'Strega Nona' read by Mary Steenburgen

Welcome to Storyline Online presented by the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. I'm Mary Steenburgen and today I'm

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ing Strega Nona written and illustrated by Tomie dePaola. In a village in Calabria, a long time ago, there lived an old woman whom everyone called Strega Nona, which means "witch grandmother." Although all the people in her town talked about her in whispers, they all went to see her if they had problems. They even went to the priest and the sisters of the convent, because Strega Nona did have a magical touch. She could cure a headache with oil, water and a hairpin. She made special potions for girls who wanted husbands.

And she was very good at getting rid of warts. But Strega Nona was getting old and she needed someone to help her maintain her little house and her garden, so she put up a sign in the town square. And Big Anthony, who didn't pay attention to him, went to see her. "Anthony," said Strega Nona, "you must sweep the house and wash the dishes. You must weed the garden and pick the vegetables. You must feed the goat and milk it. And you must go get water. For this, I will give you three coins and a place to sleep and food to eat." "Oh, thank you," Big Anthony said. "The only thing you should never do," said Strega Nona, "is touch the pasta pot.

She is very valuable and she doesn't let anyone touch her!" "Oh, yeah, yeah," Big Anthony said. And so the days went by. Big Anthony did her job and Strega Nona met the people who came to see her for headaches, husbands and warts. Big Anthony had a nice bed to sleep in next to the goat barn and he had food to eat. One afternoon, while Big Anthony was milking the goat, he heard Strega Nona singing. Looking out the window, he saw Strega Nona standing next to the pot of pasta. She sang, Bubble, bubble, pot of pasta, Boil me some pasta, piping hot, I'm hungry and it's time for dinner, Boil me some pasta to fill me up.

And the pasta pot bubbled and boiled and soon was filled with steaming pasta. Then Strega Nona sang, Enough, enough, pasta pot, I've got my pasta, nice and hot So simmer my crock pot, Until I'm hungry another day. "How wonderful!" said Great Anthony. "It sure is a magic pot!" And Strega Nona called Big Anthony for dinner. But too bad for Big Anthony, because he didn't get to see Strega Nona blow three kisses to the magic pot. And this is what happened. The next day, when Big Anthony went to the town square to get water, he told everyone about the pasta pot.

And, naturally, everyone laughed at him, because it sounded so silly: a pot that cooks itself. "You better go and confess to the priest, Big Anthony," they said. "What a lie!" And Big Anthony was angry and that wasn't a very good thing. "I'll show you!" He said to himself. "Someday I'll get the pasta pot and make it cook! And then they'll regret it." That day came sooner than Big Anthony would have thought, because two days later Strega Nona said to Big Anthony: "Anthony, I must cross the mountain to the next town to see my friend, Strega Amelia.

Sweep the house and remove the weeds. "Feed the goat and tidy him up, and for your lunch, there is b

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and cheese in the cupboard. And remember, don't touch the pasta pot." "Oh, yes... yes... Strega Nona," said Big Anthony. But inside I was thinking, my chance has come! As soon as Strega Nona was lost from sight, Big Anthony came in, took the pot of pasta off the shelf and put it on the floor. "Now, let's see if I can remember the words," said Big Anthony, and Big Anthony sang, and you can sing with me if you remember the words. , bubble, pot of pasta, Boil me some pasta, piping hot, I'm hungry and it's time for dinner, Boil it enough to fill me.

And sure enough, the pot bubbled, boiled and began to fill with pasta. "Aha!" said Big Anthony, and he ran into the town square, jumped into the fountain, and shouted, “Everyone get your forks, plates, platters, and bowls. Pasta for everyone at Strega Nona's house. Big Anthony has made the magic pasta pot work." Of course, everyone laughed, but they ran home to get forks, plates, platters and bowls and sure enough, when they got to Strega Nona's the pasta pot was so full that It was beginning to overflow. The great Anthony was a hero! He took out pasta and filled the plates, platters and bowls.

There was more than enough for all the inhabitants of the town, including the priests and the sisters of the convent. And some people returned for two or more. three servings, but the pot was never empty. When everyone had had their fill, Big Anthony sang: Enough, pasta pot, I've got my pasta piping hot So calm down, my clay pot, until another day I'm hungry! But, alas, he didn't blow me the three kisses! He came out and, to the applause of the crowd, Big Anthony took a bow. He was so busy listening to everyone's praise that he didn't notice that the pot of pasta was still bubbling and boiling, until a nunnery sister said, "Oh, Big Anthony, look!" And the pasta was spilling out of the pot all over the floor of Strega Nona's house and out the door!

Big Anthony ran in and shouted the magic words again, but the pot continued to bubble. He removed the pot from the ground, but the paste kept coming out of it. Big Anthony grabbed a lid, put it on the pot, and sat on it. But the pasta lifted the lid, and so did Big Anthony, and it spilled on the floor of Strega Nona's house. "Arrest!" -Great Anthony shouted. But the pasta didn't stop and if someone hadn't grabbed poor Big Anthony, the pasta would have covered him. The pasta had almost filled the little house. Pasta came out of the windows and doors and the pot continued to bubble.

The townspeople began to worry. “Do something, Great Anthony,” they shouted. Big Anthony sang the magic song again, but without the three kisses it was of no use! At that moment the pasta was already on its way down the road and all the people were running to stay ahead of it. “We must protect our town from pasta,” the mayor shouted. "Get mattresses, tables, doors, anything to make a barricade." But even that didn't work. The pot kept bubbling and the pasta kept coming out! “We are lost,” the people said, and the priest and the sisters of the convent began to pray. “The pasta will cover our town,” they shouted.

And it certainly would have been if Strega Nona hadn't returned home after her visit. She didn't have to look twice to know what had happened. She sang the magic song and blew the three kisses and with a sizzle the pot stopped boiling and the pasta stopped. “Oh, grazie, thank you, thank you, Strega Nona,” people shouted. But then they turned on poor Big Anthony. “Hang him,” the men of the town shouted. “Now, wait,” said Strega Nona. "The punishment must fit the crime." And she took a fork from a lady who was near her and handed it to Big Anthony. “Okay, Anthony, you wanted pasta from my magic pasta pot,” Strega Nona said, “and I want to sleep in my little bed tonight.

So start eating.” And she did: poor Big Anthony. The end. Thank you very much for listening to that. I love that book, Stega Nona, because it's a little bit about magic and a little bit about listening to someone's wishes and I loved reading it to my two granddaughters and they liked it too. So thanks for watching Storyline Online. We hope you see everything. of our stories Keep watching and keep reading