Luigi Pirandello (Agrigento 1867- Rome 1936) was an Italian playwright, novelist, and short-story writer, winner of the 1934 Nobel Prize for Literature. Though mostly known for his plays such as Six Characters in Search of an Author, Pirandello wrote over 250 short stories, many of which he adapted for the stage. “Tap tap” (“La toccatina”) first appeared in Il Marzocco on August 12, 1906. It was then collected in Novelle per un anno, vol. 2 (La vita nuda). Florence: Bemporad, 1922.