The Mysterious Child Learn English through story level 3

chapter one

allegra one

i met allegra

one night in april

12 years ago

i was 16 years old and she was only five

i remember that it rained a lot that

night and we arrived late at the house

we were driving along a dark road

when my mother saw a sign

which said

in big letters

villa henderson

bed and breakfast

it’s in english

my mother said

she was surprised because we were on

holiday in italy

my father turned right

and drove along an old road

when we arrived

we saw a big villa

with tall black trees around it

there was a light in one of the windows

and on the wall above the door were the

words

villa henderson

my father knocked at the door

and a small woman opened it

she was about 60

and wore strange clothes

are you english

my father asked

yes

i am

she answered in a quiet voice

we’re looking for rooms for the night

can we stay here

please

come in

we went into a long comfortable room

there was a bright fire in the old

fireplace

which gave a beautiful

warm light

the weather is very bad

said the woman

it’s cold for april

i’ll make some tea for you

when she went out

we looked around the room

there were lots of english tables and

chairs in dark wood

and the walls and floor were of stone

there were two big armchairs in front of

the fire

and a large black dog was sleeping in

one of them

i like this room

said my mother

it looks comfortable

but it’s beautiful too

just then

the woman returned with the tea

behind her came a woman in a long black

dress

my name is margaret henderson

said the old woman

and this is my daughter

chiara

she has a daughter too

so i’m a grandmother

my daughter is in bed smiled kiara

she was a tall woman with long fair hair

and blue eyes

she was perhaps about 35

have you come far today

she asked

yes my father replied we’re very tired

your rooms are ready for you

i’ll take you up when you’ve had your

tea

after tea

we went up some stairs and followed

kiara along a corridor

she stopped at a door

and told my parents that it was their

room

then she looked at me

your room is round the corner

come this way please

we turned right and walked along another

corridor

my room was at the end

good night

and sleep well

said kiara with a smile

but i didn’t sleep well

i locked the door

and after five minutes i was in bed

the house was silent

but i could hear the rain on the window

and the strong wind in the trees outside

i slept a little

woke up

then slept again

and then

i woke up suddenly

the window shutters were making a loud

noise against the wall

i could see that the window was open

because the long white curtains were

moving in the wind

i got up

and closed both the shutters and the

window

now the room was very dark

so i walked with my hands out in front

of me

to try and find the light on the table

by the bed

my left hand touched the table

and then something took hold of my right

arm

it was a cold little

hand the hair on my neck

stood up

and my legs began to shake

who is it

i cried

at the same time

i found the light on the table

and turned it on

a little girl

in a long white night dress

stood in front of me near the bed

she was looking at me with big eyes

as blue as an italian sky in summer

her blonde hair was as bright as

sunlight round her pale face

what a beautiful child

i thought

hello

my name’s alegwa she said

her voice was soft and sweet

and she spoke english beautifully but

she couldn’t say the letter r

did you come in through the window i

asked

but she answered me with a question

what’s your name

adrian

i’m five years

and three months old she said

how old are you

sixteen

how did you get in here

don’t be angry with me adrian she said

i’m not angry with you

don’t cry

tell me your name again

it means happy in italian

what are you doing here allegra

what do you want

will you take me to my mama

she asked suddenly

i looked at her in surprise

but you know where your mother is i said

yes

but she’s a long way from here

no she isn’t allegra

she’s in this house

i want to see mama

will you take me please

no allegra

she’ll be angry with you because you

aren’t in bed

oh no

mama was never angry with me

she said with a little smile

but sometimes

papa was angry

and i was afraid of him

for a while

i didn’t speak

and i just looked at her

why did she say was

and not is when she spoke about her

parents

she was a very strange little girl

you must go back to bed now allegra i

said i’m not going to take you to your

mother

she looked at me

and now her blue eyes were sad

will you take me to mama tomorrow then

yes

thank you

she cried happily

now where is your room

it’s next to this one

okay

let’s go

and i took her hand

her cold little hand

just then the window opened again

and the wind and rain came in

i went to the window to close it

but the curtains flew up in my face and

i couldn’t see anything

i closed the window

and when i turned round

allegra wasn’t there

for a minute

i just stood still

then i unlocked my door

and went along the corridor

there was a door on the left

i opened it slowly

the room was dark

but i could see that it was a child’s

room

somebody was sleeping in a bed near the

window

good i thought

she’s in bed now

and i closed the door

next morning

after breakfast

we went into the garden

there were beautiful hills and woods

around it

i walked round to the back of the house

because i wanted to look at the windows

of my room and allegra’s room

there was a big tree between them

near the wall of the house

perhaps she got out of her window onto

the tree

and then got in through my window i

thought

but it looked a difficult and dangerous

thing to do

possible for an adult perhaps

but not for a girl of five

when i went back to the front garden

allegra’s mother was there

she was talking to my parents

did your shutters open last night she

asked

i heard a noise

no replied my mother

but we heard a noise too

it was the shutters in my room

i said

oh i’m sorry said kiara

those shutters are very old

but i hope you slept well after you

closed them

shall i tell her

i thought

then i said with a smile

yes

i slept well thank you

but only after your daughter’s visit

allegra

chiara was very surprised

yes

she came to my room in the middle of the

night

did she

well

i know she sometimes walks in her sleep

but

i began

and i stopped

again i thought

shall i tell her

but i decided not to say that the door

was locked

i knew they wouldn’t believe me

and i thought that they would laugh at

so i just said that allegra was a

beautiful child

yes

she is

kiara answered

but she isn’t a very happy girl

doesn’t her name mean happy in italian

yes

but i have never met an italian child

called allegra

why did you call her allegra

my mother asked

i don’t know

the name came to me suddenly

perhaps i wanted a happy child

and chiara smiled sadly

then she turned to the house and called

her daughter

allegra

come downstairs please

i’m coming

came a shout from the house

we heard allegra on the stairs

then she came out

i looked at her

i looked

and looked

but i couldn’t believe my eyes

[Music]

