A group of Venetian waitresses meets in Piazza di Siena, where they take the children of the families they work for to play.

One of them, Lidia, reunites with the group after a while, and she explains that she attempted suicide due to a love disappointment suffered by a soldier; another, Marietta, claims that she would be very ready to kill herself if a man made fun of her.

Her friends look for her frantically, thinking that she may have thrown herself off the cliff of the Muro Torto; her fears vanish when she finds her again as she quietly watches a puppet show.

One of them, Anna Maria, made an appointment with the Greek teacher at the Sea Horse Fountain; the girl has to pretend that she is in love with him and kiss him suddenly, so that the other classmates can secretly photograph the kiss and then use the photo to blackmail the teacher and get the promotion.

The teacher introduces himself, and tells Anna Maria his sad story: after the end of the school year he will have to leave teaching because he is losing his sight.