The story of a puppet

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LIBRARY











THE ADVENTURES
OF

PINOCCHIO






















THE CHILDREN'S LIBRARY.


THE BROWN OWL.
THE CHINA CUP, AND OTHER STORIES.
STORIES FROM FAIRYLAND.
THE ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO.
THE LITTLE PRINCESS.







THE


STORY


OF A PUPPET


THE ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO




BY C. COLLODI



TRANSLATED FROM THE ITALIAN BY
M. A. MURRAY

ILLUSTRATED BY C. MAZZANTI




LONDON
T. FISHER UNWIN
1892





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How it came to fass that Master Cherry
the carpenter found a piece of wood that
laughed and cried like a child.

THERE was once upon a time . .
'A king I' my little readers will instantly
exclaim.
No, children, you are wrong. There
was once upon a time a piece of wood.
This wood was not valuable: it was only
a common log like those that are burnt in
winter in the stoves and fireplaces to make
a cheerful blaze and warm the rooms.
I cannot say how it came about, but the
fact is, that one fine day this piece of wood
was lying in the shop of an old carpenter of
B







2 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
the name of Master Antonio. He was, how-
ever, called by everybody Master Cherry, on
account of the end of his nose, which was
always as red and polished as a ripe cherry.
No sooner had Master Cherry set eyes
on the piece of wood than his face beamed
with delight; and, rubbing his hands together
with satisfaction, he said softly to himself:
'This wood has come at the right mo-
ment it will just do to make the leg of a
little table.'
Having said this he immediately took a
sharp axe with which to remove the bark
and the rough surface. Just, however, as he
was going to give.the first stroke he remained
with his arm suspended in the air, for he
heard a veiy 'small voice saying imploringly,
'Do not strike me so hard I'
Picture to yourselves the astonishment of
good old Master Cherry
He turned his terrified eyes all round the
room to try and discover where the little
voice could possibly have come from, but he
saw nobody I He looked under the bench-
nobody; he looked into a cupboard that was
always shut-nobody; helooked into a basket
of shavings and sawdust-nobody; he even
opened the door of the shop and gave a
glance into the street-and still nobody.
Who, then, could it be?
'I see how it'is,' he said, laughing and
scratching-his wig; evidently that little voice







ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 3
was all my imagination. Let us set to work
again.'
And taking up the axe he struck a tremen-
dous blow on the piece of wood.
'Oh oh I you have hurt me !' cried the
same little voice dolefully.
This time Master Cherry was petrified.
His eyes started out of his head with fright,
his mouth remained open, and his tongue
hung out almost to the end of his chin, like
a mask on a fountain. As soon as he had
recovered the use of his speech, he began to
say, stuttering and trembling with fear:
'But where on earth can that little voice
have come from that said Oh oh !? .
Here there is certainly not a living soul.
Is it possible that this piece of wood can
have learnt to cry and to lament like a child ?
I cannot believe it. This piece of wood,
here it is ; a log for fuel like all the others,
and thrown on the fire it would about suffice
to boil a saucepan of beans. . How then ?
Can any one be hidden inside it? If any
one is hidden inside, so much the worse
for him. I will settle him at once.'
So saying, he seized the poor piece of
wood and commenced beating it without
mercy against the walls of the room.
Then he stopped to listen if he could hear
any little voice lamenting. He waited two
minutes-nothing; five minutes-nothing;
ten minutes-still nothing !








4 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
I see how it is,' he then said, forcing
himself to laugh and pushing up his wig;
evidently the little voice that said Oh oh !
was all my imagination Let us set to work
again.'
But as all the same he was in a great
fright, he tried to sing to give himself a little
courage.
Putting the axe aside he took his plane,
to plane and polish the bit of wood; but
whilst he was running it up and down he
heard the same little voice say, laughing:
'Have done! you are tickling me all
over '
This time poor Master Cherry fell down
as if he had.been struck by lightning. When
he at last opened his eyes he found himself
seated on the floor.
His face was quite changed, even the end
of his nose, instead of being crimson, as it
was nearly always, had become blue from
fright.
























Master Cherry makes a present of the piece
of- wood to his friend Gepletto, who
takes it to make for himself a wonderful
puppjet, that shall know how to dance,
and to fence, and to leap like an acrobat.

AT that moment some one knocked at the
door.
'-Come in,' said the "carpenter, without
having the strength to rise to his feet.
A lively little old man immediately walked
into the shop. His name was Geppetto,
but when the boys of the neighbourhood
wished to put him in a passion they called
him by the nickname of Polendina,1 because
SPolendina. In Italian, pudding of Indian corn.







6 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
his yellow wig greatly resembled a pudding
made of Indian corn.
Geppetto was very fiery. Woe to him
who called him Polendinal He became
furious, and there was no holding him.
'Good day, Master Antonio,' said
Geppetto; 'what are you doing there on
the floor?'
'I am teaching the alphabet to the ants.'
'Much good may that do you.'
'What has brought you to me, neighbour
Geppetto? '
My legs. But to say the truth, Master
Antonio, I am come to ask a favour of
you.
'Here I am, ready to serve you,' replied
the carpenter, getting on to his knees.
'This morning an idea came into my
head.'
'Let us hear it.'
'I thought I would make a beautiful
wooden puppet; but a wonderful puppet
that should know how to dance, to fence,
and to leap like an acrobat. With this
puppet I would travel about the world to
earn a piece of bread and a glass of wine.
What do you think of it ?'
'Bravo, Polendina I' exclaimed the same
little voice, and it was impossible to say
where it came from.
Hearing himself called Polendina Gep-
petto became as red as a turkey-cock from







ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 7
rage, and turning to the carpenter he said
in a fury:
'Why do you insult me ?'
S' Who insults you ? '
'You called me Polendina! . .
'It was not I I'-
'Would you have it, then, that it was
I ? It was you, I say i'
'Nol'
'Yes I'
'No!'
'Yes!'
And becoming more and more angry,
from words they came to blows, and flying
at -each other they bit, and fought, and
scratched manfully.
When the fight was over Master Antonio
was in possession of Geppetto's yellow wig,
and Geppetto discovered that the gray wig
belonging to the carpenter had remained
between his teeth.
'Give me back my wig,' screamed
Master Antonio.
And you, return me mine, and let us
make friends.'
The two old men having each recovered
his own wig shook hands, and swore that
they would remain friends to the end of
their lives.
Well then, neighbour Geppetto,' said the
carpenter, to prove that peace was made,
'what is the favour that you wish of me ?'







8 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
'I want a little wood to make my
puppet; will you give me some ?'
Master Antonio was delighted, and he
immediately went to the bench and fetched
the piece of wood that had caused him so
much fear. But just as he was going to
give it to his friend the piece of wood gave
a shake, and wriggling violently out of his
hands struck with all its force against the
dried-up shins of poor Geppetto.
Ah is that the courteous way in which
you make your presents, Master Antonio ?
You have almost lamed me! . .
'I swear to you that it was not II . .
'Then you would have it that it was
I ? . .'
'The wood is entirely to blame .
'I know that it was the wood; but it
was you that hit my legs with it! .'
'I did not hit you with it! . .'
S Liar l'
'Geppetto, don't insult me or I will call
you Polendina . .'
Ass !'
'Polenaina I'
Donkey '
'Polendina 1'
'Baboon.I'
'Polendina!'
On hearing himself called Polendina for the
third time Geppetto, blind with rage, fell upon
the carpenter and they fought desperately.


V : '







ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 9
When the battle was over, Master
Antonio had two more scratches on his
nose, and his adversary had. two buttons
too little on his waistcoat. Their accounts
being thus squared they shook hands, and
swore to remain good friends for the rest of
their lives.
Geppetto carried off his fine piece of
wood, -and thanking Master Antonio re-
turned limping to his house.







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Gepietto having returned home begins at
once to make a fufpfet, to which he gives
the name of Pinocchio. The first tricks
played by the fuffpet. .

