianni, what are you thinking?" "I was just wondering how she must feel." "Who?" "Jessica, the midwife." "To have known a man's love, to have his arms around her, his mouth on hers, then not have it anymore." "She never did have it." "Her husband was killed on their wedding day." "GIANNI:" "Oh..." "A virgin, huh?" "(CHUCKLING)" "Signora Lombardo, we came about the midwife." "You told us that we should go and watch." "I mean, help the midwife." "You know, Signora Risino is in labor." "Oh, Signor Risino, not yet." "There's nothing to worry about, though." "I hope you're not gonna bother your wife now." " No." " Thank you." "This is not the time for a husband." "Later, after the baby comes, yes, but right now, it's your wife's time and mine." "You understand?" "Well, then you go back to work." "I am hungry." "Now you know better than that." "You know you'll just be in the way." "Now go back to work." "Why not?" "Oh, it's just a scratch." "Go back." "I want to see my wife." "All right." "Go ahead." "Holy mother." "What are you doing here?" "I came to see you." "I don't know." "What for?" "Well, the baby, I mean." "What's the matter?" "Do you think I don't know how to have a baby?" "Who do you think had the other eight?" "You?" "Signora Visconti?" "Tell him to leave." "ANTONIO:" "Does it hurt?" ""Does it hurt?"" "Throw him out!" "Come." "To leave his work in the first place." "Why?" "He's never done it before." "Why this time?" "Signora, can you come down?" "I want to tell you something." "JESSICA:" "Now go!" "Shoo!" "Shoo!" "And don't come back." "I'll send one of the children to let you know." "Now, go!" "Go, shoo!" "Shoo!" "Well, we can't blame her." "She put him out." "Yes, but did she have to?" "We are not here to judge her looks, but how good a midwife she is." "But Signora Lombardo, what if she's good?" "She won't be." "Why should she?" "She doesn't have to." "Would you work the bakery with your husband if you were as pretty as the midwife?" "Of course you would not." "She washed their faces." "So neat." "No dust." "Hmm." "Smells good." "(BABY CRYING)" "Already?" "She usually takes days." "We came to help." "She had no trouble?" "None." "She always did before with the old midwife." "(GIGGLING)" "WOMAN:" "Bella always had trouble before with the old midwife." "(BABY CRYING)" "Do you love babies, Signora?" "I will love my great-grandchild." "I will love the baby of my granddaughter Nicolina and Gianni Crupi." "And I love them all." "They're so wise." "They come into the world knowing at once where food is and how to get it." "Thank you for wanting to help." "Well, Signora?" "I was wrong." "Do you think she's good." " Worse." " Worse?" "She's good, she's honest and she loves her work." "She's impossible." "How did it go?" " Fine." " Did anything go wrong?" "Not a thing, Mamma Parigi, everything went beautifully." "Ah, that's what I heard." "Oh, well." "We have other things wrong in the village this morning." "Oh?" "Let me take that." "Oh!" "Hey, heavy, isn't it?" "You must be so tired." "You were smart to grab me away from all the other ladies who wanted my services as housekeeper." "You certainly gave Maria Lombardo and those other gossips a shock." "I heard all about this." "But how could you hear?" "When you're as deaf as I am, you make a special effort." "I knew there was something." "Old Crupi's got blood poisoning." "Who?" "Old Crupi." "The gardener up at the chateau." "He's the uncle of that boy Gianni who's going to marry Maria Lombardo's granddaughter." "You met Gianni, didn't you?" "That boy, Gianni..." "If I were only 55 again." "What about the uncle?" "MAMMA:" "He cut his hand." "Gianni stopped by to ask you to go and have a look at it, but don't you do it." "Can you reach the cups?" "Blood poisoning or not, Crupi's an old grouch." "The coffee, Mamma Parigi." "Hates doctors." "Probably hates midwives even worse." "Won't pay his bills, won't even die." "Ooh, he's so mean." "Ah, there." "All the same, I'd better go up to the castle to see him." "(SCOFFS) He'll throw you out for your pains." " Signor Crupi?" " That's right." "Hello, I'm Jessica Visconti." "Is that so?" "The new midwife." "There must be some mistake, Signora." "I am not having a baby." "A pity, sir." "However, I came about something else." "Your nephew, Gianni." "My nephew Gianni is an idiot." "That may be, but he left word asking me to see to your hand." "It's already been seen to by me." "Oh, please." "Won't you let me?" "No." "I won't let you and that's that." "Are you afraid of a bill?" "Are you really that stingy?" "Yes, I am, yes!" "JESSICA:" "Are you afraid I'll hurt you?" "That's right, I'm afraid of that, too, yes." "Now, please leave me alone, will you?" "Go, hmm?" "All right, I'm sorry to have bothered you." "Uh, Signor Crupi?" "Aren't you supposed to be the best gardener around here?" "I am the best gardener anywhere." "Really?" "CRUPI:" "Why?" "Oh, I don't know." "Putting all those tulips and stock and wallflower in the same bed, mixing all those colors." "CRUPI:" "What's wrong with it?" "It clashes." "Clashes?" "You talk to me about clashes?" "Come back here, come back here and look at that." " Look at that, Signora." " Wow, really?" "You know what they say about my borders, Signora?" "The richest borders in the whole of Sicily," " that's what they say." " Ah, really?" "And then those rich borders are every color of the rainbow." "I've had tulips as red as a drunkard's nose, with iris as yellow as the sun right beside them." "I have red geraniums, white geraniums and blue luberias." "Blue, mind you!" "All on the same border." "Uh, that..." "That can't be a garden you're talking about." "It sounds more like a jungle." "Jungle?" "You're too ignorant to know that it's the most beautiful garden." "Beautiful to the eye, to the heart." "There is the bee to think of too, you know?" "He uses