A man named Ludovico Salducchi ignores the ringing of the St. Anna bell, which signals that no German soldiers are present. Ludovico focuses instead on a curse he is attempting to rid himself of. He sits with Ettora, who cursed him, and his daughter, Renata, who is consulting Ettora to divine if her husband will return from the war. Ludovico had, as a young man, loved Ettora. Their courtship dissolved after Ludovico argued that women did not need to read or think. Ettora remained unmarried, taking up instead the role of the “village witch,” which garnered community respect.

He blames Ettora for the misfortune that arose when German soldiers stole his rabbits, all but one, whom he named Isabella and kept in secret. He hides Isabella below the floorboards of his bedroom until, one day, he finds two rabbits there. He prays daily and the number of rabbits increase, his religious devotion increasing with their number. He soon begins to worry that he has too many rabbits and will attract the attention of the starving German soldiers. He prays for the rabbits to stop.

Ettora urges him to share with the starving families in the village; Ludovico lies and says he does share.