GEPPETTO lived in a small ground-floor
room that was only lighted' from the stair-
case. The furniture could not have been
simpler,-a bad chair, a poor bed, and a
broken-down table. At the end of the room
there was a fireplace with a lighted fire; but
4 the fire was painted, and by the fire was a
painted saucepan that was boiling cheerfully,
and sending out a cloud of smoke that looked
exactly like real smoke.
As. soon as he reached home Geppetto
took his tools and set to work to cut out and
model his puppet.
'What name shall I give him ?' he said
to himself; 'I think I will call him Pinocchio.
It is a name that will bring him luck. I once
knew a whole family so called. There was
Pinocchio the father, Pinocchia the mother,







ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO zi
and Pinocchi the children, and all of them
did well. The richest of them was a
beggar.'
Having found a name for his puppet he
Began to work in good earnest, and he first
made his hair, then his forehead, and then
his eyes.
The eyes being finished, imagine his
astonishment when he perceived that they
moved and looked fixedly at him.
Geppetto seeing himself stared at by those
two wooden eyes took it almost in bad part,
and said in an angry voice:
Wicked wooderi eyes, why do you look
at me ?' .
No one answered.
He then proceeded to carve the nose;
but no sooner had he made it than it began
to grow. And it grew, and grew, and grew,
until in a few minutes it had become an
immense nose .that seemed as if it would
never end.
Poor Geppetto tired himself out with cut-
ting it off; but the more he cut and shortened
it; the longer did that impertinent nose be-
come!
The mouth was not even completed when
it began to laugh and deride him.
Stop laughing!' said Geppetto, provoked;
but he might as well have spoken to the wall.
'Stop laughing, I say l' he roared in a
threatening tone.







Ia ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
The mouth then ceased laughing, but put
out its tongue as far as it would go.
Geppetto, not to spoil his handiwork, pre-
tended not to see, and continued his labours.
After the mouth he fashioned the chin, then
the throat, then the shoulders, the stomach,
the arms and the hands.
The hands were scarcely finished when
Geppetto felt his wig snatched from his head.
He turned round, and what did he see ? He
saw his yellow wig in the puppet's hand.
'Pinocchio! . Give me back my wig
instantly I'
But Pinocchio, instead of returning it, put
it on his own head, and was in consequence
nearly smothered.
Geppetto at this insolent and derisive be-
haviour felt sadder and more melancholy
than he had ever been in his life before;
Sand turning to Pinocchio he said to him:
'You young rascal! You are not yet
completed, and you are already beginning to
show want of respect to your father That
is bad, my boy, very bad!'
And he dried a tear.
The legs and the feet remained to be
done.
When. Geppetto had finished the feet he
received a kick on the point of his nose.
'I deserve it!' he said to himself; 'I
should have thought of it sooner Now it
is too late !'






ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 13
He then took the puppet under the arms
and placed him on the floor to teach him to
walk.
Pinocchio's- legs were stiff and he could
not move, but Geppetto led him by the hand
and showed him how to put one foot before
the other.
When his legs became flexible Pinocchio
began to walk by himself and to run about
the room; until, having gone out of the house
door, he jumped into the street and escaped.
Poor Geppetto rushed after him but was
not able to overtake him, for that rascal
Pinocchio leapt in front of him like a hare,
and knocking .his wooden .feet together
against the pavement made as much clatter
as twenty pairs of peasants' clogs.
Stop him stop him !' shouted Geppetto;
but the people in the street, seeing a wooden
puppet running like a racehorse, stood still
in astonishment to look at it, and laughed,
'and laughed, and laughed, until it beats
description.
At last, as good luck would have it, a
carabineer arrived who, hearing the uproar,
imagined that a colt had escaped from his
master.. Planting himself courageously with
his legs apart in the middle of the road, he
waited with the determined purpose of stop-
ping him, and thus preventing the chance of
worse disasters,
When Pinocchio, still at some distance,






x4 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
saw the carabineer barricading the whole
street, he endeavoured to take him by sur-
prise and to pass between his legs. But he
failed signally.
The carabineer without disturbing himself
in the least caught him cleverly by the hose
-it was an immense nose of ridiculous pro-
portions that seemed 'made on purpose to be
laid hold of by carabineers-and consigned
him to Geppetto. Wishing to punish him,
Geppetto intended to pull his ears at once.
But imagine his feelings when he could not
succeed in finding them. And do you know
the reason ? It was that, in his hurry to
model him, he had forgotten to make them.
He then took him by the collar, and as he
was leading him away he said to him, shaking
his head threateningly:
'We will go home at once, and as soon as
we arrive we will regulate our accounts, never
doubt it.'
At-this announcement Pinocchio threw
himself on the ground and would not take
another step. In the meanwhile a crowd
of idlers and inquisitive people began to
assemble and to make a ring round them.
Some of them said one thing, some
another.
'Poor puppet 1' said several, 'he is right
not to wish to return home! Who knows
how Geppetto, that bad old man, will beat
him . .'






ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 5z
And the others added maliciously:
'Geppetto seems a good man! but with
boys he is a regular tyrant! If that poor
puppet is left in his hands he is quite cap-
able of tearing him in pieces . .
It ended in so much being said and done
that the carabineer at last set Pinocchio at
liberty and conducted Geppetto to prison.
The poor man not being ready with words
to defend himself cried like a calf, and as he
was being led away to prison sobbed out:
'Wretched boy! And to think how I
have laboured to make him a well-conducted
puppet I But it serves me right! I should
have thought of it sooner! . .'
What happened afterwards is a story that
really is past all belief, but I will relate it to
you in the following chapters.
















The story of Pinocchio and the Talking-
cricket, from which we see that naughty
boys cannot endure to be corrected by
those who know more than they do.

\ WELL then, children, I
must tell you that whilst
poor Geppetto was being
taken to prison for no
fault of his, that imp
Pinocchio, finding him-
self free from the clutches
of the carabineer, ran off
S as fast as his legs could
carry him. That he
S might reach home the
S quicker he rushed across
the fields, and in his mad
I hurry he jumped high
banks, thorn hedges,
and ditches full of water, exactly as a kid
or a leveret would have done if pursued
by hunters.






ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 17
Having arrived at the house he found the
street door ajar. He pushed it open, went
in, and having secured the latch threw
himself seated on the ground and gave a
great sigh of satisfaction.
But his satisfaction did not last long, for
he heard some one in the room who was
saying :
Cri-cri-cri I '
'Who calls me?' said Pinocchio in a
fright.
'It is I!'
Pinocchio turned round and saw a big
cricket crawling slowly up the wall.
'Tell me, Cricket, who may you be?'
'I am the Talking-cricket, and I have
lived in this room a hundred years and
more.'
Now, however, this room is mine,' said
the puppet, 'and if you would do me a
pleasure go away at once, without even turn-
ing round.'
I will not go,' answered the Cricket, until
I have told you a great truth.'
'Tell it me, then, and be quick about it.',
'Woe to those boys who rebel against
their parents, and run away capriciously
from home. They will never come to any
go6d in the world, and sooner or later they
will repent bitterly.'
'Sing away, Cricket, as you please, and
as long as you please. For me, I have







18 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
made up my mind to run away to-morrow
at daybreak, because if I remain I shall not
escape the fate of all other boys; I shall be
sent to school and shall be made to study
either by love or.by force. To tell you in
confidence, I have no wish to learn; it is
much more amusing to run after butterflies,
or to climb trees and to take the young birds
out of their nests.'
Poor. little goose !. But do you not
know that in that way you will grow up a
perfect donkey, and that every one will
make game' of.you ?'
Hold your.tongue, you wicked ill-omened
croaker !' shouted Pinocchio.
-.But the .Cricket, who was patient and
philosophical, instead of. becoming angry at
this impertinence, continued in the same
tone: -
But if you do not wish to go to school
why not at least learn a trade, if only to
enable you to earn honestly a piece of
:bread !'... .
'Do you want me. to. tell you ? replied
Pinocchio,'. who:: was .beginning to lose
patience. 'Amongst all the trades in the
world there is only one that really takes my
fancy.' -
'And.that trade-what is it ?'
It is to eat, drink, sleep, and amuse
myself, and:to lead a vagabond life from
morning to night.'







ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 19
'As a rule,' said the Talking-cricket with
the same composure, 'all those who follow
that trade end almost always either in a
hospital or in prison.'
'Take care, you wicked ill omened
croaker . Woe to you if I fly into a
passion! . .'
'Poor Pinocchio I really pity you I ...'
'Why do you pity me ?'
'Because you are a puppet and, what is
worse, because you have a wooden head.'
At these last words Pinocchio jumped up in
a rage, and snatching a wooden hammer from
the bench he threw it at the Talking-cricket.
Perhaps he never meant to hit him; but
unfortunately it struck him exactly on the
head, so that the poor Cricket had scarcely
breath to cry cri-cri-cri, and then he remained
dried up and flattened against the wall.




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Pinocchio is hungry and searches for an egg
to make himself an omelet; but just at
the most interesting moment the omelet
flies out of the window.