flowers for food and he likes variety in his diet, just like the rest of us." "Just as we do, to begin with, buttercups, for main dish, chrysanthemums, for dessert, zinnias." "I plant my gardens more for bees than for people!" "They're a lot less ungrateful." "And God knows they are more intelligent, hmm?" "It's only infected, nothing serious." "But I'd like you not to use it for a few days." "You tricked me, hmm?" "Yes." "Signor, I'm not a doctor, but if you don't mind, you don't look like a well man." "I am not." " Well, then would you..." " No, no, I would not." "I suppose you expect to be paid for this?" "Certainly." "How much?" "To be allowed to come back to see your garden." "(GRUMBLING)" "That's too much." "Then consider the account paid in full." "However, if you happen to be passing by, you can always come in, hmm?" "I am here every day." "Thank you." "I'd love to." " Mm-hmm." " (VESPA STARTING)" "Goodbye, Signor!" "(CHUCKLING)" "Hey, Rosario, how does it look?" "You think we have enough lights?" "That's right, if the bride gets a look at the groom, she could change her mind." "Do you think this hem looks crooked?" "Oh, why bother?" "If Gianni is like Musudino, the dress will be in shreds by wedding night, anyway." "Really?" "Why?" "Because men are so nervous." " About what?" " (WOMEN LAUGHING)" "(HORN HONKING)" "MAN:" "Whoa, here she is!" "Here's Jesse!" " Hey, Jesse, I need you!" " Over here, Jessica!" "Hey, Jessica, we've got two weeks to celebrate before the wedding!" "Let's make every day count." "Nicolina, are you home?" "In the bedroom upstairs, Jessica." "Oh, you did come!" "Of course." "We are all in here." "I can't stay, but I had to give you this." " Oh, thank you." " Good morning." "How wonderful you look, Nicolina." "Yours?" "Yes." "Yes, it's mine." "Yes, it's beautiful." "The way you are beautiful." "(GASPS) Jessica!" "I want you to have it." "My husband gave it to me to carry to my wedding." "And I will be happy to carry it to mine." "Thank you, Jessica." "You must hold your husband's memory lightly to give away his gift so easily." "Why?" "Does it dishonor the dead to believe in the living?" "Of course not." "But we have customs here about accepting gifts from strangers." "We cannot accept yours." "But Jessica is my friend." "Yes, I am your friend, but I'm also a stranger." "However, your grandmother knows that I didn't mean to intrude, just as I know she didn't mean to offend." "Yeah." "Take her gift." "Goodbye, Nicolina." "Bye, Jessica." "Thank you." "Why did you give in like that?" "I changed my mind." "Are you beginning to like her?" "No, I'm beginning to hate her." "Because she puts you in the wrong?" "I..." "We haven't all day." "Bring the other pins." "There she is again." "Don't let her get away this time!" "Pour some wine for her." "You have to toast the bridegroom, Signora!" "A toast to the groom." "JESSICA:" "A toast, to you." "And a kiss to the groom." "Oh, no, no." "Go ahead, what are you afraid of, he's not gonna bite?" "Signora Lombardo, I think you should see this." "MAN:" "Woo!" "Save some for wedding." "Show him." "Just think of him as one of your babies, a boy baby." "Hey, she was right to be afraid, look at you, Gianni." "FATHER ANTONIO:" "Aren't you a bit early, my children?" "Your wedding is not till..." "Jessica!" "I was just congratulating the bridegroom, Father." "His friends insisted." "That's right, Father." "When a man gives up his freedom, he's got to get something for it." "Will you have some wine with us, sir?" "No, no, no, I have to make final arrangements for the wedding with Signora Lombardo and then I have..." "I have an appointment up at the castle, so I'm sorry, eh?" "Another time." "Meanwhile, have fun." "But not too much fun." "We will, Father!" " Goodbye, Father." " Bye." "Hey, Jessica, don't forget," "I'm picking you up for the wedding." "I'll wait, Rosario." "MAN:" "Goodbye, Jessica!" " Bye, Jessica, byebye!" " Goodbye!" "Don't forget, I'll pick you up for the wedding!" " (BELL RINGING) - (DOGS BARKING)" "Good morning, Annamaria." "Good morning, Father." "Is the marchese in?" "No, he's off in the woods with his dogs." "All right, then, Annamaria, I'll wander out." "Perhaps I'll run into him." "Father, don't ask him any of your favors today if you can help it." "He's in one of his mean streaks." " Who said so?" " Oh..." "Ooh." "Mother of God, how did you get here?" "Through the back way, why?" "Oh, excuse me, sir, I only meant that..." "All right, Annamaria, get out." "I mean, get in." "Hello, Father." "Want to take a walk?" "I have something to tell Crupi." "All right." "Why the honor for your visit?" "Need another donation for the church?" "Yes, I do." "How much this time?" "Or am I being too crass?" "Not at all." "As a matter of fact, I brought a little list." "Quite the little list." "If I recall, I said no to everything on your last little list." "Yes." "I remember." "Item one." "Old Bugianni died last month." "His wife cries because she cannot afford a headstone." "What good is a headstone to a dead man?" "No, no headstone." "Next." "You must go to the wedding of Nicolina Lombardo and Gianni Crupi." "You know I never go to church anyway, so the answer is no." "I will not go to the wedding." "What is next on your list?" "The mortgage for old Vantorte's farm." "Yes." "A wooden leg for Old Spani." "Yes." "Oh." "FATHER ANTONIO:" "Maria Lombardo is the matriarch of Forza d'Agro." " You owe it to her." " No." "What decent thing won't he do now, Father?" "He won't go to the wedding of your nephew and Nicolina Lombardo." "(SCOFFS) Of course not." "He's afraid it might make somebody happy." "It's sad to think that you look so much like his father." "I'm not my father." "(LAUGHING) Oh!" "And yet you were like him once." "Was I?" "I forget." "Well, I must be off." "See what you can do with him." "Me?" "Why me?" "Because