THE TRANSLATION OF GIOVANNA

Preshus angle Mother—

yes I will be payshunt not to come live by you. I awto be satisfide when you are somewhere loving me and I am somewhere loving you but I gotta sorry spot inside that you must be gone so far and long from me.

I usto hate my sylum close but now no more for its gotta pockit to keep your darling letter in. All day I love it with my hand and all night with my cheek. It makes a wisper in my pockit and I wisper back to it. I must be alright with God for him to let you come to me but I do not see how that can be for I am awfun nawty in my temper.

There is a hole orfun in this sylum with big moufh and little sents and stufs all in it like a baby. She grabt your letter and I grabt it back. I most slapt her but it ain’t 2 weeks since I was an orfun my own self and she gotta be it all her life for a big moufh and little sents is wurse to adop than long and black like me and I didnt slap her.

My burthday usto be lost but now I gotta new one and its the day you took me for a dawter forever and ever Amen. But does that make me now a baby squawling on my cot? No it is the day when happyness sprowted in my sowl which the preecher says we all got one to be lost if we are wicket.

A new big orfun sleeps in our dormitory the maytrun spelt it. She wears a pompydoor on a mouse she made outa the maps in her joggerfry. She keeps a flurt book and a whiches dream book under her pillo and learns the girls of nights to dream and flurt but they cannot flurt much for their hankys are pined to their close and gloves fans and parysawls orfuns has nun. I put the sheet in my ears not to lissen because I know you wouldnt like me to. I could write how I love you on all the paper in the wurld and not have enufh.

your feckshunate dawter Giovanna.

Angle darling Mother—

I leve the sylum tomorrow for the boarding school like you want me to. I am yours to put where you pleaze.

I will tell you all that past today. I had a bath tho it was only the middel of the week. We allways walk 2 and 2 and we reech all down the block but this morning it was me with the maytrun and no more. I was much afrade the orfuns would brake themselves outa the windos where they lookt and wigled their hands to me.

P. S. They didnt.

We went to a big big big store and I lookt in a glass where I seen myself all of one peace for the furst time. I guessed I was humly but not like that. I scrooocht down for my dress to fall more on my legs but it wouldnt.

A lady made a shampoo on my head and a manycure on my nails. I felt cheep to let her do for me like I was a baby and I thankt her all I could and I felt awful nice and funny when it was finisht. The maytrun smiled and smiled like I never knew she could and she put dear on me as nobody does on orfuns.

O the close and close she bawt for me with your preshus money! White pettys like angles must wear and button shoes with tassels. O my toes wigle wigle how glad they are and I bleve I could go anywhere in 3 jumps. And a red silk dress that wispers wispers all the time like your letter in my pocket. Mother of my hart dont think I love you more for the close because I loved you the most I could all ready. I got so much love for you in me there aint hardly room for my brefh.

I ast the maytrun to let me take my orfun close for a remember what I usto wear before you took me.

The orfuns lookt and lookt and her of the big moufh and little sents put her finger on my red dress and I let her. I am not glad for going. Orfuns is not the wurst compny and this is where you was at 2 times with me. I will be awful good at the school so you will not be mortyfide on me.

your obeedyent dawter Giovanna.

Angle Mother of my hart—

this is the night of my furst day at the Eggsloosif School where you got me put to learn manners and gramer.

I will write some good to prepair you for the wurst. The dining room is butyfull the lights is in red flowers and the plates is deckrated with roses and the glasses is made of diamons and there is pink babys stuck to the ceeling. The Eggsloosifs wear rings and lockits and bows. They laff laff fast and happy all the time. I lookt at them very much and was glad you put me so high by your love.

Orfuns pass the food but talk not. Eggsloosifs talk but pass not. A lady with teeny aprun must tote the food all round the table. The Principle sits at the end. If anybody is bad she does not speke it out for Eggsloosifs has tender sowls. She writes it on a peace of paper and the lady with the teeny aprun gives it to the girl on the quiet. She brung me one and I thot it must be lessons at dinner so I read it out loud and it said for me to look how the other girls ust their spoons and they all lafft and lafft at me to read it out. O it was no fare! It was no fare! They was mean to laff wasnt they Mother? I never knew it was on the quiet and I never knew my spoon must fall backward in my soup. I didnt feel my red dress no more. I felt all scrooocht down like I had on my orfun close. I was full of cry but I wouldnt let it out.

Then the lady clered off the table and set it agen with us looking and not helping nun. That seemed mean. I thot she did so for brekfas but no it was to ete some more. I couldnt so I wisht the orfuns had my shair. I tried so as not to be quere but my swallo wouldnt ack.