NIGHT was coming on, and Pinocchio, re-
membering that he had eaten nothing all
day, began to feel a gnawing in his stomach
that very much resembled appetite.
But appetite with boys travels quickly, and
in fact after a few minutes his appetite had
become hunger, and in no time his hunger
became ravenous-a hunger that was really
quite insupportable.
Poor Pinocchio ran quickly to the fire-
place where a saucepan was boiling, and
was going to take off the lid to see what
was in it, but the saucepan was only painted
on the wall. You can imagine his feelings.
His nose, which was already long, became
longer by at least three fingers.
He then began to run about the room,
searching in the drawers and in every







AD VENTURES OF PINOCCHIO. 21
imaginable place, in hopes of finding a bit
of bread. If it was only a bit of dry bread,
a crust, a bone left by a dog, a little mouldy
pudding of Indian corn, a fish bone, a cherry
stone-in fact anything that he could gnaw.
But he could find nothing, nothing at all,
absolutely nothing.
And in the meanwhile his hunger grew
and grew; and poor Pinocchio had no other
relief than yawning, and his yawns were so
tremendous that sometimes his mouth almost
reached his ears. And after he had yawned
he spluttered, and felt as if he was going to
faint.
Then he began to cry desperately, and he
said:
'The Talking-cricket was right. I did
wrong to rebel against my papa and to run
away from home. . If my papa was here
I should not now be dying of yawning Oh !
what a dreadful illness hunger is !'
Just theri he thought he saw something
in the dust-heap-something round and
white that looked like a hen's egg. To give
a spring and seize hold of it was the affair
of a moment. It was indeed an egg.
Pinocchio's joy beats description; it can
only be imagined. Almost believing it must
be a dream he kept turning the egg over in
his hands, feeling it and kissing it. And as
he kissed it he said:
And now, how shall I cook it? Shall I







22 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
make an omelet? . No, it would be
better to cook it in a saucer .. Or would
it not be more savoury to fry it in the frying-
pan ? Or shall I simply boil it? No, the
quickest way of all is to cook it in a saucer:
I am in such a hurry to eat it I'
Without'loss of time he placed an earthen-
ware saucer on a brazier full of red-hot
embers. Into the saucer instead of oil or
butter he poured a little water; and when
the water began to smoke, tac ... he broke
the egg-shell over it that the contents might
drop in. But instead of the white and the
yolk a -little chicken popped out very gay
and polite. Making a beautiful courtesy it
said to him: *
A thousand thanks, Master Pinocchio, for
saving me the trouble of breaking the shell.
Adieu until we meet again. Keep well, and
my best compliments to all at home!'
Thus saying it spread its wings, darted
through the open window, and flying away
was lost to sight.
The poor puppet stood as if he had been
bewitched, with his eyes fixed, his mouth
open, and the egg-shell in.his hand. Re-
covering, however, from his first stupefaction,
he began to cry and scream, and to stamp
his feet on the floor in desperation, .and
amidst his sobs he said:
Ah I indeed the Talking cricket was
right. If I had not run away from home,







ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 23
and if my papa was here, I should not now
be dying of hunger! Oh what a dreadful
illness hunger is I ..
And as his stomach cried out more than
ever and he did not know how to quiet it,
he thought he would leave the house and
make an excursion in the neighbourhood in
hopes of finding some charitable person who
would give him a piece of bread.



















Pinocchio falls asleep with his feet on the
brazier, and wakes in the morning to
find them burnt of.

IT was a wild and stormy winter's night.
The thunder was tremendous and the light-
ning so vivid that the sky seemed on fire.
A bitter blusterous wind whistled- angrily,
and raising clouds of dust swept over the
country, causing the trees to creak and groan
as it passed.
Pinocchiq had a great fear of thunder, but
hunger was stronger than fear. He therefore
closed the house door and made a rush for
the village, which he reached in a hundred
bounds, with his tongue hanging out and
panting for breath, like a dog after game.
But he found it. all dark an'd- deserted.
The shops were closed, the windows shut,
and there was not so much as a dog in the
street. It seemed the land of the dead.






ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 25
Pinocchio, urged by desperation and
hunger, laid hold of the bell of a house and
began to peal it with all his might, saying to
himself :
'That will bring somebody.'
And so it did. A little old man appeared
at a window with a nightcap on his head,
and called to him angrily:
What do you want at such an hour ?'
'Would you be kind enough to give me a
little bread ? '
'Wait there, I will be back directly,' said
the little old man, thinking he had to do with
one of those rascally boys who amuse them-
selves at night by ringing the house bells to
rouse respectable people who are sleeping
quietly.
After half a minute the window was again
opened, and the voice of the same little old
man shouted to Pinocchio:
'Come underneath and hold out your
cap.'
Pinocchio pulled off his cap; but just as
he held it out an enormous basin of water
was poured down on him, watering him from
head to foot as if he had been a pot of dried-
up geraniums.
He returned home like a wet chicken quite
exhausted with fatigue and hunger; and
having no longer strength to stand, he sat
down and rested his damp and muddy feet
on a brazier full of burning embers.







26 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
And then he fell asleep; and whilst he
slept his feet, which were wooden, took fire,
and little by little they burnt away and be-
came cinders.
Pinocchio continued to sleep and to snore
as if his feet belonged to some one else. At
last about daybreak he awoke because some
one was knocking, at the door.
Who is there ?' he asked, yawning and
rubbing his eyes.
'It is I I' answered a voice.
And the voice was Geppetto's voice.

























Gefietto returns home, makes the puifpet
new feet, and gives him the breakfast
that the poor man had brought for
himself.

POOR Pinocchio, whose eyes were still half
shut from sleep, had not as yet discovered
that his feet were burnt off. The moment,
therefore, that he heard his father's voice he
slipped off his stool to run and open the
door; but after stumbling two or three
times he fell his whole length/on the floor.
And the noise he made in falling was as
if a sack of wooden ladles had been thrown
from a fifth story.








28 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
'Open the door !' shouted Geppetto from
the street.
'Dear papa, I cannot,' answered the
puppet, crying and rolling about on the
ground.
'Why cannot you ?'
'Because my feet have been eaten.'
'And who has eaten your feet ?'
'The 'cat,' said Pinocchio, seeing the cat,
who was amusing herself by making some
shavings dance with her forepaws.
'Open the door, I tell you!' repeated
Geppetto. If you don't, when I get into the
house you shall have the cat from me I'
I cannot stand up, believe me. Oh, poor
me poor me I shall have to walk on my
knees for the rest of my life . .
Geppetto, believing that all this lamenta-
tion was only another of the puppet's tricks,
thought of a means of putting an end to it, and
climbing up the wall he got in at the window.
He was very angry, and at first he did
nothing but scold; but when he saw his
Pinocchio lying on the ground and really
without feet he was quite overcome. He
took him in his arms and began to kiss and
caress him and to say a thousand endearing
things to him, and as the big tears ran
down his cheeks he said, sobbing:
'My little Pinocchio! how did you
manage to burn your feet ?'
I don't know, papa, but believe me it







ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 29
has been an infernal night that I shall
remember as long as I live. It thundered
and lightened, and I was very hungry, and
then the Talking-cricket said to me: "It
serves you right; you have been wicked and
you deserve it," and I said to him: "Take care,
Cricket!" . and he said: "You are a
puppet and you have a wooden head," and I
threw the handle of a hammer at him, and
he died, but the fault was his, for I didn't
wish to kill him, and the proof of it is that
I put an earthenware saucer on a brazier of
burning embers, but a chicken flew out and
said: "Adieu until we meet again, and
many compliments to all at home" : and I
got still more hungry, for which reason that
little old man in a nightcap opening the
window said to me: Come underneath
and hold out your hat," and poured a basin-
ful of water on my head, because asking for
a little bread isn't a disgrace, is it ? and I
returned home at once, and because I was
always very hungry I put my feet on the
brazier to dry them, and then you returned,
and I found they were burnt off, and I am
always hungry, but I have no longer any
feet! Ih Ih! Ih! Ih! . .' And poor
Pinocchio began to cry and to roar so loudly
that he was heard five miles off.
Geppetto, who from all this jumbled
account had only understood one thing,
which was that the puppet was dying of







30 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO .
hunger, drew from his pocket, three pears,
and giving them to him said:
These three pears were intended for my
breakfast; but I will give them to you
willingly. Eat them, and I hope they will
do you good.'
If you wish me to eat them, be kind
enough to peel them for me.'
Peel them ?' said Geppetto, astonished.
'I should never have thought, my boy
that you were so dainty and fastidious.
That is bad I In this world we should
accustom ourselves from childhood to like
and to eat everything, for there is no saying
to what we may be brought. There are so
many chances I . .'
'You are no doubt right,' interrupted
Pinocchio, 'but I will never eat fruit that
has not been peeled. I cannot bear rind.'
So that good Geppetto fetched a knife,
and arming himself with patience peeled the
three pears, and put the rind on a corner
of the table.
Having eaten the first pear in two mouth-
fuls, Pinocchio was about to throw away the
core; but Geppetto caught hold of his arm
and said to him:
'Do not throw it away; in this world
everything may be of use.'
'But core I am determined I will not eat,'
shouted the puppet, turning upon him like a
viper.







ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 31
'Who knows there are so many
chances . .' repeated Geppetto without
losing his temper.
And so the three cores, instead of being
thrown out of the window, were placed on
the corner of the table together with the
three rinds.
Having eaten, or rather having devoured
the three pears, Pinocchio yawned tremen-
dously, and then said in a fretful tone:
'I am as hungry as ever I'
'But, my boy, I have nothing more to
give you 1'
'Nothing, really nothing ?'
'I have only the rind and the cores of the
three pears.'
'One must have patience!' said
Pinocchio; 'if there is nothing else I will
eat a rind.'
And he began to chew it. At first he made
a wry face; but then one after another he
quickly disposed of the rinds: and after the
rinds even the cores, and when he had eaten
up everything he clapped his hands on his
sides in his satisfaction, and said joyfully :
'Ah now I feel comfortable.'
'You see now,' observed Geppetto, 'that
I was right when I said to you that it did not
do to accustom ourselves to be too particular
or too dainty in our tastes. We can never
know, my dear boy, what may happen to us.
There are so many chances I .'



























VIII

Gefibetto makes Pinocchio new feet, and sells
his own coat to buy him a SVelling-book.
No sooner had the puppet appeased his
hunger than he began to cry and to grumble
because he wanted a pair of new feet.
But Geppetto, to punish him for his
naughtiness, allowed him to cry and to despair
for half the day. He then said to him:
'Why should I make you new feet? To
enable you, perhaps, to escape again from
home ?'
I promise you,' said the puppet, sobbing,
'that for the future I will be good.'


-'--C







ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 33
'All boys,' replied Geppetto, when they
are bent upon obtaining something, say the
same thing.'
'I promise you that I will go to school,
and that I will study and earn a good
character.'
All boys, when they are bent on obtaining
something, repeat the same story.'
'But I am not like other.boys! I am
better than all of them and I always speak
the truth. I promise you, papa, that I will
learn a trade, and that I will be the consola-
tion and the staff of your old age.'
Geppetto, although he put on a severe face,
had his eyes full of tears and his heart big
with sorrow at seeing his poor Pinocchio in
such a pitiable state. He did not say an-
other word, but taking his tools and two
small pieces of well-seasoned wood he set
to work with great diligence.
In less than an hour the feet were finished:
two little feet-swift, well-knit, and nervous.
They might have been modelled by an artist
of genius.
Geppetto then said to the puppet:
Shut your eyes and go to sleep !'
And Pinocchio shut his eyes and pretended
to be asleep.
And whilst he pretended to sleep, Geppetto,
with a little glue which he had melted in
an egg-shell, fastened his feet in their place,
and it was so well done that not even a







34 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
trace could be seen of where they were
joined.
No sooner had the puppet discovered that
he had feet than he jumped down from the
table on which he was lying, and began to
spring and to cut a thousand capers about
the room, as if he had gone mad with the
greatness of his delight.
'To reward you for what you have done
for me,' said Pinocchio to his father, I will
go to school at once.'
'Good boy.'
'But to go to school I shall want some
clothes.'
Geppetto, who was poor, and who had not
so much as. a farthing in his pocket, then
made him a little dress of flowered paper,
a pair of shoes from the bark of a tree, and
a cap of the crumb of bread.
Pinocchio ran immediately to look at him-
self in a crock of water, and he was so
pleased with his appearance that he said,
strutting about like a peacock:
I look quite like a gentleman !'
'Yes indeed,' answered Geppetto, 'for
bear in mind that it is not fine clothes that
make the gentleman, but rather clean
clothes.'
'By the bye,' added the puppet, 'to go to
school I am still in want-indeed I am with-
out the best thing, and the most important.'
And what is it ? '






ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 35
'I have no Spelling-book.'
'You are right: but what shall we do to
get one ?'
It is quite easy. We have only to go to
the bookseller's and buy it.'
'And the money ?'
'I have got none.'
'No more have I,' added the good old
man very sadly.
And Pinocchio, although he was a very
merry boy, became sad also ; because poverty
when it is real poverty is understood by
everybody-even by boys.
Well, patience exclaimed Geppetto, all
at once rising to his feet, and putting on his
old fustian coat, all patched and darned, he
ran out of the house.
He returned shortly, holding in his hand
a Spelling-book for Pinocchio, but the old
coat was gone. The poor man was in his
shirt sleeves, and out of doors it was snow-
ing.
'And the coat, papa ?'
'I have sold it.'
'Why did you sell it?'
'Because I found it too hot.'
Pinocchio understood this answer in an
instant, and unable to restrain the impulse
of his good heart.he sprang up, and throw-
ing his arms round Geppetto's neck he
began kissing him again and again.























Pinocchio sells his Spelling-book that he may
go and see a puppet-show.

As soon as it had done snowing Pinocchio
set out for school with his fine Spelling-book
under his arm. As he went along he began
to imagine a thousand things in his little
brain, and to build a thousand castles in the
air, one more beautiful than the other.
And talking to himself he said :
'To-day at school I will learn to read at
once; then to-morrow I will begin to write,
and the day after to-morrow to cipher.
Then with my acquirements I will earn a
great deal of money, and with the first
money I have in my pocket I will im-
mediately buy for my papa a beautiful new
cloth coat. But what am I saying ? Cloth,







ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 37
indeed It shall be all made of gold and
silver, and it shall have diamond buttons.
That poor man really deserves it; for to
buy me books and have me taught he has
remained in his shirt sleeves. . And in
this cold! It is only fathers who are
capable of such sacrifices . .'
Whilst he was saying this with great
emotion he thought that- he heard music in
the distance that sounded like fifes and the
beating of a big drum: fi-fi-fi, fi-fi-fi, zum,
zum, zum, zum.
He stopped and listened. The sounds
came from the end of a cross street that
took to a little village on the seashore.
'What can that music be? What a pity
that I have to go to school, or else ..
And he remained irresolute. It was,
however, necessary to come to a decision.
Should he go to school? or should he go
after the fifes ?
'To-day' I will go and hear the fifes,
and to-morrow I will go to school,' finally
decided the young scapegrace, shrugging his
shoulders.
The more he ran the nearer came the
sounds of the fifes and the beating of the
big drum: fi-fi-fi, zum, zum, zum, zum.
At last he found himself in the middle of
a square quite full of people, who were all
crowding round a building made of wood
and canvas, and painted a thousand colours.






38 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
What is that building ?' asked Pinocchio,
turning to a little boy who belonged to the
place.
'Read the placard-it is all written-and
then you will know.'
I would read it willingly, but it so
happens that to-day I don't know how to
read.'
Bravo, blockhead Then I will read it
to you. The writing on that placard in
those letters red as fire is:
'GREAT PUPPET THEATRE.'
Has the play begun long ?'
It is beginning now.'
'How much does it cost to go in ?'
'Twopence.'
Pinocchio, who was in a fever of curiosity,
lost all control of himself, and without any
shame he said to the little boy to whom he
was talking:
'Would you lend me twopence until
to-morrow?'
I would lend them to you willingly,' said
the other, taking him off, 'but it so happens
that to-day I cannot give them to you.'
I will sell you my jacket for twopence,'
the puppet then said to him.
What do you think that I could do with
a jacket of flowered paper ? If there was
rain and it got wet, it would be impossible
to get it off my back.'







ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 39
'Will you buy my shoes ?'
'They would only be of use to light the
fire.'
'How much will you give me for my
cap ?'
'That would be a wonderful acquisition
indeed! A cap of bread crumb There
would be a risk of the mice coming to eat
it whilst it was on my head.'
Pinocchio was on thorns. He was on the
point of making another offer, but he had
not the courage. He hesitated, felt irresolute
and remorseful. At last he said:
'Will you give me twopence for this new
Spelling-book?'
I am a boy and I don't buy from boys,
replied his little interlocutor, who had much
more sense than he had.
'I will buy the Spelling-book for two-
pence,' called out a hawker of old clothes,
who had been listening to the conversation.
And the book was sold there and then.
And to think that poor Geppetto had
remained at home trembling with cold in
his shirt sleeves, that he might buy his son
a Spelling-book!























The puppiets recognize their brother Pinocchio,
and receive'him with delight; but at that
moment their master Fire-eater makes his
appearance and Pinocchio is in danger of
coming to a bad end.