you're an obstinate old man and he's getting more like you every day." "You are right." "One like me is enough, huh?" "Oh... (DOGS BARKING)" "(GROANING)" "They don't pick themselves up for me the way they used to." "My boy." "In all the years" "I have tried to be your friend," "I have never given you advice." "But now, open your windows to the light." "Unlock the doors." "Step out." "You mean people are splendid, and I shouldn't sit in the dark just because a group of cowardly dogs who call themselves fascist dragged my wife into the night and shot her like an animal." "That was a terrible thing." "Forget it." "You are quite right, I must remember that." "Is there anything else I can do for you?" "Yes." "You can go to that damn fool wedding." "All right." "On one condition." "That you go, too." "Me?" "Or I won't." "Oh..." "Well, well, going to a wedding, what." "(HORN BEEPING)" "(ALL CLAMORING)" "(HORN BEEPING)" "And another thing." "The way she rides that Vespa, it's vulgar." "She smiles all the time." "She has that soft, sweet voice." "And the way she walks." "Her body." "Oh, I beg your pardon, Father." "Her shape." "It's disgraceful." "Her legs alone are a sin." "The sin is yours, my friend." "You're jealous." "You're all jealous." "Jealous, me?" "Where did you get such an idea?" "All right, now." "Enough." "ALL:" "Excuse us, Father." "Now, my daughter, it's time we had a talk." "You are all upset because of Jessica." "She's making you unhappy, very unhappy." "You want to be rid of her." "I don't blame you." "Obviously, she's a terrible midwife." "Oh, no, she was wonderful." "Well, she was." "Ah, yes, but perhaps..." "Perhaps that was an accident." "There have been other babies since." "She must have been terrible with them." "No, no, she was not." "She was good." "Oh, yeah?" "Yes, then you want to be rid of her because..." "Because she makes eyes at all the men, eh?" "She uses her..." "Her smile." "Her soft, sweet, voice." "Her..." "Her shape in a sinful manner." "No, she does not do any of that." " No?" " No." "Ah, then it is the men." "It is the men who make eyes at her." " Yes." " Yes." "And of course, they..." "They withhold their attentions from you." "Oh, no, they don't." "I don't know about the rest of you, but for me, it's more attentions than ever." "But then, what's wrong?" "I'm so tired." "And not only that, but every time." "Musudino pays attention to me, he's thinking of her." "How can you tell?" "They close their eyes, Virginia." "Oh, my goodness." "Well, if the situation is this painful, then you must tell Jessica to leave, but you must tell her why." "And you must tell your husbands, too, why." "Then we can do nothing." "(LAUGHING)" "Excuse me." "I was thinking of something funny." "A story Tuffi told me." "It's a story called Lysistrata about a group of women who lived a long time ago." "Their husbands kept going off to wars and they didn't want them to." "So they decided to deny themselves to their husbands and pretty soon, their husbands stayed home." "You mean the women denied themselves?" "This couldn't happen here." "In Sicily?" "Never." "But this happened in Greece." "They had a strike." "A kind of..." "A sit up strike." "But it's a wonderful idea." "Don't you see?" "Deny yourselves, no babies." "No babies, no midwife." "It solves the problem." "It's perfect." "We must all stand together." " We better put it to a vote." " Yes, a vote!" " Let's go, vote!" " A vote?" "You must tell them." "Bring them back to their senses." "But I am on their side." "You, Maria?" "Have you so little trust in Gianni Crupi?" "Oh, this girl, this Jessica." "She is a fire." "She is burning the heart of every man in the village." "It's not her fault." "Why must she be punished?" "She is not being punished." "You do not kick the fire that burns your house." "You just put it out." "It's against nature." "Nature will survive." "It's a sin." "A denial of life." "Not life." "Self." "It's self-denial, which makes it a virtue, Father." "Maria, these are just words and you know it." "You also know, as do all of you, that a wife has no moral right to deny her husband." "Therefore, there is nothing more to be said." "But you'll say it." "I am older than you and I regret that I've led you astray, but..." "I can hardly wait until Musudino starts whining around." "If I say yes, it means no more babies." "That's right, no more babies." "And no more..." "No more." "But it's Saturday." "Lucia!" "All right, all right, I vote yes." "And Nicolina, too?" "Will she be with us?" "Yes." "I vote yes." "And her answer will be yes." "Strike!" "All the women called a strike today." "A strike?" "That's interesting." "Against what?" "Against sex." "Hmm?" "Never mind." "You mean Gianni is not to make love to me at all?" "Only for a time, only for a time." "After all, you'll be together, you'll have fun and laughter together." "There's a great deal more in marriage than just physical love." "That is something that you learn later to enjoy more fully." "You've got a great many years ahead of you, Nicolina." "And if Gianni loves you, he'll wait until you're ready." "But I'm ready now." "I ask this of you now, Nicolina." "It will be even more difficult for Gianni." "But it's good for a young man to learn self-control." "He'll be all the better for it." "Now, will you promise me this, Nicolina?" "NICOLINA:" "I will attempt it, Grandmother." "Well, the attempt of a Lombardo is often better than the accomplishment of others." "I know as long as you're under my roof, you'll keep your promise." "You may find me wiser than you think." "Don't forget, while Gianni is dreaming of possessing his wife, he has little time to dream of anyone else." "Many wives have discovered that." "But there is no one else to dream about." "I wouldn't be so sure about that." "That's another discovery many wives have