One day an ordinary dog appeared in the ticket office at Campiglia, a busy railroad station on Italy’s main line. A ticket agent named Elvio greeted the strange dog in a friendly way, so the dog decided to stay. From that day on, the dog became Elyio’s shadow and was named Lampo.
Lampo kept Elvio company inside the ticket office. When the weather was warm, he would enjoy himself in the sun of the train platform.
When it was time for Elvio to return home on the train at night, Lampo ran after the train for a long way and then sadly gave up and went back to the station.
One night as Elvio was riding home on the train, he noticed that Lampo was lying at his feet. Afraid that the conductor would see the dog on the train and shout at him, Elvio pushed Lampo under a seat. Luckily, the conductor did not notice the dog. Lampo came home with Elvio and met his family. Then, after a short visit, Lampo boarded the last train and went back to the station.
Lampo quickly learned all of the train schedules. He would ride home from work with Elvio every night and then ride back to the station alone. Every morning, Lampo arrived at Elvio’s house in time to walk his young daughter, Mivna, to school. The faithful dog would then take another train to Campiglia to spend time with his , then travel again to accompany Mivna home from school at 11:30.
Soon, Lampo began to take the trains all over Italy. Lampo became famous among the men who worked on the railroad, as his journeys became more frequent, complicated and mysterious. No one could explain why he traveled or how he always found the right train back to Campiglia. People decided that Lampo was a unique dog.
Some of the railroad officials were against Lampo’s illegal travels. They were afraid he would bite a passenger or cause some other problems. Finally, the station threatened to call the dogcatcher if Elvio didn’t get rid of the dog.
Elvio decided to put Lampo on a train going as far away as possible. Months went by and Lampo did not come back. Mivna missed him very much and prayed for his return. Finally one day, a sad, very thin, tired Lampo returned to Elvio’s office. Everyone, even the station, was sorry about what had happened. From then on, Lampo was allowed to ride the trains whenever he wanted. After seven years, Lampo grew old, and he began to need Elvio’s help to board the train. One day Lampo was seen lying dead on the tracks. A year later, a life-sized statue (雕像) of Lampo was set up at Campiglia station. Lampo’s traveling all over Italy caused people to believe that ______.