WHEN Pinocchio came into the little puppet
theatre, an incident occurred that almost
produced a revolution.
I must tell you that the curtain was drawn
up, and the play had already begun.
On the stage Harlequin and Punchinello
were as usual quarrelling with each other,
and threatening every moment to come to
blows.
The audience, all attention, laughed till
they were ill as they listened to the bicker-







ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 41
ings of these two puppets, who gesticulated
and abused each other so naturally that
they might have been two reasonable beings,
and two persons of the world.
All at once Harlequin stopped short, and
turning to the public he pointed with his
hand to some one far down in the pit, and
exclaimed in a dramatic tone:
Gods of the firmament! do I dream, or am
I awake ? But surely that is Pinocchio I . .'
'It is indeed Pinocchio!' cried Punchinello.
'It is indeed himself!' screamed Miss
Rose, peeping from behind the scenes.
'It is Pinocchio! it is Pinocchio!' shouted
all the puppets in chorus, leaping from all
sides on to the stage. 'It is Pinocchio!
It is our brother Pinocchio! Long live
Pinocchio I . .
'Pinocchio, come up here to me,' cried
Harlequin,' and throw yourself into the arms
of your wooden brothers !'
At this affectionate invitation Pinocchio
made a leap from the end of the pit into the
reserved seats; another leap landed him on
the head of the leader of the orchestra, and
he then sprang upon the stage.
The embraces, the hugs, the friendly
pinches, and the demonstrations of warm
brotherly affection that Pinocchio received
from the excited crowd of actors and actresses
of the puppet dramatic company beat de-
scription.







42 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
The sight was doubtless a moving one,
but the public in the pit, finding that the
play was stopped, became impatient, and
began to shout: We will have the play-go
on with the play !'
It was all breath thrown away. The
puppets, instead of continuing the recital,
redoubled their noise and outcries, and put-
ting Pinocchio on their shoulders they carried
him in triumph before the footlights.
At that moment out came the showman.
He was very big, and so ugly that the sight
of him was enough to frighten any one. His
beard was as black as ink, and so long that
it reached from his chin to the ground. I
need only say that he trod upon it when he
walked. His mouth was as big as an oven,
and his eyes were like two lanterns of red
glass with lights burning inside them. He
carried a large whip made of snakes and
foxes' tails twisted together, which he cracked
constantly.
At his unexpected appearance there was a
profound silence: no one dared to breathe.
A fly might have been heard in the stillness.
The poor puppets of both sexes trembled
like so many leaves.
'Why have you come to raise a disturb-
ance in my theatre?' asked the showman
of Pinocchio, in the gruff voice of a hob-
goblin suffering from a severe cold in the
head.







ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 43
'Believe me, honoured sir, that it was not
my fault! . .
That is enough To-night we will settle
our accounts.'
As soon as the play was over the show-
man went into the kitchen where a fine sheep,
preparing for his supper, was turning slowly
on the spit in front of the fire. As there was
not enough wood to finish roasting and
browning it, he called Harlequin and Pun-
chinello, and said to them :
'Bring that puppet here: you will find
him hanging on a nail. It seems to me that
he is made of very dry wood, and I am sure
that if he was thrown on the fire he would
make a beautiful blaze for the roast.'
At first Harlequin and Punchinello hesi-
tated; but, appalled by a severe glance from
their master, they obeyed. In a short time
they returned to the kitchen carrying poor
Pinocchio, who was wriggling like an eel
taken out of water, and screaming desper-
ately: 'Papa! papa! save me! I will not
die, I will not die ..






















XI

Fire-eater sneezes and pardons Pinocchio,
who then saves the life of his friend
Harlequin.

THE showman Fire-eater-for that was his
name-looked, I must say, a terrible man,
especially with his black beard that covered
his chest and legs like an apron. On the
whole, however, he had not a bad heart. In
proof of this, when he saw poor Pinocchio
brought before him, struggling and scream-
ing I will not die, I will not die !' he was
quite moved and felt very sorry for him.
He tried to hold out, but after a little he
could stand it no longer and he sneezed
violently. When he heard the sneeze, Har-






ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 45
lequin, who up to that moment had been in
the deepest affliction, and bowed down like
a weeping willow, became quite cheerful, and
leaning towards Pinocchio he whispered to
him softly:
Good news, brother. The showman has
sneezed, and that is a sign that he pities you,
and consequently you are saved.'
For you must know that whilst most men
when they feel compassion for somebody
either weep, or at least pretend to dry their
eyes, Fire-eater on the contrary, whenever he
was really overcome, had the habit of sneez-
ing.
After he had sneezed the showman, still
acting the ruffian, shouted to Pinocchio:
'Have done crying! Your lamentations
have given me a pain in my stomach. . .
I feel a spasm, that almost . Etci etci !'
and he sneezed again twice.
'Bless you!' said Pinocchio.
'Thank you! And your papa and your
mamma, are they still alive ?' asked Fire-
eater.
'Papa, yes: my mamma I have never
known.'
'Who can say what a sorrow it would be
for your poor old father if I was to have you
thrown amongst those burning coals Poor
old man I compassionate him .. Etci !
etcil etci 1' and he sneezed again three times.
'Bless you !' said Pinocchio.







46 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
'Thank you !All the same, some compas-
sion is due to me, for as you see I have no
more wood with which to finish roasting my
mutton, and to tell you the truth, under the
circumstances you would have been of great
use to me However, I have had pity on you,
so I must have patience. Instead of you I
will bur under the spit one of the puppets
belonging to my company. Ho there,
gendarmes !'
At this call two wooden gendarmes im-
mediately appeared. They were very long
and very thin, and had on cocked hats, and
held unsheathed swords in their hands.
The showman said to them in a hoarse
voice:
Take Harlequin, bind him securely, and
then throw him on the fire to burn. I am
determined that my mutton shall be well
roasted.'
Only imagine that poor Harlequin His
terror was so great that his legs bent under
him, and he fell with his face on the ground.
At this agonising sight Pinocchio, weeping
bitterly, threw himself at the showman's feet,
and bathing his long beard with his tears he
began to say in a supplicating voice:
Have pity, Sir Fire-eater .
'Here there are no sirs,' the showman
answered severely.
Have pity, Sir Knight ..
'Here there are no knights !'







ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 47
'Have pity, Commander I.. .'
'Here there are no commanders!'
'Have pity, Excellence .
Upon hearing himself called Excellence
the showman began to smile, and became at
once kinder and more tractable. Turning
to Pinocchio he asked:
'Well, what do you want from me?'
'I implore you to pardon poor Harlequin.'
'For him there can be no pardon. As I
have spared you he must be put on the fire,
for I am determined that my mutton shall be
well roasted.'
'In that case,' cried Pinocchio proudly,
rising and throwing away his cap of bread
crumb-'in that case I know my duty.
Come on, gendarmes! Bind me and throw
me amongst the flames. No, it is not just
that poor Harlequin, my true friend, should
die for me .
These words, pronounced in a loud heroic
voice, made all the puppets who were present
cry. Even the gendarmes, although they
were made of wood, wept like two newly-born
lambs.
Fire-eater at first remained as hard and
unmoved as ice, but little by little he began
to melt and to sneeze. And having sneezed
four or five times, he opened his arms
affectionately, and said to Pinocchio :
You are a good brave boy Come here
and give me a kiss.'







48 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
Pinocchio ran at once, and climbing like
a squirrel up the showman's beard he de-
posited a hearty kiss on the point of his nose.
'Then the pardon is granted ?' asked poor
Harlequin in a faint voice that was scarcely
audible.
The pardon is granted !' answered Fire-
eater: he then added, sighing and shaking
his head:
'I must have patience To-night I shall
have to resign myself to eat the mutton half
raw; but another time, woe to him who
chances . .'
At the news of the pardon the puppets all
ran to the stage, and having lighted the lamps
and chandeliers as if for a full-dress per-
formance, they began to leap and to dance
merrily. At dawn they were still dancing.








-- -




















The showman Fire-eater makes Pinocchio a
present of fve gold pieces to take home
to his father Gefpetto: but Pinocchio
instead allows himself to be taken in by
the Fox and the Cat, and goes with them.

