Our story today is called "Rappaccini's Daughter." It was
written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. We will tell the story in two parts.
Here is Kay Gallant with the first part of our story.

Many
years ago, a young man named Giovanni Guasconti left his home in Naples
to study in northern Italy. He rented a small room on the top floor of a
dark and ancient palace. Long ago, the building had belonged to a noble
family. Now, an old woman, Signora Lisabetta, rented its rooms to
students at the University of Padua.
Giovanni's room had a small
window. From it he could see a large garden that had many plants and
flowers. "Does the garden belong to you?" he asked Signora Lisabetta one
day.
"Oh no!" she said quickly. "That garden belongs to the
famous doctor, Giacomo Rappaccini. People say he uses those plants to
make strange kinds of medicine. He lives in that small brown house in
the garden with his daughter, Beatrice."
Giovanni often sat by his
window to look at the garden. He had never seen so many different kinds
of plants. They all had enormous green leaves and magnificent flowers
in every color of the rainbow.
Giovanni's favorite plant was in a white marble vase near the house. It was covered with big purple flowers.
One
day, while Giovani was looking out his window, he saw an old man in a
black cape walking in the garden. The old man was tall and thin. His
face was an unhealthy yellow color. His black eyes were very cold.
The
old man wore thick gloves on his hands and a mask over his mouth and
nose. He walked carefully among the plants, as if he were walking among
wild animals or poisonous snakes. Although he looked at the flowers very
closely, he did not touch or smell any of them.
When the old man
arrived at the plant with the big purple flowers, he stopped. He took
off his mask and called loudly, "Beatrice! Come help me!"
"I am
coming, Father. What do you want?" answered a warm young voice from
inside the house. A young woman came into the garden. Her thick, dark
hair fell around her shoulders in curls. Her cheeks were pink and her
eyes were large and black.
She seemed full of life, health and
energy as she walked among the plants. Giovanni thought she was as
beautiful as the purple flowers in the marble vase. The old man said
something to her. She nodded her head as she touched and smelled the
flowers that her father had been so careful to avoid.
Several
weeks later, Giovanni went to visit Pietro Baglioni, a friend of his
father's. Professor Baglioni taught medicine at the university. During
the visit, Giovanni asked about Doctor Rappaccini. "He is a great
scientist," Professor Baglioni replied. "But he is also a dangerous
man."
"Why?" asked Giovanni.
The older man shook his head
slowly. "Because Rappaccini cares more about science than he does about
people. He has created many terrible poisons from the plants in his
garden. He thinks he can cure sickness with these poisons.
It is
true that several times he has cured a very sick person that everyone
thought would die. But Rappaccini's medicine has also killed many
people. I think he would sacrifice any life, even his own, for one of
his experiments."
"But what about his daughter?" Giovanni said. "I'm sure he loves her."
The
old professor smiled at the young man. "So," he said, "You have heard
about Beatrice Rappaccini. People say she is very beautiful. But few men
in Padua have ever seen her. She never leaves here father's garden."
Giovanni
left professor Baglione's house as the sun was setting. On his way
home, he stopped at a flower shop where he bought some fresh flowers. He
returned to his room and sat by the window.
Very little sunlight
was left. The garden was quiet. The purple flowers on Giovanni's
favorite plant seemed to glow in the evening's fading light.
Then
someone came out of the doorway of the little brown house. It was
Beatrice. She entered the garden and walked among the plants. She bent
to touch the leaves of a plant or to smell a flower. Rappaccini's
daughter seemed to grow more beautiful with each step.
When she
reached the purple plant, she buried her face in its flowers. Giovanni
heard her say "Give me your breath, my sister. The ordinary air makes me
weak. And give me one of your beautiful flowers." Beatrice gently broke
off one of the largest flowers. As she lifted it to put it in her dark
hair, a few drops of liquid from the flower fell to the ground.
One
of the drops landed on the head of a tiny lizard crawling near the feet
of Beatrice. For a moment the small animal twisted violently. Then it
moved no more. Beatrice did not seem surprised. She sighed and placed
the flower in her hair.
Giovanni leaned out of the window so he
could see her better. At this moment, a beautiful butterfly flew over
the garden wall. It seemed to be attracted by Beatrice and flew once
around her head. Then, the insect's bright wings stopped and it fell to
the ground dead. Beatrice shook her head sadly.
Suddenly, she
looked up at Giovanni's window. She saw the young man looking at her.
Giovanni picked up the flowers he had bought and threw them down to her.
"Young lady," he said, "Wear these flowers as a gift from Giovanni
Guasconti."
"Thank you," Beatrice answered. She picked up the
flowers from the ground and quickly ran to the house. She stopped at the
door for a moment to wave shyly to Giovanni. It seemed to him that his
flowers were beginning to turn brown in her hands.
For many days,
the young man stayed away from the window that looked out on
Rappaccini's garden. He wished he had not talked to Beatrice because now
he felt under the power of her beauty.
He was a little afraid of her, too. He could not forget how the little lizard and the butterfly had died.
One day, while he was returning home from his classes, he met Professor Baglioni on the street.
"Well,
Giovanni," the old man said, "have you forgotten me?" Then he looked
closely at the young man. "What is wrong, my friend? Your appearance has
changed since the last time we met." It was true. Giovanni had become
very thin. His face was white, and his eyes seemed to burn with fever.
As
they stood talking, a man dressed in a long black cape came down the
street. He moved slowly, like a person in poor health. His face was
yellow, but his eyes were sharp and black. It was the man Giovanni had
seen in the garden. As he passed them, the old man nodded coldly to
Professor Baglioni. But he looked at Giovanni with a great deal of
interest.
"It's Doctor Rappaccini!" Professor Baglioni whispered after the old man had passed them. "Has he ever seen your face before?"
Giovanni shook his head. "No," he answered, "I don't think so."
Professor
Baglioni looked worried. "I think he has seen you before. I know that
cold look of his! He looks the same way when he examines an animal he
has killed in one of his experiments. Giovanni, I will bet my life on
it. You are the subject of one of Rappaccini's experiments!"
Giovanni
stepped away from the old man. "You are joking," he said. "No, I am
serious." The professor took Giovanni's arm. "Be careful, my young
friend. You are in great danger."
Giovanni pulled his arm away. "I must be going," he said, "Good night."
As Giovanni hurried to his room, he felt confused and a little frightened.
Signora
Lisabetta was waiting for him outside his door. She knew he was
interested in Beatrice. "I have good news for you," she said. "I know
where there is a secret entrance into Rappaccini's garden."
Giovanni could not believe his ears. "Where is it?" he asked. "Show me the way."

You
have just heard part one of the story called "Rappaccini's Daughter."
It was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and adapted for Special English by
Dona de Sanctis. Your storyteller was Kay Gallant. Listen next week for
the final part of our story. This is Shep O'Neal.

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