made." " Grandmother?" " Yes?" "Are you thinking about Jessica?" "I know she's beautiful, but Gianni wouldn't." " He loves me." " Oh, love." "Love is for Sundays." "Never forget, no matter how much in love a man may be, he still scratches an itch." "You've got a lot to learn, Nicolina, and the rest of your life to learn it, but for now, for now, you promise me this, huh?" "Yeah?" "Yes." "I guess." "That's good." "That's very good." "MUSUDINO:" "Open the door, Lucia!" "I'm going to eternity, you understand?" "What do I care where you go to sleep?" "Take your silk off and go and sleep in the oven." "Why did I wait 'til after nine children?" "Why didn't I think of this before?" "(LAUGHING)" "This is not the first time it happened, Filippo." "You won't believe this, but it happened a long time ago, in Greece." "A story called Lysistrata." "FILIPPO:" "Come to bed." "As it seems, there were these women, and their husbands kept going off to war, so they decided to have a strike, and pretty soon..." " (SMACKING) - (SHOUTING) Oh!" "Filippo!" " (SMACKING) - (SPEAKING SOFTLY) Filippo..." "(MUSIC PLAYING)" "(SPEAKING IN LATIN)" "My children... (FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)" "(WHISPERING) No, that's the marchese's chair." "What?" "GIANNI:" "You can't sit there, it's the marchese's chair." "Come." "There has been a promise of marriage between Gianni Crupi and Nicolina Lombardo, both of this parish, to take place this coming Saturday." "This is the second publication of the banns." "My sermon today is inspired from the epistle of." "St. Paul to the Ephesians, chapter five." ""Let women be subject to their husbands, as to the Lord:."" ""Because the husband is the head of the wife,"" ""so also let the wives be subject to their husbands in all things."" "Father Antonio was great." "But I tried, see?" "You must try harder, and just remember tonight, when he climbs into bed," "I'm behind you all the way." "He did nothing but talk of you." "And this is the first time in 30 years my uncle said anything good about anybody." "He is a mean old man." "Oh, no, he's a wise old man." "Good morning." "Ah, how are my children?" "Come on, everybody." "March." "Antonio." "You look well, Signora Lombardo." "Oh..." "What's worrying you?" "Nothing, nothing, nothing." "And you, my dear, you look like a girl of 18." "Really?" "Nicolina?" "Your wedding comes closer and closer," "I'm so happy for you." "Oh, thank you, Jessica." "Nicolina!" "Gianni, come." "Goodbye, Jessica." "Come." "Goodbye." "Hey ho!" "(VESPA STARTING)" "(MUSIC PLAYING)" "Drink." "I don't want to get drunk." "I don't want to get drunk, I..." "Oh, it's a proud day, Father." "I only wish my Roberto had lived to see it." "Your Roberto would have outdrunk them all." "Yes, outdrunk, outshouted and outloved." "Oh." "Come on, let's dance." "Come on." "It's all right." "They're not married." "It's Edmondo!" " Good evening." " Why, you came." " Hey, Father." " What a pleasant surprise, my son." "Not at all." "How could I miss the marriage of my goddaughter, to the nephew of my old friend Crupi?" "By the way, where is my old friend Crupi?" "He had a small errand to do, but he'll be along." "He'd better." "Signora, will you have a glass of wine with me?" "Of course." "Just look at my wife." "You're jealous, Luigi?" "Jealous?" "Not at all." "Had the American girl been here," "Nunzia would have been on the sidelines." "When I left, Jessica was dressing to come." "Waiting for that." "He was supposed to pick her up." "(KNOCKING)" "Oh, Signor Crupi." "But I thought..." "Where's Rosario?" "Drunk, if he has any sense." "Aren't you ready yet?" "Hmm." "Is that for me?" "Of course it's for you." "Oh." "Well, good." "Then you can have this." " Ah." " Ah... (CHUCKLING)" "Oh..." " Okay?" " Okay." "(COUGHING)" "You'll catch cold." "Come on." " Oh, oh, oh, oh..." "Wait a minute." " Hm?" "For you." "(CHUCKLING) Oh." "And so I won't catch a cold." "This is how we do it." "We go." "My children," "I have no words of wisdom for you, no warning." "Not even a wedding gift." "Only a wish." "(MUSIC PLAYING)" "* It is better to love" "* It is better if you would" "* It is better than be loved" "* Than be loved if you could" "* To be ever in love" "* It is better if you do" "* It is better to give love" "* Than have love given to you" "* For the gift of love comes with giving" "* And you'll have a life full of living" "* It is better to love" "* It is better if you could" "* It is better than be loved" "* Than be loved if you just would" "* It is better to love" "* It is better if you would" "* It is better than be loved" "* Than be loved if you would" "* To be ever in love" "* It is better if you could" "* It is better to give love" "* Than have love given to you" "* For the gift of love comes with giving" "* And you'll have a life full of living" "* It is better to love" "* It is better if you could" "* It is better than be loved" "* Than be loved" "* If you just would *" "(MUSIC PLAYING)" "Oh, look at my old friend Crupi!" "Never mind." "Forget her." "Come on." "I told Rosario not to bring her." "I know, Rosario told me." "How did Old Crupi know?" "In the village, everybody knows everything." "Isn't it so?" "I've never seen her before." "Does she belong here?" "That, my boy, is quite a question." "(GRUNTING)" "My Roberto always said it wasn't a good wedding unless there was a fight." "But I don't like it." "What do you expect of a village that sleeps with a volcano for a pillow?" "(CRASHING)" "(GRUNTING)" "Guess what?" "What?" "More wine, Jessica?" "Should I?" "It's up to you." "Then I shouldn't." "How did you know my name?" "Father Antonio told me all about you." "I'll take the wine." "Like what did he tell you?" "That every man in this village wants you." "Oh, that." "But he didn't tell me which man you want." "I don't want any of them." "Oh!" "(CHUCKLING)" "Do