164 Language Through Nature 



father and mother had to go to the city of Florence, 

 and he was left at the home of his nurse, who was 

 the wife of a stonecutter. Here he breathed the 

 pure mountain air, played in the sunshine, and 

 grew sturdy and strong, as little boys should. He 

 heard the ring of the stonecutter's hammer, watched 

 the chips fly from under the chisel, and saw the 

 rough blocks of stone grow into forms of beauty. 



As soon as he could use his hands he began to 

 draw pictures. He drew some on the white walls 

 of his nurse's house, where they could be seen for 

 many years. After a time his father and mother 

 took him to Florence and sent him to school. One 

 of his schoolmates was the pupil of a great artist, 

 and after school Michael Angelo often went with 

 him to watch the artists at their work. He wished 

 to be an artist himself, and was very unhappy be- 

 cause his father and his uncles wished him to do 

 something else. They did not know that he would 

 some day paint beautiful pictures, make splendid 

 buildings and fine statues that people would look 

 at and enjoy for hundreds of years. However, they 

 at last gave their consent, and he began to study 

 drawing and painting. He learned rapidly, and 

 soon undertook to model and to work in marble. 



