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This small story by Ignazio Silone, Un pezzo di pane, appeared in a Reader's Digest compilation published in 1968, [1] and I am not aware of its having been translated previously. I began the work for my son, who is a great fan of Silone, but can only read him in English. For a young Australian, Silone's work offers a window on an aspect of Italian life rarely available in a culture so profoundly different. It seems to me that he is not much read any more, and I hope that this offering of his work might provoke interest amongst younger readers, in either language. As coincidence would have it, whilst working on this piece, I had a story related to me, which brought into sharp focus, the reality of its events. It concerns a young South African, a starving, Allied prisoner-of-war, who approached an old woman in very similar circumstances, asking for un pezzo di pane. Unlike Silone's Caterina, she knew the price of helping him and was very frightened. (After September 1943, the crime of aiding an enemy carried the death penalty) She showed him that they were so poor that they had no bread to offer, and he began to leave. He was stopped however, by her voice calling after him, and found her shyly offering the only thing she had: a precious egg. She pointed out directions to him, and showed him on his way. I wonder if anyone rewarded her when the enemy became an ally. I somehow doubt it. And yet, Silone speaks for her, and for all those who commit small acts of humanity, when he says, in Caterina's words, 'he looked like a man - he was hungry'.
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