you mean to tell me that not one of those 10 muscular young fellows in there has caught your eye?" "Being young isn't all that good." "It's much better when you're older." " Yes." " I mean, you've got all that gray around and I don't know, your mind is better when it's older, or it ought to be." "And your feelings are finer." "So I am the one you want." "I thought so." "But why else did you bring me out to the garden?" "Whenever you're ready, my dear." "Are you tired, dear?" "A little, but if you'd rather stay..." "Oh, no, I was just marking time, waiting for you." "Thank you, Pascale." "Antonio." "Oh, yes, of course." "(LAUGHING)" "(MUSIC PLAYING)" "Mm?" "Mm-hmm." "Ooh, I love wine." "All right." "Your name is Giuseppe and you own fishing boats in Taormina and in the morning, you're going off with your fishing fleet and you won't be back for several weeks." "What else about you?" "Nothing." "Except that I am a lucky man." "Because you're going away in the morning?" "Because I met you tonight." "Oh." "Are you sure you're a fisherman, Giuseppe?" "Of course." "Why not?" "I don't know." "It sounds..." "It sounds..." "Dull, I don't know." "And you don't..." "If you know what I mean." "Fishing?" "Dull?" "You mean it's exciting?" "If you go after game fish, a fighting fish, a fish worth taking." "Oh, yes..." "Oh, yes, it's exciting." "It is not a rich man, or a poor man, who catches a fish." "It is a lucky man who knows how to wait." "Oh..." "That's so cruel." "Cruel?" "It is the fish that comes to the hook." "The hook does not seek out the fish." "But the fish hasn't got a chance." "What does the fish need a chance for?" "If I don't take it, what would it do with its life?" "Poor fish." "What?" "Never mind." "Ooh." "I almost forgot." "Are you married?" "No." "Engaged?" "No." "Mistress?" "(LAUGHING) No." "Ah." "Then nobody's gonna get hurt." "(MEN SINGING)" "Luigi, it's late." "Close the shutters and come to bed." "And that's why the wives were urging their husbands to get drunk." "So they wouldn't be able to..." "Oh-ho!" "That's right." "Oh-ho!" "And it's going to be oh-ho every night for months." "You too, Nunzia?" "Me too what?" "Are you a part of this conspiracy?" "Certainly." "I'm a woman, am I not?" "You most certainly are." "What are you looking at?" "A woman." "A most desirable woman." "Who?" "You, Nunzia." "Luigi!" "You've taken on the delicious savor of forbidden fruit, Nunzia." "Luigi, I..." "I think you've gone mad." "The Rubicon has been crossed, the drawbridge raised." "I must confess, I find you at this moment extremely desirable, whether it is the moonlight, the midwife, something has been done to me." "There is this deliberate challenge to me as a man." "I can't explain." "There is no need to explain." "Oh, Nicolina..." "Quiet, Grandmother will hear us." "She will hear nothing that she does not expect." "But she will, she..." " Gianni?" " Huh?" "Not now." "Why not?" "I'm sleepy." "You've never been less sleepy in your life." "We must talk!" "We must talk reasonably." "Intelligently." "Like two sensible people." "Oh, Gianni." "No, we can't." "GIANNI:" "Don't fight, little one." "I love you." "NICOLINA:" "Yes." "I promised Grandmother." "Not under her roof, I said." "Nicolina." "Nicolina, let me tell you something." "All girls are afraid at first, but afterwards, they like it very much." "Trust me, don't be afraid." "Afraid?" "Who is afraid?" " Gianni, I have an idea." " Yes?" "Let's go to the orchard." "The orchard?" "Now?" " The orchard!" " Shh!" "You want to leave a soft, warm bed for a cold, hard orchard?" "Oh, yes, oh, please, Gianni." "Please, love?" "I want our first night to be under the stars, under the moon, on the soft grass." "You want to sleep in the orchard?" "Then that's what we'll do." "Your shoes." "Come on, crazy one, hurry up." "Hurry up." "(ROOSTER CROWING)" "NICOLINA:" "Gianni?" "GIANNI:" "Hmm?" "NICOLINA:" "My hand looks no different." "GIANNI:" "Did you think it would?" "NICOLINA:" "The trees are no different." "The sun's no different." "Nothing's different." "Only me." "Oh, Gianni." "I'll never be the same again." "(MUSIC PLAYING)" "And then finally the bride and the bridegroom left." "Oh, that bridegroom." "With his eyes like slowburning fires." "The girl's lucky." "The boy is a prize." "But eyes or no, not only that... (SMACKING PILLOW)" "Ooh, Jessica!" "Do you have to be so noisy?" "Oh, those feathers crashing together inside there." "Anyway, you certainly had the best of it last night, vino and amore." "Me, I only had vino." "But when I saw you walking out with the marchese." "You mean Giuseppe." "Giuseppe?" "Who is Giuseppe?" "He was the tallest, the most handsome, the one with the eyes, and the cruel mouth that isn't cruel at all." "That's what I am saying." "The one who led you into the garden." "Him I saw, the marchese," "Edmondo from the chateau up there." "Giuseppe is the marchese?" "There are girls all over Sicily who are looking for him." "But not here." "Never with a girl from here before." "But I suppose he broke his rule for you because you are a stranger." "Mamma Parigi, are you sure the man I..." "The man you saw me with last night was..." "Was the marchese?" "Of course I'm sure." "When it comes to man, at least I still got the eye." "And speaking of men, there was something going on last night." "The husbands all drunk and the wives all happy." "Mmm." "Those women are up to something..." "And it's against you, and it's about to explode!" "I can hardly wait." "You won't have to." "But why didn't you tell me it was a strike, against me?" "It would only have upset you." "But why didn't you stop them, Father?" "These women are fighting for the most important things in their lives." "Their husbands and their homes." "I couldn't stop them." "You think that they're right to do a thing like this to me?" "They are right to