If You Go Down to the Woods Today...

Daylight Robbery

Rosa Lotti-Danielli, an Italian housewife and devout Catholic, arrived at Sunday Mass on the morning of November 1st, 1954, with a very strange story to tell.

A newspaper illustration of the incident.

As usual, Rosa had walked to church along the country path leading from the farm where she worked to the village of Cennina. The ground was damp from rain, so she took off her shoes and stockings and carried them to prevent them getting muddy. She was also carrying a bunch of carnations to place before the altar of the Madonna.

As she crossed a clearing in a wooded area, Rosa encountered a 6-ft-high spindle-shaped brass object resting upright on the ground. Through an open hatchway she could see a pair of tiny seats and an array of controls.

Suddenly, two 3-ft-tall dwarves leapt out from behind a bush and accosted her. "It would have taken two of those things to make a man," Rosa later told investigators. "But they were very fine looking, even though rather old".

The entities wore grey coveralls twinned with matching capes. On their heads were old-fashioned leather flying helmets with large earpieces.

"Liu lai lao lua," cried one of them, snatching the carnations from the bewildered housewife's hands. Simultaneously, the other grabbed her shoes and stockings.

A bizarre tug-of-war ensued, which ended with the entities permitting Rosa to keep her stockings and some of the flowers. They tossed the remainder of the bunch through the hatch into the cone. One of the dwarves offered her a small cube-shaped object in return, but she fled the scene without taking it.

Rosa later returned to the forest with several policemen in tow. The only evidence they found was a small crater at the spot where the bizarre object had stood. However, many villagers claimed to have seen a spindle-shaped UFO earlier that morning.

Similar Cases

The Electric Goblins
Strange entities try to steal an Italian's machete.

Sources

John Spencer: The UFO Encyclopedia, p24.
Jenny Randles: The Complete Book of Aliens & Abductions, p76.