The War of the Bells

Gianni Rodari (1920–1980) is considered the greatest Italian writer for children in the twentieth century. His tale “La guerra delle campane”—translated here as “The War of the Bells”—was included in Favole al telefono (Tales Told by Telephone), a collection of short stories published in 1962. Many of his tales are ironical and deal with the consequences of war. In contrast to the traditional fairy tale that often celebrated kings and generals, Rodari always exposed them as frauds. Nor did he believe in happy endings. His endings were always open-ended and intended to provoke young readers to think how the future might be changed.