fight for their homes, yes." "But why?" "What wrong have I done?" "You are here, my child." "You are what we call the occasion of sin." "The temptation to the husbands, the torment to their wives." "No married man has touched me." "No, but you are in every man's dream, and that is what their wives can't forgive." "But what if I want to stay, Father?" "You are right to." "Then what do I do?" "That is something no one can tell you." "It is up to you." "Yes, of course." "Thank you, Father." "But why didn't you tell me it was a strike?" "What difference does it make?" "You kept your promise, didn't you?" "Oh, yes, I did." "Well, that's nice." "I hope you're not sorry." "Of course not." "Good." "You'd better take that grass out of your hair." " Anything else?" " Oh, yes." "Some brown yarn." "His socks are full of holes." "Well, she begins early." "But she looks tired." "Didn't you sleep well?" "Oh, yes, I slept beautifully, but the night was short, as you know." "As we all know." "I'll say." "Oh, you should see him." "I fail to see the humor." "As for you, Signora Casablanca, have you any idea what you have done?" "Oh, have I ever." "Do you really think it's funny that she has betrayed us?" "Sabotaged us?" "Humiliated us?" "Us, Virginia?" "Why not us?" "Well, I don't know about you, but I haven't had to lock my bedroom door lately." "All right, go ahead and laugh." "But if it wasn't for me, some of you would be crying by now." "I was the one who first saw the danger of this Jezebel, this American midwife, and I was the first to see her evil plan." "I was the first one to see that she was going to use her devil-inspired body to steal every man in this village." "Good morning, ladies." "Father Antonio told me about your strike, and I was going to leave." "That was before I heard you." "My devil-inspired body." "What quaint words you use, Signorina, for your dirty thoughts." "As for stealing your men," "I'm innocent and you know it." "Still, you've tried to get rid of me because you thought I might be trouble." "Well, ladies..." "You don't know what trouble is." "Such insolence." "* Oh quelle belle Jessica" "* Oh quelle divine bambina" "* In all the world no replica" "* Of Jessica, of Jessica" "* When Jessica comes into town" "* That little town is turned around" "* And everything is upside down" "* With Jessica around" "* For Jessica has laughing eyes" "* Her tantalizing air" "* For Jessica has tender lips" "* And honeycolored hair" "* Oh" "* The baker cannot bake his cake" "* The farmer leans upon his rake" "* They're feeling so romantica" "* For Jessica, for Jessica" "* Oh quelle belle Jessica" "* Oh quelle divine bambina" "* They're feeling so romantica" "* Because of Jessica" "* La bella Jessica" "* Che bella Jessica" "* Voila" "* Eccola" "* Oh Lord" "* I must confess to it" "* I must have made" "* A mess of it" "* Cannot be the fault of thee" "* So" "* It must be the fault of me" "* The ladies in the town are right" "* The gentlemen are downright right" "* And Jessica is also right" "* But everything is wrong" "* My little town" "* Is turned around" "* My quiet little town" "* My little town" "* Is upside down" "* With Jessica around" "* Ah" "* The ladies in the town are right" "* The gentlemen are downright right" "* And Jessica" "* Is also right" "* But everything is wrong" "* I cannot blame the men" "* I cannot blame the men" "* Amen." "Oh, perfect." "Perfect specimen." "Exquisite proportions." "The legs, perfect." "The body, faintly mottled." "I waited long time for this." "Good afternoon, Jessica." "I've never seen anything so perfect and I've seen quite a few." "Now, wait a minute." "You can't always tell the male from the female, you know?" "But I didn't have the slightest doubt this time." "A real hairy old grandfather." "What?" "TUFFI:" "A spider." "Where?" "TUFFI:" "Oh, it's gone now." "Are you interested in spiders?" "No." "No, I'm not, but..." "I'm glad to hear you are." "It's my life work." "I'm writing a book." "About spiders." "Their qualities, their patience, their cunning." "The infinite delicacy of their handiwork." "Consider, madam, a web." "A dangerous weapon of infinite beauty and grace." "Oh, I could spend a whole life with them." "He's coming." " Ladies." " Luigi." "No, no, no, Nunzia, I mustn't be disturbed." "I must be alone." "To encapture this afternoon's experience." "It was unique." "It was staggering." "Well..." "Poor thing." "Too bad." "The American girl?" "Naked as a grape." "(BOTH GASP)" "A spider?" "(LAUGHING)" "Oh, Luigi, Luigi." "How sweet of you." "And now, my love, I have some news for you." "You are going to be a father." "What do you think of that?" " A..." "A father?" " Yes." "(MUMBLING)" "Luigi!" "Oh!" "Luigi!" "Luigi!" "Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!" "Bravo, Tuffi!" "Tuffi, you are a true son of Sicily!" "It was the first shot that got the bird." "Bravo!" "Bravo!" "No, you idiot!" "You're in too deep!" "GIANNI:" "I'm planting them in two inches." " Hmm?" " GIANNI:" "The way you said." "No, no, you're choking them to death!" "All right, all right." "He's killing all my flowers." "Well, that's too bad." "Now, you just stay down." "I keep telling him every day, for four weeks, he never listens." "He doesn't want to listen." "He won't learn." "You'll have to help him again, huh?" "All right." "You're the only one who listens to me." "Nobody else does." "Nothing does." "My legs." "I tell them to get up, they don't move." "How can they not move?" "When I still have so much living here to do." "You see how you have weakened me, hmm?" "With your soft ways?" "Why do you do it?" "Why?" "Who else would put up with your rotten disposition?" "I have the disposition of a saint and God knows I am more interesting." "Now go on, go to that boy before he kills my flowers." "Go on, go on." "I want to sleep." "Don't do me any