chapter two

allegra two

she was pale

and beautiful

like the girl in my room

but this

was a different girl

this allegra had long black hair

and her eyes were brown

hello

she said

was it the same voice

it was soft and sweet but

i wasn’t sure

this is adrian

said kiara

he says that you went into his room last

night allegra

the girl looked at me in surprise

no mommy i wasn’t in his womb

she spoke english beautifully

but she couldn’t say the letter r

you see

she doesn’t remember

chiara said to me

i think that she was walking in her

sleep again

when i went to bed that night

i couldn’t sleep

i was waiting for the girl

and i was afraid

but after about an hour my eyes closed

and i slept

i woke up suddenly when a cold little

hand touched my face

the girl’s voice spoke softly in my ear

wake up adrian

wake up

i turned on the light

she was there

but was she real

her skin was like milk

her blonde hair was like sunlight in the

room

she was wearing the long white night

dress

is she real or is this a dream i thought

and i touched her face

it was cold

very cold

but it was real

will you take me to mama now she asked

i looked at the window

it was closed

then i went to the door

it was locked

i began to feel very afraid

how did you get in here i asked

you weren’t here

so i waited for you

i was sleeping behind that curtain

she showed me a curtain in a corner of

the room

there was another smaller bed for a

child behind it

so she was in the room before i came

but where did she come from

and who was her mother

okay

i’ll take you to your mother i said

where is she

suddenly the girl began to speak in

italian

she’s at banyo avepoli

near florence

but we can’t go to florence tonight i

said

i could understand italian but i spoke

in english

you must take me

allegra said angrily speaking in english

again

i want to see my mama tonight

i want to see her before i die

then she began to cry

die

what did she mean

why do you say that

i said in surprise

you’re not going to die

yes i am

i know

papa didn’t like mama

and he took me away from her

i didn’t see her for a long time

i wanted to see her and she wanted to

see me too

oh i must see her before i die

again

i couldn’t understand why she spoke in

the past

i really couldn’t understand anything

was this all a little girl’s fantasy

i decided to ask her some questions

who is your mother

what is her name

claire

claire was the english for chiara

i thought for a second

come with me allegra i said

we’ll go downstairs

i wanted to show this little girl to

kiara

then she would know that her daughter

wasn’t walking in her sleep and i would

know that i wasn’t dreaming

i took the girl’s cold little hand

but she wouldn’t come

she cried in italian again

my dear mama

is at banyo a wipoli near florence i

want to go there

i said

wait here allegra

i’ll go downstairs and bring my friend

she wants to see you

wait here

i found kiara in the long room

she was reading a book in an armchair by

the fire

i told her that there was a girl in my

room again

she looked surprised and followed me

upstairs

we went along the corridor

my door was open and we went into the

room

the child wasn’t there

we looked everywhere but found nothing

the only child in the house was chiara’s

daughter

she’s sleeping in her bed

chiara told me

perhaps you had a dream adrian

it wasn’t a dream

there was a girl in my room a few

minutes ago

i saw her and talked to her

then i told kiara everything about the

girl

when i finished she said

well

it’s very strange

who is this girl

she isn’t my daughter

my allegra has got black hair and brown

eyes

and my husband didn’t take her away from

i know that he

wants to take her away

but he

can’t allegra lives with me

you see

i don’t love my husband anymore

and so he doesn’t live here with us

he’s in england

but allegra likes him a lot

and i know that she wants to see him

she was silent for a minute

