Monday with a Mad Genius Read Online Free Page B

him his stuff.” Before Jack could stop her, Annie stepped into Leonardo’s room. “Knock, knock,” she said loudly.
    Leonardo whirled around. His face was red. He was scowling. “What are
you
doing here?” he said.
    “We brought your things,” said Annie. “You forgot them.” She held up the basket.
    “Oh.” Leonardo’s face softened. “Thank you. Leave it all by the door, please,” he said.
    Annie put the basket down. Then she looked up at Leonardo.
    “We’d better go,” Jack said softly to her.
    “Wait.” Annie stepped farther into Leonardo’s room. “We’d like to help you,” she said.
    Leonardo scowled again. “You cannot help me,” he said. “Do as your brother says, little girl. Go now.”
    But Annie didn’t move. “Excuse me, but we’re supposed to help you all day,” she said. “You made us your apprentices for the day, remember?”
    “Can you not see that I am miserable?” said Leonardo.
    “But
why
are you miserable?” said Annie. “You said that fame was the secret of happiness. And you’re still famous.”
    “But what good is fame in the face of failure?” shouted Leonardo. “This fresco was to be my masterpiece! What good is fame when everyone will now laugh at me and mock my failure? Go! Please!”
    “Oh, okay. I’m sorry,” said Annie in a smallvoice. “We just wanted to help.” She and Jack turned to go.
    “Wait, wait, wait,” said Leonardo. “Forgive me.”
    Jack and Annie looked back at Leonardo. The great genius rubbed his face and sighed. Then he waved his hand. “Please, forgive me. Come in, come in,” he said.
    “Thanks,” said Annie. And she and Jack stepped inside Leonardo da Vinci’s studio.

A low fire burned in the hearth. Sunlight slanted across the warm room. Jack caught his breath as he looked around Leonardo’s studio.
    There were mirrors, wooden trunks, globes, paint pots, and brushes. Sketches, paintings, and handmade maps were all over the walls. There were stacks of old books, half-built furniture, piled-up papers, theater masks, pieces of costumes, and musical instruments.
    “Oh, man,” murmured Jack, “I
love
this room.”
    “Me too,” said Annie.
    “Please, sit at my table. Let me get you something to eat,” said Leonardo. He pushed a bunch of things to the side of a long wooden table and pulled up two chairs.
    “Thanks,” said Jack. He and Annie sat down.
    Leonardo took the cheese and bread from the basket by the door and gave some to Jack and Annie. The cheese was dry but tasted good. And the bread was
really
delicious—hard and crackly on the outside, but soft and chewy on the inside.
Hmm, I wonder how they make it like this
, Jack thought.
    “So why do you want to leave Florence, Leonardo?” Annie asked, her mouth full.
    “Because I will no longer be respected here,” said Leonardo. “Last week, the council told me I must finish my fresco soon. And now I will not finish it at all. Just recently Michelangelo accused me of never finishing
anything!
”
    “Michelangelo? The great artist?” said Jack.
    Leonardo snorted. “You think Michelangelo is a great artist? Have you seen his statues? Those men with their big muscles? They look like sacks of walnuts!”
    Jack and Annie laughed.
    Leonardo tried to hide a smile as he looked at them. “In truth, Michelangelo
is
a great artist,” he said. “Still, he should not accuse me of never finishing anything … even if it is true.”
    “Why don’t you finish things?” asked Annie.
    “Well, I shall not finish my battle scene now because I experimented with my paint,” said Leonardo. “I am experimenting all the time. And often my experiments lead nowhere.”
    “So is that your main problem?” asked Annie.
    “One of them,” said Leonardo, sighing. “The other is that there are too many things I want to do, and there is never enough time!”
    “What else do you want to do?” asked Jack.
    “Oh, I have thousands of ideas,” said Leonardo. He put down his bread