My little horse / Meu cavalinho

I was born in Campinas, but my first two years of life were spent in Franca, where my sister Ellen and my brother Clovis were born.

My father worked for the state bank of São Paulo and from time to time was transferred to other cities and took on new responsibilities. In 1944 he was promoted from teller to accountant and we moved to Piracicaba, to a place in the countryside, on Estrada do Vergueiro. It was paradise! I remember it as if it were yesterday, the Guinea fowls screaming “tô fraco! tô fraco!”, which in Portuguese means “I'm weak! I'm weak!” We also had some ducks that enchanted me when they swam in our small pond. Every time ducklings hatched I wanted to hold those soft little yellow balls in my hands.

Once a neighbor gave us two beautiful white rabbits, telling us they were male. Well, the next day we were in for a surprise: there were many little rabbits in one of the cages! One more day and another surprise: there were baby rabbits in the other cage, too! That was a somewhat inconvenient gift...

My favorite animal, however, was an old horse who had drawn a cart for many years and was now retired. My mother loved horses and all kinds of animals, it was soon called Tony. I thought that little horse was just wonderful. Many times I, who was just two years old, would walk to him with my short little legs, grab his tail and swing from side to side! I believe he knew I was only a silly kid because he would stop grazing and stand very still until I tired of the game.

When we were a little bit older we were very happy when our paternal grandfather Sigefredo came to see us. He loved to go fishing and let us go with him. My sister Ellen was very upset when she saw the little fish struggling to breathe and soon returned them to the waters of Piracicaba river! When grandfather decided to call it a day and checked the result of the fishing expedition he found an empty basket...

One summer afternoon I took a great fright: I was playing with my doll in the back yard, no longer at the countryside, but in a house on Rua do Rosário. As I looked at the next house I saw that it was on fire! That happened after World War II, when people sometimes would store fuel at home, as it was rationed. The war was over, but our neighbors still had alcohol and gasoline stored at home. When she saw the fire, our mother told us to go to her friend's house. The three of us, Ellen, Clovis and I, got dressed, my sister and I got our dolls and left. I insisted that our mother should come too, but she was going through what she thought was important to keep. Fortunately, nothing was lost.

*****************

Nasci em Campinas, mas nos primeiros dois anos de vida morei em Franca, onde nasceram meus irmãos Ellen e Clóvis.

Como meu pai era bancário, era transferido para outras cidades de tempos em tempos, para assumir novas funções. Em 1944 foi promovido a contador e fomos morar em Piracicaba, em uma chácara na Estrada do Vergueiro. Era um paraíso! Eu me lembro como se fosse hoje das galinhas d'Angola pintadas de branco e preto gritando “tô fraco! tô fraco!” Tínhamos também alguns patos e me encantava vê-los nadando em um pequeno lago. Quando nasciam patinhos eu gostava de segurar aquelas bolinhas amarelas, tão fofinhas!

Uma vez ganhamos dois coelhos, que nos garantiram ser machos. No dia seguinte, a surpresa: muitos filhotes na gaiola! Mais um dia, e outra surpresa: filhotes também na outra gaiola! Um presente um tanto inconveniente...

Mas meu animal predileto era um pangaré aposentado de puxar alguma carroça, que foi logo batizado de Tony, Eu achava aquele cavalinho magnífico. Muitas vezes, com dois anos de idade, eu ia até ele com minhas pernas curtas e me pendurava na cauda dele, balançando de um lado para o outro. Acho que ele pressentia que eu era uma criança sem juízo, porque ficava quietinho esperando que eu acabasse de brincar e o deixasse em paz.

Já maiores, ficávamos felizes da vida quando o vovô Sigefredo ia nos visitar. Ele gostava muito de pescar e deixava que o acompanhássemos. Minha irmã Ellen não gostava nada de ver os peixinhos se debatendo e trava de logo devolvê-los ao Rio Piracicaba! Quando o vovô ia ver o resultado da pescaria, achava o cestinho vazio...

Uma vez, levei um grande susto: estava andando pelo quintal, não mais na chácara, mas já na Rua do Rosário, quando vi que a casa ao lado estava em chamas. No período da 2a. Guerra Mundial, as pessoas às vezes armazenavam combustíveis, que eram racionados. A Guerra acabou, mas os vizinhos ainda tinham gasolina e álcool guardados em casa. Quando houve esse incêndio, mamãe disse que fossemos para a casa da amiga dela. Nós três, Ellen, Clóvis e eu, nos arrumamos, minha irmã e eu pegamos nossas bonecas e lá fomos nós. Insisti com minha mãe que fosse também, mas ela estava separando o que deveria levar, o que deixar para trás. Felizmente, nada se perdeu.