then said

the child in your room wants to see her

mother and allegra wants to see her

father

it’s strange isn’t it

i don’t understand it

next day

i went for a walk with allegra henderson

the big black dog came with us

we walked down a hill and came to a

little river with a bridge

we stood on the bridge while allegra

dropped stones into the water and the

dog tried to find them

do you speak italian allegra i asked

oh yes

listen

and she spoke fast in italian

did you learn it at school

yes

it’s a convent school

and the teachers are italian nuns

look

nero has got a stone in his mouth

isn’t he clever

come here nero

allegra

do you know a place called bagno aripoli

i don’t

oh don’t shake the water over us nero

you bad boy

do you know anybody called claire

yes of course

that’s mummy’s name in english

allegra laughed

but she didn’t laugh when i asked

where’s your daddy allegra

she didn’t answer me

you’re a bad boy nero

she said angrily

give me that stone

i asked her the question again

this time she answered

mummy says he’s in england

was she sad or angry

i didn’t know

do you want to see him

yes

she said

and i saw that she was unhappy

she didn’t want to talk about it

why can’t you see him

i asked

because mummy says that he wants to take

me away from her

would you like to go away with your

daddy

she looked at me for a second

then suddenly

she began to cry

i want to see my daddy she cried

sad and angry at the same time

i want to see him before i die

why doesn’t he come

and then she ran away

she ran fast up the hill

and nero ran behind her

my parents liked the villa so he stayed

there for a week

but i wanted to go

i was afraid

every night the blonde allegra came to

my room in her long white night dress

and asked me to take her to her mama

when i said no

she was always very angry with me

and every day

i talked and played with the dark-haired

allegra

kiara’s daughter

i liked her a lot

and she liked me

we were good friends

but she was like two different people

sometimes she spoke to me angrily

like the other allegra in the night

at other times she was a happy sweet

little girl of five again

i often asked her

why she thought that she was going to

die

she always answered with the same words

i know

during that week’s holiday

i began to feel love for allegra

henderson

but there was the other allegra who came

at night

who was she

i didn’t believe in ghosts but i was

beginning to think

that she was a ghost

the day before we left

i wrote some notes

allegra henderson

five years old

tall

black

hair

brown eyes

pale

speaks english

and italian

but can’t say ah

mother’s name

chiara

calls her

mummy

wants to see her father

who lives in england

thinks

she is going to die

allegra

the ghost

five years old

tall

blonde hair

blue eyes

pale

speaks english and italian

but can’t say ah

mother’s name claire

and lives at banyo a

near florence

calls her

mama

wants to see her mother

but her father says no

thinks

she is going

to die

i read these notes

lots of times

but they didn’t help me

then i saw that i didn’t know anything

about the ghost allegra’s father

so i decided to ask her that night

which was our last night at the villa

i didn’t sleep much that night

i waited

and waited

but she didn’t come

she didn’t come

and i was angry

i felt sure that her father was

important

next morning

we said goodbye to the hendersons

when i said goodbye to allegra

i felt sad

she was sad too

and she gave me a kiss

i hope that one day you will see your

daddy

i said to her

then you’ll be happy

oh no

she answered in a strange voice

papa is dead now

he was a famous lord

and he took me away from my mama

but he’s dead now

we were all

very surprised

what are you saying allegra

chiara said

your father isn’t a lord

and he isn’t dead

what a strange fantasy

but allegra only smiled

a sad smile

and that was the last time i saw her

[Music]

