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Authors: Nancy Krulik
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church in the square rang out. It was one oâclock. The gondola cruise was supposed to start.
âI hope Katie gets here soon,â Mrs. Bridgeman said. âWe have reservations for lunch at three oâclock. We need to be back in time to change.â
Katie gulped. She knew Katie wasnât coming back. At least not for a while.
âWeâll go without her,â she told Mrs. Bridgeman. âA tour with three people is as nice as a tour with four people.â
âBut we canât leave a little girl alone in Venice,â Annabelleâs mother said.
âShe isnât alone,â Katie said. âI saw your tour guide Vicki in your hotel lobby. She can take care of Katie for the day.â
âI donât know ...â Mrs. Bridgeman began.
But Katie didnât wait for her to finish her thought. With one hard push of her gondolierâs pole, she forced the boat down the canal. They were off!
âHey, arenât gondoliers supposed to sing while they work?â Annabelle asked after they had been traveling a while.
âYes, letâs hear a nice Italian song,â Mr. Bridgeman urged.
Uh-oh! Katie didnât know how to sing anything in Italian. In fact the only song she knew that was even about something Italian was something sheâd learned in kindergarten.
That was going to have to do.
âOn top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese,â she began to sing. âI lost my poor meatball when somebody sneezed.â
âOh. I know that one!â Annabelle shouted. She began to sing along. âIt rolled off the table, and under a bush ...â
Soon the Bridgemans joined in as well. And they kept on singing the song all the way down the big canal.
Katie began to relax. Annabelle and her parents were having a good time. Everything was going to be all right.
After a while, though, Katie grew tired. Steering a gondola was not as easy as it looked. Even with Vincenzoâs strong arms to help her, Katie was really achy. It was getting harder and harder to move the big pole through the water.
âWhy arenât we going any faster?â Annabelle asked. âAll the other gondolas are way ahead.â
âItâs not a race, honey,â her father told her.
âExactly,â Katie said. âIâm giving you a chance to get a good look at our beautiful city.â
Annabelle seemed happy with that answer. Which was a good thing, since Katie wasnât paddling anymore. Her arms were too tired. The gondola was floating all on its own.
The Bridgemans seemed to enjoy floating through Venice, though. They were staring at the beautiful houses that lined the narrow canal. The brick and cement houses were painted pretty colors like pink, red, and yellow. There were balconies outside the windows, most of which had been decorated with beautiful flowers.
Katie thought Venice was the most magical city sheâd even seen. For a little while, she forgot she was supposed to be Vincenzo. She felt like any other tourist looking at the city, floating like the people in the other gondolas.
Katie glanced ahead at the other boats ...
UH-OH! The other gondolas were gone!
Katie gulped. They must have continued down the big canal. But Katieâs gondola wasnât in the big canal anymore. Somehow theyâd drifted into a tiny little canal. Now Katie had no idea where they were.
Even worse, she had no idea how to get back.
Chapter 21
âVincenzo, donât you think we should be turning back now?â Mr. Bridgeman asked a few moments later. âItâs already been more than an hour.â
Katie nodded. She wanted to turn back. More than anything. She just didnât know how.
âI ... um ...â she started, feeling very sad and frightened. This was going so wrong. Not only was she lost in Venice, but she was going to ruin everything for Vincenzo. When his father found out that the gondola had gotten lost ...
Katie shook
âI hope Katie gets here soon,â Mrs. Bridgeman said. âWe have reservations for lunch at three oâclock. We need to be back in time to change.â
Katie gulped. She knew Katie wasnât coming back. At least not for a while.
âWeâll go without her,â she told Mrs. Bridgeman. âA tour with three people is as nice as a tour with four people.â
âBut we canât leave a little girl alone in Venice,â Annabelleâs mother said.
âShe isnât alone,â Katie said. âI saw your tour guide Vicki in your hotel lobby. She can take care of Katie for the day.â
âI donât know ...â Mrs. Bridgeman began.
But Katie didnât wait for her to finish her thought. With one hard push of her gondolierâs pole, she forced the boat down the canal. They were off!
âHey, arenât gondoliers supposed to sing while they work?â Annabelle asked after they had been traveling a while.
âYes, letâs hear a nice Italian song,â Mr. Bridgeman urged.
Uh-oh! Katie didnât know how to sing anything in Italian. In fact the only song she knew that was even about something Italian was something sheâd learned in kindergarten.
That was going to have to do.
âOn top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese,â she began to sing. âI lost my poor meatball when somebody sneezed.â
âOh. I know that one!â Annabelle shouted. She began to sing along. âIt rolled off the table, and under a bush ...â
Soon the Bridgemans joined in as well. And they kept on singing the song all the way down the big canal.
Katie began to relax. Annabelle and her parents were having a good time. Everything was going to be all right.
After a while, though, Katie grew tired. Steering a gondola was not as easy as it looked. Even with Vincenzoâs strong arms to help her, Katie was really achy. It was getting harder and harder to move the big pole through the water.
âWhy arenât we going any faster?â Annabelle asked. âAll the other gondolas are way ahead.â
âItâs not a race, honey,â her father told her.
âExactly,â Katie said. âIâm giving you a chance to get a good look at our beautiful city.â
Annabelle seemed happy with that answer. Which was a good thing, since Katie wasnât paddling anymore. Her arms were too tired. The gondola was floating all on its own.
The Bridgemans seemed to enjoy floating through Venice, though. They were staring at the beautiful houses that lined the narrow canal. The brick and cement houses were painted pretty colors like pink, red, and yellow. There were balconies outside the windows, most of which had been decorated with beautiful flowers.
Katie thought Venice was the most magical city sheâd even seen. For a little while, she forgot she was supposed to be Vincenzo. She felt like any other tourist looking at the city, floating like the people in the other gondolas.
Katie glanced ahead at the other boats ...
UH-OH! The other gondolas were gone!
Katie gulped. They must have continued down the big canal. But Katieâs gondola wasnât in the big canal anymore. Somehow theyâd drifted into a tiny little canal. Now Katie had no idea where they were.
Even worse, she had no idea how to get back.
Chapter 21
âVincenzo, donât you think we should be turning back now?â Mr. Bridgeman asked a few moments later. âItâs already been more than an hour.â
Katie nodded. She wanted to turn back. More than anything. She just didnât know how.
âI ... um ...â she started, feeling very sad and frightened. This was going so wrong. Not only was she lost in Venice, but she was going to ruin everything for Vincenzo. When his father found out that the gondola had gotten lost ...
Katie shook
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