The narrator tells us that spring is upon us, and that the town is preparing for a festival. Everyone is excited about the festival, and everyone is rowing in the gondolas. The gondolas are the symbol of town, so everyone has to do his or her best to make the festival a success. The narrator says that he's going to buy his girlfriend a ring for her wedding to the sea, and she'll have to pick it out for him herself. He's a little bummed that he can't get a ring from his girlfriend, but at least he got one from someone else.