chapter three

allegra three

in england i went back to school

and my studies

but i didn’t forget allegra

i wrote letters to her

and sent some small presents

she didn’t answer my letters

but i said to myself

well

she’s only five

perhaps she can’t write letters yet

then

a year after our holiday in italy

a letter arrived from margaret henderson

first she thanked me for my letters and

presents

then she wrote

i’m sorry that we didn’t write to you

but it has been a very bad year for us

it is difficult for me to right now

but today

is april the 21st

and i want to tell you

that something terrible happened on the

same day last year

kiara and i

are still very sad

and kiara has been ill

she doesn’t eat much

and she doesn’t want to speak to anybody

now i’ll tell you why

a week after your holiday

our little allegra got a fever

a few days later

the fever was worse

and we called the doctor

he said

that he wasn’t sure what the fever was

perhaps she drank some bad water

or ate food that was bad he told us

he gave her some medicine

and she was better

but then the fever returned very quickly

we couldn’t find the doctor

and when he arrived

it was too late

our dear little allegra

died on april the 21st a year ago

it’s like a terrible dream

our darling child

was only five years and three months old

now she has gone

and she will never come back to us

when i read this

i was shocked

allegra

dead i felt very sad

and i began to cry

for a long time i just couldn’t believe

i remembered her face

her voice and her child’s talk

i remembered our games and our

conversations

allegra came back to me like a ghost

and i was very unhappy

when i was 18

i went to university to study italian

but i often remembered allegra

and that strange week at the villa

henderson

how could i forget it

and i often thought about allegra’s

strange words

i want to see my daddy before i die

how did she know that she was going to

die

and then there was the ghost allegra in

my room

saying

i want to see my mama before i die

what did it all mean

i wanted to find the answer to this

mystery

but how

in spring

i went to italy for my studies

and i stayed in florence with an italian

family

they had a little daughter

when they told me her name

i couldn’t believe my ears

we wanted

a different name

the mother told me

a name

that you don’t often find in italy

allegra

came to me suddenly

it’s a beautiful name

and we hoped that she would be a happy

child

but

she isn’t happy

she’s a strange girl

i looked at the child

she was tall

her face was pale and beautiful

she had long brown hair

and brown

eyes how old is she

i asked

she’s five

five

uh are you sure

i mean

is she

i said stupidly

yes

five

the mother looked at me strangely

can i

ask you

when she was five

i mean

when is her birthday

the mother looked surprised

in january

why but please

tell me the exact

day

you see i i’d like to buy her a present

next year

now the mother was smiling

she was born on january the 21st

when i went to my room that night

i was afraid

and i didn’t go to bed

i was thinking about allegra henderson

she died on april the 21st when she was

five years and three months old

so she was born

on january the 21st too

was it possible that this italian

allegra had the same name

the same birthday the same age

i couldn’t sleep

so i tried to read a book

about some english poets in italy

but i couldn’t

i was waiting

waiting

she came

at midnight

i looked at my watch

and then she was there

in a dark corner of the room

a beautiful

blonde child

her skin like milk

her eyes like the blue of an italian sky

she wore a long white

night dress

allegra

will you take me to my mama

she asked in her beautiful english

she’s at banyo a whip bully

it isn’t far from here

i was very afraid now

and i shouted

go away

but she came and stood by my armchair

i want to see mama before i die

take me

she said angrily

i ran out of that room

very fast

next morning

i decided to go to banyo aripoli

i drove there in my small feared five

hundred

there were only a few houses

and a small church

called

santa maria delantella

i went into the church

but there was nothing special about it

then i walked around the small cemetery

behind it

but i didn’t see anything different

so i decided to go back to florence

when i was going out of the cemetery

i saw a tombstone

with some english words on it

i stopped

and read

hear lies

claire claremont

died in florence

march the 19th

1879

aged

the name

claire again

the name of the ghost allegra’s mother

i was very

surprised but i still didn’t understand

anything

in florence that afternoon

i decided to go to a bar

and read the book about the english

poets

and while i was reading about byron and

shelley

i began to understand the mystery of

allegra

[Music]

