Synopsis

This is the story of sulky twin sisters on holiday in Venice who quarrel with their mother over their desire for a dog. She leaves them alone to see a client and they fight over her favourite necklace and break it. The twins scrape together a handful of change and set off into the throngs of Venice to find a replacement. Out on their own for the very first time, they are distracted by toys, take a gondola ride, and visit a costume museum. In a dead end lane they realise they are lost and do not even know their address. They wander aimlessly losing clothing, playing in canals, chasing pigeons, and spending their money on pizza. They begin to see the value of money and the acuteness of hunger, and wonder if perhaps they expect too much. No longer with enough cash to buy a necklace for their mother, they find her a gift nonetheless. Happening upon the Goldoni Museum they remember that Goldoni’s statue is near their apartment and a stranger gives them directions home. Racing through dark lanes and over bridges, they return to their desperate mother and give her the gift they purchased – a Venetian glass puppy.