I never seen when the lady come to me with gravey and I hit it with my elbow and it spilt on a girls dress and I pollygized the best I could but she was mad and she said the ideah of you being goose enufh to adop me and think you could make a lady outa me. I said I aint nuthing but she is and you let her be. I slapt that girl good on the cheek. When you slap poorness she will slap back but richness has histerick awful for her mother never gave her no spanks so this was her furst blow.

The Principle called me ungreatful protee jay to you or I wouldnt a dun what I dun. I ans. no mam I am a greatful jay to her no matter how I ack and she sorta chokt and sent me upstairs to think it over with my conshents and my conshents will ever say the same it was my falt to hit the gravey but the slap was not on me it was on her to put that name to you. When this letter flys where you are at there will fly the letter of the Principle to tell how bad I was all ready. I don’t care! I don’t care! O its fearce how I dont care and I got tear spots all over my red dress.

I guess its no use mother of my hart. I am not worth you should have such pains on me and thats the true. The ways of poorness is not the ways of richness the ways of badness is not the ways of goodness. I aint no more fittn to be your dawter than the orfun of the big moufh and little sents. But O write to me that you do not hate me in your hart. Write that I am not all misssteak to you. Write how you kinda like me a little nawty and unfittn tho I be.

your awful sorry

Giovanna.

Preshus goner angle Mother—

it is now the night of my furst week at this school and you aint sent no ans. to my letter.

The Eggsloosifs say I am low to slap a girl so they got tayboo on me. They never speak to a tayboo cept they have to before a teacher and if anybody was good to that one they would put tayboo on her the same. They made a line with chak round my desk that nobody must cross to come by me. Then they talk how low I am like I had no ears. The class pote says I am a weed in the middel of the flowers. I never cry because I wouldnt do them that much good. I just hate them with my eyes. What’s the good of a Jim suit when the music dont say nothing to your toes? I am so sorry all days that no lesson can stick to my mind.

But tayboos and such is not my big wo. I know in my hart you are sorry you took me for a dawter. I see now the kind you want like these Eggsloosifs but I got no good start to be that class. I was not made to be a parlor dawter to you Mother of my hart but let me be a kitshen dawter. No dishes would be greesy if I wash for you. No floors would be big and durty if I scrub for you! O dear dear mother dont throw me away for no good but keep me for a kitshen dawter.

your back door

Giovanna.

Dear lady what usto be my Mother—

today I was in the class of gramer and the teacher said Giovanna what is chair and I ans. chair is a noun on which to set and the girls lafft and I had much mad and shame. I heard out on the street some one to cry potaytoes potaytoes.

I put on my sylum dress and pined on my hanky

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It was the voice of Luigi a daygo he peddels by the sylum and he usto be frends with my father. I run out of that school awful quick. Luigi did not know me in my Eggsloosif dress and he ast do you want some potaytoes Miss? Then he knew me and I clum upon the wagon and I said go fast I wanto lope with you back to the sylum for I hate this school and all contaned. He whipt the horse round the corner and then more slow for it skun the potaytoes and I told him all and no lies. He ans. lopes was no fare to you so he stopt the wagon and down I clum and a teacher of the school come running and she held me by the hand like I would lope some more but I wouldnt. The girls lafft very much and teezed me till I felt sick with shame and mad. The class pote made a song.

I hate that class pote I do indede. I hate all the fokes I got and I lost all the fokes I love. I will go now and put on my sylum close so as to be ready for back when the Principle will say you want me to. That dress would be alright with me if it only had an angle letter from you to wisper in the pockit but now no more so my good days are all dun. I guess God knew I was not good enufh to be your dawter for that he let me to spill the gravey and slap the Eggsloosif so your love to me all friz up in your hart.

her which usto be your dawter Giovanna.

P. S. I put on my sylum dress and pined on my hanky like I usto and I come where the girls was and they lookt and lookt and I said I wear the kind of close like what I am. I hate you all give me tin spoons and no tayboo. The girls lookt and lookt some more and lafft not. Then they was took with much shame on themselves and they pollygized for what they dun to me. They said I was darling and we cried some and lafft some and huged and kist very much and all said they ast me furst to borro my sylum dress for to ware in a play and we huged more and now I love Eggsloosifs same as orfuns.

O but the best was to get your dear dear dear letter. O to think it was just a storm mussed up the railroad and you love me ever and allways the same!

Xcuse the funny spots my tears made them when I thot the chane between us 2 was busted. Now we can play they are laffs I am so glad!

G.