Narrator: Giovannino and Serenella had just been out looking for crabs.

Giovannino liked this about

Serenella—how she didn’t get scared or cry like other girls always were. They were now strolling on
train tracks as they held hands. Soon, they heard a train approaching.

Serenella: What should we do Giovannino?

Giovannino: Look! There’s an opening in the hedges! Let’s go!

Narrator: There were large flesh-colored trees and winding gravel paths. As they tip-toed so the owners
wouldn’t hear them, they soon found themselves under open sky looking at neat flower beds as well as
decorated paths and rows of box trees. Everything was quiet, and seemed abandoned; sparrows were
the only source of noise, but even that didn’t last. There was a big villa with flashing windowpanes and
curtains of orange and yellow. They expected the windows to fling open, and to be shouted at as they
pushed a wheelbarrow and selectively picked a bouquet of flowers.

Serenella: That one. (In a low voice, pointing, then Giovannino picks it.)

Narrator: Eventually, the gravel path they were following ended, and before them was a large rectangle
full with clear water—a swimming pool!

Giovannino: Shall we go for a swim? We’re all ready in our swim suits from looking for crabs.

Narrator: Without a word, Serenella moved toward the pool. Then Giovannino, seeing her approval,
dove in from the edge so as to make less noise. Soon after he saw how his pink hands looked like
goldfish under the water, he saw a large pink form up above him—Serenella! Anxiously, they swam
toward the surface together. But none of this was very fun at all, because they knew they had no right
to any of this. As they climbed out of the swimming pool, they saw a ping-pong table and started to play.
After playing softly for a little while, Giovannino accidently hit the ball so that it went and hit a hanging
gong.

Giovannino: Quick, duck! Someone’s coming!

Narrator: Two butlers emerged from the villa and lay down two cups of tea and two slices of cake.
Giovannino and Serenella went to eat the food, but the act felt wrong so the food seemed to have no
taste. Nothing in this garden could be properly enjoyed. Quietly, they walked to the villa and peered
inside a window. Between the slits of venetian blinds, they saw a beautiful and shady room with
butterflies hanging on the walls, and a little pale boy inside. They saw the boy as lucky, as they assumed
he was the owner of the place. He was stretched upon a lounge, nervously looking around and turning
the pages of a large book with his big white hands, wearing pajamas buttoned all the way up to his neck,
though it was summer. Giovannino and Serenella became calm, as the boy seemed to have more anxiety
than them; as if having all these luxurious things was a grand mistake, and he couldn’t enjoy these
things because he felt the mistake to be his own fault. The children’s heart beats increased greatly as
the boy wandered around his room stealthy, touching the hanging cases of butterflies, then stopped and
listened. Perhaps it was the fear of a spell that hung over this place—the residue of an injustice
committed long ago. Clouds darkened the sun, and Giovannino and Serenella quietly crept away, going
along the same paths they had used to enter; going quickly, but never quite running, and then leaving
through the hedge. They saw a path along the shore and invented a great new game where they threw
large handfuls of seaweed in each other’s faces until late afternoon, and Serenella never once cried.

~Jeopardy Transition~

Host: Alright, settle down audience! Now that you’ve seen the video that goes with this category’s
questions, it’s time to play. After you provide a correct answer, you select a question based upon its
worth in points. If the worth in points is higher, the question is harder; get it? Okay. Let’s get going!
Jessica, you start!

Jessica: “The Enchanted Garden,” for 100, please.

Host: Who are the main characters? What kind of characters are they and why?

Pearl: *clicks pen* Giovannino, Serenella, and the pale little boy are all static main characters. The
children are adventurous, which doesn’t change from the beginning as they enter the mysterious
garden, to when they end up playing with seaweed on the beach. Also, the boy in the villa was isolated
the entire time, and shy because of that, as he stays within one room in the villa throughout the story.

Host: That is quite correct, for 100 points.

Pearl: I’ll take 300.

Host: What kinds of conflicts are there in the story? Provide examples.

Cassidy: *clicks pen* The conflict of man vs. self is present in the story, and experienced by all of the
main characters. First of all, Giovannino and Serenella both had the internal conflict of whether or not
they should leave the garden, because they were trespassing. Second, the pale boy in the villa seemed
to be extremely anxious because of knowledge or thoughts of some sort.

Host: That’s right, for 300 points.

Cassidy: 200, please.

Host: What is the setting? Does it have an effect on the story? How or why?

Jessica: *clicks pen* We inference that the story was near the shore of Italy, because of the two
children’s Italian names, not in a specific time frame. However, we do know that it is daytime because
on the last page the author states “the clouds covered the sun”. We’re also aware that it’s summer
because the children question why the boy was wearing his pajamas buttoned up all the way during the
summertime. The setting to this story is important because the specific details help greatly to create the
mood of the story and provide background information.

Host: Indeed, that’s true, for 200 points.

Jessica: Let’s try 400.

Host: This just happens to be a daily double. The question is: what are the literary elements and why are
they key in the story?

Jessica: *clicks pen* The literary elements of setting and mood are noticeably important in this story as
the setting’s vivid detail helps to set the mood. The many details describing the garden make it seem
lively, yet the children see it as a bit abandoned. That sense of an abandoned place cause a sense of
eeriness to be spread throughout the story, as all the children were anxious—including the boy in the
villa.

Host: Yes! Jessica has just won Jeopardy with an overwhelming 600 points. Join us again, next time in
the semi-finals!

Isobel: *walks in front of contestants* Today’s production was brought to you by Italo Calvino. He was
born on the 15th of October, 1923 in Cuba, and died of a cerebral hemorrhage on September 19 th, 1985.
During his life, he graduated from the University of Turin, Italy in 1947 with a thesis on Joseph Conrad,
an English novelist and short-story writer who was of Polish decent. Calvino was also an honorary
member of the American Academy, awarded the Austrian State Prize for European literature, and was
given the prestigious label of a French Legion of Honor.