chapter 4

lord byron’s daughter

this

is what i read

on january the 21st

1817

claire claremont

19 years old

had a baby daughter in a town called

bath in england

the baby’s father was the poet lord

byron

but he was not claire’s husband

they were lovers for a while

but then

byron went to italy he did not love

claire

and he did not want to be with her

so claire lived with byron’s friends

the poet shelley

his wife mary

and their two children

claire and mary were half sisters

they had the same father but different

mothers

shelley likes children very much

and he felt a strong love for claire’s

baby

he hoped that his friend byron would

help claire and her daughter

from bath he wrote to him

claire has a very beautiful girl

her hair is fair and her eyes are blue

claire calls her alba

baron wanted to see his baby daughter

and he asked shelley to bring her to

italy

shelley wanted to live in italy too

so he and his family

and claire and her baby all traveled

there

the baby was a year old

and now she was called allegra because

byron liked the name

in italy claire decided to give allegra

to byron

because she thought that the daughter of

an english lord would have a good future

shelley said to her

don’t do it claire or you will never see

your daughter again

but byron was rich

and claire thought that allegra would

have a better life with him

of course she did not want to give

allegra to byron

and when she sent the child to him in

venice she was very unhappy

in a letter to a friend she wrote

in the spring of 1818

i sent my little darling to her father

she was the only thing that i loved in

the world

it was a terrible mistake

allegra lived with her father in a big

house called the palazzo mochenigo

it was full of strange animals and even

stranger people

after a while lord baron understood that

it was not a good home for a child

so he gave allegra to an english family

in venice

and in august claire saw her there

then barron said that claire and her

baby and shelley’s family could stay at

his villa

near a town called este

for two months

claire was happy there with allegra

but byron also said that she must bring

allegra to him in venice in the autumn

so in october allegra went back to her

father

and claire never saw her again

allegra stayed in venice for eight

months with different families

then byron took her to the city of

bologna

he wrote to shelley

she is like me

she has white skin

her voice is soft

and she can’t say the letter r

for many months he sent no news to

claire about her daughter

then she heard that allegra was with her

father in a town called ravenna

she wrote to him

i want to see my daughter

please

but he said no

claire wrote a lot of letters like this

to byron

but he did not answer them

she was very unhappy

when allegra was four years old

byron sent her to a convent school near

ravenna

the nuns were kind

and loved her very much

but the convent was strange to her

the walls were white and cold

the rooms were empty

and sometimes she was cold

because there was no fire

every day

she did the same things at the same time

this quiet life was very different from

her life with byron

claire was now very angry

she did not like convent schools

and she was sure that allegra was always

cold and lonely

she wrote an angry letter to byron

my child

must be with one of her parents

she said

he did not answer the letter

he thought that the convent was good for

allegra

and he told the nuns that claire must

never visit the child

they must lock the doors to stop her

but he said that shelley could see

allegra

because he was his friend

so one day

shelley went to visit allegra at the

convent

he wrote in his diary

she is tall

and pale

but her eyes are very blue

and she has a lot of blonde hair

she is beautiful

and very different from the other

children

i ran and played with her in the garden

she is very light and fast

i gave her some sweets

and i asked her

what shall i say to your mama

she answered in italian

tell her to send me a kiss

and a beautiful dress

then i asked her

what shall i say to your papa

and she answered tell him to visit me

and to bring mama with him

but papa did not visit her

and mama did not come

on june the 6th

1821

claire dreamt that allegra was ill

she thought that her daughter was going

to die

and she would never see her again

take her away from the convent

she wrote to byron

but he said no

of course

claire wanted to go to the convent and

take allegra away

but this was very difficult

byron was a rich and famous lord

and the people in the convent did what

he wanted

they locked the doors

and then

allegra got a fever

the doctor came and gave her some

medicine

for a while she was better

and the nuns hoped that she would live