favors, but if tomorrow, you should happen to be passing by..." "I'll be passing by." "(SIGHING)" "(WIND HOWLING)" " What do you think?" " Terrible." "It couldn't be worse if you planned it that way, which you did, of course." "Did I?" "Will you ride me home on your Vespa?" "No." "Why not?" "Because, everyone would see and that would make it too serious." "Now, the way to plant." "Look at this, your uncle and I have both told you time and again not the blue over there but over there." "GIANNI:" "Then show me." "JESSICA:" "The way to plant." "Deep, but not too deep." "The rows straight and neat." "Well, well, Gianni, so soon?" "I'm going away for a week or two." "If your uncle needs anything, see that he gets it, and I'll take care of it when I return." "But don't tell him that, he's a stubborn old fool." "He should have gone to the hospital weeks ago." " If he had..." " If he had, he would have died weeks ago." "Ah, you're an authority on dying." "No." "My best subject is fishing." "Really?" "It shows how wrong I can be." "I would have thought you an amateur." "I am." "But I learn quickly." "How lucky for your friends." "Mm-hmm." "Gianni, come on, come on, if you're going home with me on my Vespa." "Gianni!" "Remember me to your wife!" "(BLEATING)" "(MEN SHOUTING AND LAUGHING)" "(HORN BEEPING)" "Look out below!" "Ah!" "Tomorrow, Jessica?" "Why not?" "Gianni, you're late." "Father Antonio and Grandmother finished supper hours ago." "I waited for you." "Nicolina, we..." "I told you to keep this woman away from my house." " GIANNI:" "Nicolina!" " I mean it." "Get her away!" "Stay and have supper." "No, but I'll see you tomorrow." "That is, if you're allowed out." "Arrivederci, Gianni!" "Gianni!" "You come in here!" "GIANNI:" "Mind your business, old woman." "Nicolina!" "Gianni." "I want to talk to you." "Save it for the church, Father." "Nicolina!" "(NICOLINA SOBBING)" "Where is my supper?" "Oh, Gianni, please don't be mad at me, oh, please." "Let me know when it's ready, I'll be in the barn." "Oh, Gianni!" "And fix the bed in the spare room." "Oh!" "The thing is..." "I don't know what to do about it!" "I don't know either." "But I'll try." "Of course, I..." "I can't be sure that it will work, Father." "But on the one hand, I have Edmondo." "On the other hand, I have the girl." "And I can't help feeling that Edmondo could save the situation and she in turn could save him." "So I have to try." "Even though I..." "I know it's risky." "All right, Father, not risky." "Crazy." "Pretty, isn't it?" "Beautiful." "Will you do it, Edmondo?" "I don't know." "From what you say, it seems to me the girl has done a good thing for the village." "Brought a quickening of interest, a spirit, a zest." "I agree she..." "She has brought life itself to the village." "And you still want me to throw her out." "Yes, I do." "And you won't give me your reason?" "No." "All right." "As soon as I get back..." "I'll throw her out." "Now, tell me more about her." "(WIND HOWLING)" "So don't worry, when your baby comes, I'll be there." "Well, I wanted to be sure." "You can be sure." "How many pregnant women so far?" "Counting Signora Tuffi, three positives and four probables." "Seven scabs, all coming in secret and all bringing presents." "Oh." "Here comes another one." "Who is it?" "She can't be coming here." "(KNOCKING)" "I'll get it." "Signora Visconti, I have a present for you." "Never mind the present." "Who is the man?" "My brother Beppi." "Your brother!" "My brother Beppi, as messaggero municipale of..." "Signora!" "Signora Visconti." "As messaggero municipale of this area," "I have been instructed to read this to you." "Jessica, if you want to fight this, I will help you." "Marquis Edmondo Raumo..." "Orders said Mrs. Jessica Brown Visconti to vacate such house within 15 days from the date hereof, signed Marquis Edmondo Raumo." "Legally, the marchese has the right, but I can find ways." "VIRGINIA:" "Why, how dare you!" "For you, Jessica, I will do anything." "So that's how it is with you." "She's a hussy." "Shameless." "Shocking!" "Unspeakable!" " Beppi, I am talking to you!" " Oh..." "Where are you going!" "I'm going to the wine shop." "Why don't you go to hell?" "(LAUGHING)" "(BELL RINGING)" "What is it?" "What do you want?" "Ah, it's you." "I came to see you." "What can I do for you?" "Come inside." "It's perfectly safe." "A fisherman always leaves it up to the fish, remember?" "Please." "Sit down." "I'm not tired." "As you like." "Now, what is this?" "Ah, I see." "I want to know why you've ordered me to leave my cottage." "I own it." " JESSICA:" "I pay rent." " Promptly, too." "Then why must I move?" "No special reason." "I won't give it up." "Then you don't have to." "Someone asked me to do something, I did it, and that's that." " Drink on it?" " No." "Afraid?" "Yes." "All right, then go." "Still here?" "How nice." " Please." " (SIGHING)" "Giuseppe, or Edmondo, or whatever your name is, why did you lie to me?" "I don't know, really." "It was automatic." "When I lie, you want the truth, when I tell the truth, you want a lie." "Now which?" "I'm glad you see the injustice of it, especially since I did not remind you of the lies you told to me." "What lies?" "I told you no lies." "You gave the impression that you love being in my village gathering babies, when all the time it was the fathers you were gathering." "Oh, now, wait." "That was only after, and it wasn't serious." "Ah, it was a joke." "Now, I like jokes, but not jokes against my people, by intruders." "Or perhaps I am being unfair." "Or perhaps you are sincerely and wonderfully in love with Gianni Crupi," "Antonio Risino, Pietro Musudino," "Filippo Casablanca, Beppi Toriello, no?" "Aren't you forgetting your gardener?" "Old Crupi, too?" "I thought you were just using him as a blind for your affair with the nephew." "You give me too much