This story follows a beautiful and innocent Italian peasant boy named Piccino, who is taken to a foreign villa by the wealthy Lady Aileen after catching her attention, and as he is overwhelmed by strange food, clothes, and repeated baths, he longs for his simple home, donkey, and black bread, ultimately escaping to return to his village, portraying with warmth and subtlety the disconnect between a child’s world and the well-meant but misguided intentions of adults, as well as the cultural and class divides they cannot bridge.
