The Terra-Cotta Dog

AUTHOR'S NOTE

The idea for writing this story came to me when, as a courtesy to two Egyptian student stage directors, we studied The People of the Cave, by Taufik al-Hakim, in a class of mine.

It seems therefore appropriate to dedicate this book to my students at the Silvio d'Amico National Academy of the Dramatic Arts, where I have been teaching stage direction for over twenty-three years.

It is boring to repeat, with each new published book, that the events, characters, and situations are purely fictional. Still, it is necessary. So while I'm at it, I would like to add that the names of my characters come to me by virtue of their amusing assonances, with no malice intended.