credit, Giuseppe." "Not at all." "I know talent when I see it." "Well, good for you." "And now that your vote is in, that just about makes it unanimous." "I'm sick and tired of you people sitting around deciding whether or not I'm good enough for you." "Well, now it's about time that I decide whether or not you people are good enough for me." "You want to know something?" "You're not." "Beginning with you." "(WIND HOWLING, VEHICLE APPROACHING)" "Jessica!" "I thought Gianni would be here." "No." "He did not come home so I thought..." "Was he with you?" "No." "Jessica..." "Don't take him away from me." "You can if you wanted to." "I don't know how to stop you." "But please don't." "What do you mean, don't take him away?" "I don't want him." "I don't want any of them." "Aren't you women ever going to understand that I am not the one to be afraid of?" "It's yourselves." "And instead of being afraid, you ought to be ashamed." "How can you doubt the men you love so easily?" "Don't you trust them?" "Oh, never mind." "Nicolina, you don't have to worry about Gianni." "You never did have to." "Come on, I'll take you home." "(KNOCKING)" "Jessica, my uncle is dying." "He wants you to come." " Gianni." " Nicolina." "Let me come, too." "Where is she, where is she, where is she?" "I didn't hear you, what was that?" "I said, where the hell is she?" "Lie still, lie still." "She will come." "Is he in pain, Father?" "No." "What do you know about it?" "(SCOFFS)" "These idiots think I'm dying." "Don't push me!" "They're in for a surprise." "Yes, yes, but I want you to rest now." "I want to see my garden." "Later, but rest first." "I haven't time for later." "Help me, help me, lift me!" "What's wrong?" "My garden?" "Jessica?" "Yes." "The storm." "I want to see it." "I want to see it." "Help me, help me..." "The fruit of 60 years." "My garden, all gone." "Well, I'll just have to plant it again." "We'll do it for you." "Will you?" "Will you really, Jessica?" "Exactly as you had it." "Flower by flower." "You'd better." "Don't forget, I'll be up there watching." "Father, can you pray me on up there, huh?" "I'll do my best." "Well..." "Maybe you ought to get a head start." "Edmondo." "Yes?" "Am I..." "Am I really dying?" "Tell me the truth." "Yes, you are." "Exactly." "And half dead as I am," "I am more alive than you." "Wake up, boy." "Wake up." "Jessica?" "I'm right here, Crupi." "Lie still." "Don't talk." "What do you mean, don't talk?" "You know nothing stops me from talking!" "(PRAYING IN LATIN)" "(SOBBING) Crupi!" "(BIRDS CHIRPING)" "No, we're sorry, but we're off to Rome to forget it all." "It's nice of Maria Lombardo and the others to send their apologies, but we've been hurt in our feelings in a terrible way." "Tighter with that buckle, don't you think, Father?" "Ah, good for you." "Finished with the trunk, Jessica?" "Then let Father Antonio close it for you." "Jessica, isn't there anything I can say?" "Jessica, we are not forgetting our poor dead husband's picture, are we?" "Excuse me, Father." "Did you say something?" "Did I interrupt you, huh?" "Hmm?" " Don't go to Rome." " MAMMA:" "Why not?" "Why shouldn't we go?" "Listen to me, Jessica." "I made a bad mistake." "I was the one who asked Edmondo to put you out." "I just wanted you two to be together again because..." "Because I was sure." "That is, I felt that he is..." "I hoped, but I was wrong." "It takes a big man to admit it when he is wrong, Father, and we forgive you." "Shall we lock the trunk now so we can go, Jessica?" "Won't you stay?" "Because of me?" "Oh, Father, of course not." "The women?" "Not the women." "Then who?" "Oh..." "I don't know." "I think I know." "It's the marchese." "I was just going to say that." " It's the marchese!" " What?" "Oh." "I was afraid you had gone." "We were just leaving." "Come, Jessica." "Wait, please." "I'm sorry to break in this way." "I'm sorry about many things." "But, well, the way you feel about babies is how I feel about promises." "I like to see them taken care of." "What kind of promises did you have in mind, marchese?" " Come, Mamma Parigi." " Hmm?" " Out." " Out, why?" "Oh..." "You promised to help restore my old friend's garden." "What are you going to do about it?" "JESSICA:" "I have never..." "EDMONDO:" "Are you going to keep your promise?" "JESSICA:" "Yes, I suppose I have to." "EDMONDO:" "But Jessica, it must be done my way." "The way and Crupi had the colors mixed together, it looked like a jungle!" "JESSICA:" "Well, that's the way we wanted it to look!" "And I think a jungle is the most beautiful garden of all..." "Hey..." "Mmm." "(PLAYING SLOW MUSIC)" "(PLAYING UPBEAT MUSIC)" "(MUSIC STOPS)" "(PLAYING SLOW MUSIC)" "A son has been born to Signor and Signora Luigi Tuffi." "Congratulations." "Huh?" "(MOUTHING WORDS)" "Two sons have been born to Signor and Signora Luigi Tuffi." "Peppi, two boys!" "Two boys." "(THUDDING)" "Just slipped." "Just slipped." "Mother and sons, and father..." "All doing..." "All doing well." "The text of my sermon today is, when the fruit is ripe, it is time to reap." "You will please join me in a prayer of thanksgiving." "We thank thee, almighty Father, that after an unusually dry beginning, thou has showered us with the rain and sunshine of thy mercy." "Our once-barren fields are now teeming with abundance, thanks to thy infinite wisdom, and we ask thee to continue to keep thy fatherly eye upon us as we prepare to gather this great harvest, for without thy help," "we can go wrong, Father." "Oh, how we can go wrong" "* Oh quelle belle Jessica" "* Oh quelle divine bambina" "* In all the world no replica" "* Of Jessica, of Jessica" "* When Jessica comes into town" "* That little town is turned around" "* And everything is upside down" "* With Jessica around" "* Oh quelle belle Jessica" "* Oh quelle divine bambina" "* In all the world no replica" "* Of bella Jessica"