The Town Where It Was Forbidden to Die

In a small town in Italy, the people had a real problem. The old cemetery on the hill was completely full. There was no room left for anyone new. The town was small, the land was steep, and a new cemetery was not ready yet. The mayor had to do something, so he made a very strange decision.

I en liten by i Italia hadde folk et stort problem. Den gamle kirkegården på fjellet var helt full. Det var ikke plass til noen nye. Byen var liten, landet var bratt, og en ny kirkegård var ikke klar ennå. Ordføreren måtte gjøre noe, så han tok en veldig rar avgjørelse.

The mayor signed an official order. The order told the people of the town that, from that day on, it was forbidden to die. Of course, no one can really follow such a rule. The mayor knew that too. It was his way of showing how serious the problem had become, and his way of asking the town for patience.

Ordføreren skrev en offisiell beskjed. Beskjeden sa at fra den dagen var det forbudt å dø. Selvfølgelig kan ingen virkelig følge en sånn regel. Det visste ordføreren også. Det var hans måte å vise hvor stort problemet var, og hans måte å be byen om tålmodighet.

When the people read the notice in the square, they laughed. They knew their mayor could not stop death, but they understood his message. The funny story did not stay in the town. Newspapers picked it up, and soon people all around the world were smiling at the little Italian town where, for a while, it was against the rules to die.

Da folk leste beskjeden på torget, lo de. De visste at ordføreren ikke kunne stoppe døden, men de forsto budskapet hans. Den morsomme historien ble ikke bare i byen. Aviser skrev om den, og snart smilte folk over hele verden til den lille italienske byen hvor det, en liten stund, var mot reglene å dø.