The Wager

the long version

Don Giovanni is no beggar. A few months ago he was the wealthiest and handsomest young man in Messina, until a tidal wave washed away everything he owned. Though he’s now homeless and poor, he still has his pride—and his good looks. Yet winter is coming, and Don Giovanni has nowhere to go, nothing to eat. When a well-dressed stranger offers him a magical purse in exchange for a simple-sounding wager, Don Giovanni knows he shouldn’t take it. Only the devil would offer a deal like this, and only a fool would accept. But Don Giovanni is desperate. Against his better judgment he enters into a deal with the devil: he will not change his clothes or bathe for 3 years, 3 months, and 3 days. Beauty is a small price to pay for worldly wealth, isn’t it? Unless Don Giovanni loses the wager—and with it his soul. Set against the stunning backdrop of ancient Sicily, this is a tale of beauty, pride, and above all else hope, a tale that only the masterful Donna Jo Napoli could tell.