but she died

on april the 21st

1822

she was five years and three months old

shelley

was afraid to tell claire that allegra

was dead

she thought that she would try to kill

herself

but one evening

shelley

mary

and some friends were talking about

allegra when claire came into the room

at once

everybody stopped talking

and she knew

allegra’s dead

isn’t she

she said

so shelley told her the sad story

she was very unhappy

and wanted to die

shelley was also unhappy

he loved allegra like a daughter

and he could not forget her

two weeks after allegra died

he was with one of his friends on the

balcony of a house by the sea

suddenly

he saw a child

with long fair hair

and very blue eyes

she was coming out of the sea

and she was smiling at him

in the moonlight

he saw that she wanted to come to him

look

there it is

he said to his friend

can you see her

look

there

but his friend saw nothing

it was allegra’s ghost

and 50 years after allegra died

claire wrote to a friend

i can never forget my darling child

but did she really die

byron and shelley said that she died

but i have heard

that she is alive

some people

say that they have seen her

i am sure that she is alive

claire died in 1879

when she was 81 years old

her tombstone is in the cemetery of

santa maria del antella at banyo

arripoli

[Music]

chapter five

banyo arripoli

after i read this strange sad story

i understood the mystery of allegra

was she still alive

but her ghost was still in the world

the little girl in my room

was the ghost of claire claremont’s

allegra

she was unhappy and she couldn’t rest

because she wanted to be with her mother

but she couldn’t find her

she knew that her mother was at banyo

aripoli

but she didn’t know how to get there

so her unhappy ghost

lived and waited in the body of allegra

henderson

chiara’s daughter

at night

it left allegra’s body

and came to my room for help

then

poor allegra died of fever

just like claire’s allegra

but the ghost couldn’t rest

it had to find another child’s body

who is the child

i ask myself

who is the next allegra

allegra 3

but i already knew the answer

my italian family in florence had a

little daughter

her name was allegra

and she would be five years

and three months

on april the 21st

it was now

the evening of april the 20th

i left the bar quickly and ran back to

my family’s house

when i arrived

the mother was crying

electra

is in hospital

she told me she’s got a bad fever

and the doctors aren’t sure what it is

i hope it isn’t dangerous

i hope she’ll get better soon

she’ll be all right i said

she’ll get better

but that night

in my room i said to myself

oh please

no no

i walked round and round the room

and i thought of my dear friend allegra

henderson

i was afraid that allegra 3 was going to

die the next day

but what could i do about it

this allegra must not die

i said angrily

then suddenly

i knew what to do

i waited

ten o’clock

eleven o’clock

midnight

please please come i said

i looked at my watch

12 15

will she come

i said again and again

and then she was there

the ghost of lord byron’s daughter

pale

beautiful

with big blue eyes

and hair like gold

she was smiling at me

are you going to take me to mama

yes allegra

we’re going to banyo arribali

but we must hurry

come on

let’s go

she laughed happily

oh thank you

you’re so kind

i took a cold little hand

we went out of the house

and got into my car

i drove very fast through the night

i’m going to see my dear mama allegra

said

i’ll be with her after all these years

we’ll be so happy

i loved her and she loved me

but papa took me away from her

and he sent me to a convent school

i didn’t like it there

it was so cold and quiet

mama didn’t come

and papa didn’t come

why didn’t they come

but then she laughed

and began to sing an italian song

when we arrived at banyo aripoli she

jumped out of the car and looked around

where is mama

she cried

follow me i said

we went into the cemetery

and i took her to claire claremont’s

tombstone

she’s here i said

your mama is here

allegra read the name on the tombstone

mama

she called

are you here

it’s me

alegwa

i’m here

your allegra is here she was crying with

happiness

i was happy too

but i was also afraid

the cemetery was dark and silent

there was a soft wind in the trees

and in front of my eyes

was this little child’s ghost in a white

night dress

calling for its dead mother

yes

i hear you mama

allegra cried

i’m coming

and very slowly

the ghost of allegra began to disappear

and her voice

was slowly going away

wait for me mama

i’m coming

and then

the ghost wasn’t there

allegra was with her mother at last

audible hopes you have enjoyed this

program

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