THE following day Fire-eater called Pin-
occhio on one side and asked him:
'What is your father's name ?'
'Geppetto.'
'And what trade does he follow ?'
'He is a beggar.'
'Does he gain much ? '
'Gain much? Why, he has never a
penny in his pocket. Only think, to buy
a Spelling-book for me to go to school, he
was obliged to sell the only coat he had to
wear-a coat that between patches and
~dars was not fit to be seen.'
Poor devil I I feel almost sorry for him !
E







o5 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 6 '
Here are five gold pieces. Go at once and
take them to him with my compliments:'
You can easily understand that Pinocchio
thanked the showman a thousand times.
He embraced all the puppets of the company
ohe by one, even to the gendarmes, and
beside himself with delight set out tq return
home.
But he had not gone far when he met on
the road a Fox lame of one foot, and a Cat
blind of both eyes, who were going along
helping each other like good companions in
misfortune. The Fox who was lame walked
leaning on the Cat, and the Cat who was
blind was guided by the Fox.
'Good day, Pinocchio,' said the Fox,
accosting him politely.
'How do you come to know my name ?'
asked the puppet.
'I know your father well.'
'Where did you see him ?'
'I saw him yesterday at the door of his
house.'
'And what was he doing?'
'He was in his shirt sleeves and shiver-
ing with cold.'
'Poor papa! But that is over; for the
future h'e shall shiver no more .
'Why?'
'Because I am become a gentleman.'
'A gentleman-you !' said the Fox, and
he began to laugh rudely and scornfully







ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 5
The Cat also began to laugh, but to conceal
it she combed her Whiskers with her fore-
paws.
'There is little to laugh at,' cried Pin-
occhio angrily. 'I am really sorry to make
your mouths water, but if you know any-
thing about it, you can see that these here
are five gold pieces.'
And he pulled out the money that Fire-
eater had made him a present of.
At the sympathetic ring of the money
the Fox with an involuntary movement
stretched out the paw that had seemed
crippled, and the cat opened wide two eyes
that looked like two green lanterns. It is
true that she shut them again, and so
quickly that Pinocchio observed nothing.
And now,' asked the Fox, what are you
going to do with all that money ?'
'First of all,' answered the puppet, 'I
intend to buy a new coat for my papa,
made of gold and silver, and with diamond
buttons; and then I will buy a Spelling-
book for myself.'
'For yourself?'
'Yes indeed: for I wish to go to school
to study in .earnest.'
Look at me !' said the Fox. Through
my foolish passion for study I have lost a leg.'
Look at me !' said the Cat. Through
my foolish passion for study I have lost the
sight of both my eyes.'







52 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
At that moment a white Blackbird, that
was perched on the hedge by the road,
began his usual song, and said:
Pinocchio, don't listen-to the advice of
bad companions : if you do you will repent
it . .
Poor Blackbird I If only he had not
spoken The Cat with a great leap sprang
upon him, and without even giving him time
to say Oh I ate him in a mouthful, feathers
and all.
Having eaten him and cleaned her mouth
she shut her eyes again and feigned blind-
ness as before.
'Poor Blackbird 1' said Pinocchio to the
Cat, why did you treat him so badly ?'
I did it to give him a lesson. He will
learn another time not to meddle in other
people's conversation.'
They had gone almost half-way when the
Fox, halting suddenly, said to the puppet:
'Would you like to double your money ? '
'In what way ? '
'Would you like to make out of your
five miserable sovereigns, a hundred, a
thousand, two thousand ? '
'I should think so! but in what
way ?'
'The way is easy enough. Instead of
returning home you must go with us.'
'And where do you wish to take me.'
'To the land of the Owls.'







ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 53
Pinocchio reflected a moment, and then
he said resolutely :
'No, I will not go. I am already close
to the house, and I will return home to my
papa who is waiting for me. .Who can
tell how often the poor old man must have
sighed yesterday when I did not come
back! I have indeed been a bad son, and
the Talking-cricket was right when he said:
"' Disobedient boys never come to any good
in the world." I have found .it to my cost,
for many misfortunes have happened to me.
Even yesterday in Fire-eater's house I ran
the risk .. Oh! it makes me shudder only
to think of it !'
'Well, then,' said the Fox, 'you are quite
decided to go home? Go, then, and so
much the worse for you.'
So much the worse for you I repeated the
Cat.
Think well of it, Pinocchio, for you are
giving a kick to fortune.'
'To fortune !' repeated the Cat.
'Between to-day and to-morrow your five
sovereigns would have become two thousand.'
'Two thousand !' repeated the Cat.
'But how is it possible that they could
have become so many ?' asked Pinocchio,
remaining with his mouth open from
astonishment.
I will explain it to you at once,' said the
Fox. 'You must know that in the land of







54 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
the Owls there is a sacred field called by
everybody the Field of miracles. In this
field you must dig a little hole, and you put
into it; we will say, one gold sovereign.
You then cover up the hole with a little
earth: you must water it with two pails of
water from the fountain, then sprinkle it
with two pinches of salt, and when night
comes you can go quietly to bed. In the
meanwhile, during the night, the gold piece
will grow and flower, and in the morning
when you get up.and return to the field,
what do you find? You find a beautiful
tree laden with as many gold sovereigns as
a fine ear of corn has grains in the month
of June.'
'So that,' said Pinocchio, more and more
bewildered, 'supposing I buried my five
sovereigns in that field, how many should I
find there the following morning ?'
That is an exceedingly easy calculation,'
replied the Fox, 'a calculation that you can
make on the ends of your fingers. Put that
every sovereign gives you an increase of five
hundred: multiply five hundred by five, and
the following morning will find you with two
thousand five hundred shining gold pieces
in your pocket.'
Oh how delightful !' cried Pinocchio,
dancing for joy. As soon as ever I have
obtained those sovereigns, I will keep two
thousand for myself, and the other five







AD VENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 55
hundred I will make a present of to you
two.'
'A present to us?' cried the Fox with
indignation, and appearing much offended.
'What are you dreaming of?'
What are you dreaming of ?' repeated the
Cat.
'We do not work,' said the Fox, 'for
dirty interest: we work solely to enrich
others.'
'Others !' repeated the Cat.
'What good people !' thought Pinocchio
to himself: and forgetting there and then
his papa, the new coat, the Spelling-book,
and all his good resolutions, he said to the
Fox and the Cat:
'Let us be off at once. I will go with you.


./




















XIII

The inn of The Red Craw-fish.

THEY walked, and walked, and walked, until
at last, towards evening, they arrived dead
tired at the inn of The Red Craw-fish.
'Let us stop here a little,' said the Fox,
'that we may have something to eat and
rest ourselves for an hour or two. We will
start again at midnight, so as to arrive at
the Field of miracles by dawn to-morrow
morning.'
Having gone into the inn they all three
sat down to table: but none of them had
any appetite.
The Cat, who was suffering from indigestion
and feeling seriously indisposed, could only
- eat thirty five mullet with tomato sauce,
and four portions of tripe with Parmesan
cheese; and because she thought the tripe







ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 57
was not seasoned enough, she asked three
times for the butter and grated cheese !
The Fox.would also willingly have picked
a little, but as his doctor had ordered hint a
strict diet, he was forced to content himself
simply with a hare dressed with a sweet and
sour sauce, and garnished lightly with fat
chickens and early pullets. After the hare
he sent for a made dish of partridges, rabbits,
frogs, lizards, and other delicacies; he could
not touch anything else. He had such a
disgust to food, he said, that he could put
nothing to his lips.
The one who ate the least was Pinocchio.
He asked for some walnuts and a hunch of
bread, and left everything on his plate. The
poor boy, whose thoughts were continually
fixed on the Field of miracles, had got in
anticipation an indigestion of gold pieces.
When they had supped, the Fox said to
the host:
Give us two good rooms, one for Mr.
Pinocchio, and the other for me and my
companion. We will snatch a little sleep
before we leave. Remember, however, that
at midnight we wish to be called to continue
our journey.'
'Yes, gentlemen,' answered the host, and
he winked at the Fox and the Cat as much
as to say: I know what you are up to. We
understand one another !
No sooner had Pinocchio got into bed







58 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
than he fell asleep at once and began to
dream. And he dreamt that he was in the
middle of a field, and the field-was full of
shrubs covered with clusters of gold sover-
eigns, and as they swung in the wind they
went zin, zin, zin, almost as if they would
say: Let who will, come and take us.' But
when Pinocchio was at the most interesting
moment, that is, just as he was stretching
out his hand to pick handfuls of those beau-
tiful gold pieces and to put them in his
pocket, he was suddenly wakened by three
violent blows on the door of his room.
It was the host who had come to tell him
that midnight had struck.
'Are my companions ready?' asked the
puppet.
'Ready! Why, they left two hours
ago.'
'Why were they in such a hurry ?'
'Because the Cat had received a message
to say that her eldest kitten was ill with
chilblains on his feet, and was in danger of
death.'
Did they pay for the supper ?'
'What are you thinking of? They are
much too well educated to dream of offering
such an insult to a gentleman like you.'
'What a pity It is an insult that would
have given me so much pleasure!' said
Pinocchio, scratching his head. He then
asked:







ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 59
'And where did my good friends say they
would wait for me ?'
'At the Field of miracles, to-morrow
morning at daybreak.'
Pinocchio paid a sovereign for his supper
and that of his companions, and then left.
Outside the inn it was so pitch dark that
he had almost to grope his way, for it was
impossible to see a hand's breadth in front
of him. In the adjacent country not a leaf
moved. Only some night-birds flying across
the road from one hedge to the other brushed
Pinocchio's nose with their wings as they
passed, which caused him so much terror
that, springing back, he shouted : Who goes
there ?' and the echo in the surrounding hills
repeated in the distance : Who goes there ?
Who goes there-? Who goes there ?'
As he was walking along he saw a little
insect shining dimly on the trunk of a tree,
like a night-light in a lamp of transparent
'china.
'Who are you ?' asked Pinocchio.
'I am the ghost of the Talking-cricket,'
answered the insect in a low voice, so weak
and faint that it seemed to come from the
other world.
'What do you want with me ?' said the
puppet.
'I want to give you some advice. Go
back, and take the four sovereigns that you
have left to your poor father, who is weeping







6o ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
and in despair because you have never re-
turned to him.'
By to-morrow my papa will be a gentle-
man, for these four sovereigns will have
become two thousand.'
'Don't trust, my boy, to those who promise
to make you rich in a day. Usually they
are either mad or rogues Give ear to me,
and go back.'
'On the contrary, I am determined to go
on.'
'The hour is late! ..
'I am determined to go on.'
'The night is dark! . .'
'I am determined to go on.'
'The road is dangerous . .
'I am determined to go on.'
'Remember that boys who are bent on
following their caprices, and will have their
own way, sooner or later repent it.'
'Always the same stories. Good-night,
Cricket.'
Good-night, Pinocchio, and may Heaven
preserve you from dangers and from assas-
sins.'
No sooner had he said these words than
Sthe Talking-cricket vanished suddenly like
a light that has been blown out, and the road
became darker than ever.





















XIV


Pinocchio, because he would not heed the
good counsels of the Talking-cricket,falls
amongst assassins.

REALLY,' said the
S puppet to himself
S as he resumed his
Journey, 'how un-
fortunate we poor
boys are. Every-
body scolds us,
Everybody admon-
ishes us, everybody
S .. gives us good ad-
vice. To let them
S talk, they would all
take it into their
S heads to be our
ii -- fathers and our
masters-all: even the Talking-cricket. See


.c-,`




.. r-.
U---
S







62 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
now: because I don't choose to listen to that
tiresome Cricket, who knows, according to
him, how many misfortunes are to happen to
me I I am even to meet with assassins 1
That is, however, of little consequence, for I
don't believe in assassins-I have never
believed in them. For me, I think that
assassins have been invented purposely by
papas to frighten boys who want to go out at
night. Besides, supposing I was to come
across them here in the road, do you imagine
they would frighten me ? not the least in the
world. I should go to meet them and cry:
"Gentlemen assassins, what do you want with
me ? Remember that with me there is no
joking. Therefore go about your business and
be quiet !" At this speech, said in a deter-
mined tone, those poor assassins-I think I
see them-would run away like the wind. If,
however, they were so badly educated as not
to run away, why, then, I would run away my-
self, and there would be an end of it. . .'
But Pinocchio had not time to finish his
reasoning, for at that moment he thought
that he heard a slight rustle of leaves behind
him.
He turned to look, and saw in the gloom
two evil-looking black figures completely
enveloped in charcoal sacks. They were
running after him on tiptoe, and making great
leaps like two phantoms.
Here they are in reality !' he said to him-







ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 63
self, and not knowing where to hide his gold
pieces he put them in his mouth precisely
under his tongue.
Then he tried to escape. But he had not
gone a step when he felt himself seized by
the arm, and heard two horrid sepulchral
voices saying to him:
'Your money or your life !'
Pinocchio, not being able to answer in
words, owing to the money that was in his
mouth, made a thousand low bows and a
thousand pantomimes. He tried thus to
make the two muffled figures, whose eyes
were only visible through the holes in their
sacks, understand that he was a poor puppet,
and that he had not as much as a false far-
thing in his pocket.
'Come now! Less nonsense and out
with the money!' cried the two brigands
threateningly.
And the puppet made a gesture with his
hands to signify: I have got none.'
Deliver up your money or you are dead,'
said the tallest of the brigands.
'Dead!' repeated the other.
'And after we have killed you, we will also
kill your father.'
Also your father !
'No, no, no, not my poor papa!' cried
Pinocchio in a despairing tone; and as he
said it, the sovereigns clinked in his mouth.
'Ah! you rascal! Then you have hidden






64 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
your money under your tongue Spit it out
at once '
But Pinocchio was obdurate.
'Ah you pretend to be deaf, do you ?
Wait a moment, leave it to us to find a
means to make you spit it out.'
And one of them seized the puppet by the
end of his nose, and the other took him by
the chin, and began to pull them brutally,
the one up and the other down, to constrain
him to open his mouth. But it was all to no
purpose. Pinocchio's mouth seemed to be
nailed and riveted together.
Then the shortest assassin drew out an
ugly knife and tried to force it between his
lips like a lever or chisel. But Pinocchio as
quick as lightning caught his hand with his
teeth, and with one bite bit it clean off and
spat it out. Imagine his astonishment when
instead of a hand he perceived that he had
spat a cat's paw on to the ground.
Encouraged by this first victory he used
his nails to such purpose that he succeeded
in liberating himself from his assailants, and
jumping the hedge by the roadside he began
to fly across country. The assassins ran after
him like two dogs chasing a hare: and the one
who had lost a paw ran on one leg, and no
one ever knew how he managed it.
After a race of some miles Pinocchio
could do no more. Giving himself up for
lost he climbed the stem of a very high pine-







ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 65
tree and seated himself in the topmost
branches. The assassins attempted to climb
after him, but when they had reached half-
way up the stem they slid down again, and
arrived on the ground with the skin grazed
from their hands and knees.
SBut they were not to be beaten by so
jttle: collecting a quantity of dry wood they
.piled it beneath the pine and set fire to it.
In less time than it takes to tell the pine
began to burn and to flame like a candle
blown by the wind. Pinocchio, seeing that
the flames were mounting higher every
instant, and not wishing to end his life like
a roasted pigeon, made a stupendous leap
from the top of the tree and started afresh
across the fields and vineyards. The assas-
sins followed him, and kept behind him with-
out once giving in.
The day began to break and they were
still pursuing him. Suddenly Pinocchio
found his way barred by a wide deep ditch
full of dirty water the colour of coffee.
What was he to do ? 'One! two I three !'
cried the puppet, and making a rush he
sprang to the other side. The assassins
also jumped, but not having measured the
distance properly-splash, splash . they
fell into the very middle of the ditch. Pin-
occhio, who heard the plunge and the splash-
ing of the water, shouted out, laughing, and
without stopping:






66 AD VENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
'A fine bath to you, gentleman assassins.'
And he felt convinced that they were
drowned, when, turning to look, he perceived
that on the contrary they were both running
after him, still enveloped in their sacks,
with the water dripping from them as if
they had been two hollow baskets.


~a
-c-
~ki
















XV
The assassins pursue Pinocchio; and having
overtaken him hang him to a branch of
the Big Oak.

AT this sight the puppet's courage failed
him, and he was on the point of throwing
himself on the ground and giving himself
over for lost. Turning, however, his eyes in
every direction, he saw at some distance,
standing out amidst the dark green of the
trees, a small house as white as snow.
If I had only breath to reach that house,'
he said to himself, 'perhaps I should be
saved.'
-And without delaying an instant, he
recommended running for his life through
the wood, and the assassins after him.
At last, after a desperate race of nearly
two hours, he arrived quite breathless at the
door of the house, and knocked.
No one answered.
He knocked again with great violence,
for he heard the sound of steps approach-







68 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
ing him, and the heavy panting of his
persecutors. The same silence.
Seeing that knocking was useless he began
in desperation to kick and pommel the door
with all his might. The window then
opened and a beautiful Child appeared at
it. She had blue hair and a face as white
as a waxen image; her eyes were closed
and her hands were crossed on her breast.
Without moving her lips in the least, she
said in a voice that seemed to come from
the other world:
'In this house there is no one. They
are all dead.'
'Then at least open the door for me
yourself,' shouted Pinocchio, crying and
imploring.
'I am dead also.'
'Dead? then what are you doing there
at the window?'
I am waiting for the bier to come to
carry me away.'
Having said this she immediately dis-
appeared, and the window was closed again
without the slightest noise.
'Ohf beautiful Child with blue hair,'
cried Pinocchio, 'open the door for pity's
sake! Have compassion on a poor boy
pursued by assas . .'
But he could not finish the word, for he
felt himself seized by the collar, and the same
two horrible voices said to him threateningly:







ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 69
'You shall not escape from us again I'
The puppet, seeing death staring him in
the face, was taken with such a violent fit
of trembling that the joints of his wooden
legs began to creak, and the sovereigns
hidden under his tongue to clink.
'Now then,' demanded the assassins,
'will you open your mouth, yes or no ? Ah !
no answer? . Leave it to us: this time
we will force you to open it! . .
And drawing out two long horrid knives as
sharp as razors, clash . they attempted
to stab him twice.
But the puppet, luckily for him, was made
of very hard wood; the knives therefore
broke into a thousand pieces, and the
assassins were left with the handles in
their hands staring at each other.
I see what we must do,' said one of them.
'He must be hung! let us hang him!'
Let us hang him !' repeated the other.
Without loss of time they tied his arms
behind him, passed a running noose round
his throat, and then hung him to the branch
of a tree called the Big Oak.
They then sat down on the grass and
waited for his last struggle. But at the
end of three hours the puppet's eyes were
still open, his mouth closed, and he was
kicking more than ever.
Losing patience they turned to Pinocchio
and said in a bantering tone :







70 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
'Good-bje till to-morrow. Let us hope
that "when we return you will be polite
enough to allow yourself to be found quite
dead, and with your mouth wide open.'
And they walked off.
In the meantime a tempestuous northerly
wind began to blow and roar angrily, and
it beat the poor puppet as he hung from
side to side, making him swing violently
like the clapper of a bell ringing for a
wedding. And the swinging gave him
atrocious spasms, and the running noose,
becoming still tighter round his throat,
took away his breath.
Little by little his eyes began to grow
dim, but although he felt that death was
near he still continued to hope that some
charitable person would come to his assist-
ance before it was too late. But when, after
waiting and waiting, he found that no one
came, absolutely no one, then he remembered
his poor father, and thinking he was dying
. he stammered out:
Oh, papa! papa! if only you were here !'
His breath failed him and he could say
no more. He shut his eyes, opened his
mouth, stretched his legs, gave a long
shudder, and hung stiff and insensible.















XVI


The beautiful Child with blue hair has the
pufpet taken down: has him fput to bed
and calls in three doctors to know if he
is alive or dead.

WHILST poor Pinocchio, suspended to a
branch of the Big Oak, was apparently more
dead than alive, the beautiful Child with
the blue hair came again to the window.
When she saw the unhappy puppet hanging
by his throat, and dancing up and down in the
gusts of the north wind, she was moved by
compassion. Striking her hands together
she made three little claps.
At this signal there came a sound of the
sweep of wings flying rapidly, and a large
Falcon flew on to the window-sill.
What are your orders, gracious Fairy ?'
he asked, inclining his beak in sign of
reverence-for I must tell you that the
Child with blue hair was no more and no
less than a beautiful Fairy, who for more
than a thousand years had lived in the wood







72 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
'Do you see that puppet dangling from
a branch of the Big Oak ?'
'I see him.'
'Very well. Fly there at once : with
your strong beak break the knot that keeps
him suspended in the air, and lay him
gently on the grass at the foot of the tree.'
The Falcon flew away, and after two
minutes he returned, saying:
'I have done as you commanded.'
'And how did you find him ?'
To see him he appeared dead, but he
cannot really be quite dead, for I had no
sooner loosened the running noose that
tightened his throat than, giving a sigh, he
muttered in a faint voice: "Now I feel
better . ."
The Fairy then striking her hands to-
gether made two little claps, and a magnifi-
.cent Poodle appeared, walking upright on
his hind-legs exactly as if he had been a
man.
He was in the full-dress livery of a coach-
man. On his head he had a three-cornered
cap braided with gold, his curly white wig
came down on to his shoulders, he had a
chocolate-coloured waistcoat with diamond
buttons, and two large pockets to contain
the bones that his mistress gave him at
dinner. He had besides a pair of short
crimson velvet breeches, silk stockings, cut-
down shoes, and hanging behind him a








ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 73
species of umbrella-case made of blue satin,
to put his tail intowhen the weatherwas rainy.
'Be quick, Medoro, like a good dog !' said
the Fairy to the Poodle. 'Have the most,
beautiful carriage in my coach-house put to,
and take the road to the wood. When you
come to the Big Oak you will find a poor
puppet stretched on the grass half dead.
Pick him up gently, and lay him flat on the
cushions of the carriage and bring him here
to me. Have you understood ?'
The Poodle, to show that he had under-
stood, shook the case of blue satin that he
had on three or four times, and ran off like
a racehorse.
Shortly afterwards a beautiful little
carriage came out of the coach-house. The
cushions were stuffed with canary feathers,
and it was lined in the inside with whipped
cream, custard, and Savoy biscuits. The
little carriage was drawn by a hundred pairs
of white mice, and the Poodle, seated on the
coach-box, cracked his whip from side to
side like a driver when he is afraid that he
is behind time.
A quarter of an hour had not passed when
the carriage returned. The Fairy, who was
waiting at the door of the house, took the
poor puppet in her arms, and carried him
into a little room that was wainscotted with
mother-of-pearl, and sent at once to summon
the most famous doctors in theneighbourhood.







74 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
The doctors came immediately one after
the other: namely a Crow, an Owl, and a
Talking-cricket.
'I wish to know from you gentlemen,'
said the Fairy, turning to the three doctors
who were assembled round Pinocchio's bed-
'I wish to know from you gentlemen, if this
unfortunate puppet is alive or dead .
At this request the Crow, advancing first,
felt Pinocchio's pulse; he then felt his nose,
and then the little toe of his foot: and
having done this carefully, he pronounced
solemnly the following words :
To my belief the puppet is already quite
dead; but if unfortunately he should not be
dead, then, it would be a sign that he is still
alive I'
I regret,' said the Owl, to be obliged to
contradict the Crow, my illustrious friend
and colleague; but in my opinion the puppet
is still alive: but if unfortunately he should
not be alive, then it would be a sign that
he is dead indeed !'
'And you-have you nothing to say?'
asked the Fairy of the Talking-cricket.
'In my opinion the wisest thing a
prudent doctor can do, when he does not
know what he is talking about, is to be
silent. For the rest, that puppet there has
a face that is not new to me. I have known
him for some time I . .
Pinocchio, who up to that moment had lain







ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 75
immovable, like a real piece of wood, was
seized with a fit of convulsive trembling that
shook the whole bed.
That puppet there,' continued the Talk-
ing-cricket, is a confirmed rogue .. .
Pinocchio opened his eyes, but shut them
again immediately.
'He is a ragamuffin, a do-nothing, a
vagabond. . .
Pinocchio hid his face beneath the clothes.
That puppet there is a disobedient son
who will make his poor father die of a
broken heart . .
At that instant a suffocated sound of sobs
and crying was heard in the room. Ima-
gine everybody's astonishment when, having
raised the sheets a little, it was discovered
that the sounds came from Pinocchio.
'When the dead person cries, it is a sign
that he is on the road to get well,' said the
Crow solemnly.
'I grieve to contradict my illustrious
friend and colleague,' added the Owl; 'but
for me, when the dead person cries, it is a
sign that he is sorry to die.'





















XVII
Pinocchio eats the sugar, but will not take
his medicine: when, however, he sees
the grave-diggers, who have arrived to
carry him away, he takes it. He then
tells a lie, and as a punishment his nose
grows longer.

As soon as the three doctors had left the
room the Fairy approached Pinocchio, and
having touched his forehead she perceived
that he was in a high fever that was not
to be trifled with.
She therefore dissolved a certain white
powder in half a tumbler of water, and
offering it to the puppet she said to him
lovingly:
Drink it, and in a few days you will be
cured.'







ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 77
Pinocchio looked at the tumbler, made
a wry face, and then asked in a plaintive
voice :
'Is it sweet or bitter ?'
'It is bitter, but it will do you good.'
'If it is bitter, I will not take it.'
'Listen to me: drink it'
'I don't like anything bitter.'
'Drink it, and when you have drunk it
I will give you a lump of sugar to take
away the taste.'
'Where is the lump of sugar ?'
'Here it is,' said the Fairy, taking a
piece from a gold sugar-basin.
'Give me first the lump of sugar, and
then I will drink that bad bitter water. ..
'Do you promise me ?'
'Yes. . .
The Fairy gave him the sugar, and
Pinocchio, having crunched it up and
swallowed it in a second, said, licking his
lips :
It would be a fine thing if sugar was
medicine . I would take it every day.'
Now keep your promise and drink these
few drops of water, which will restore you
to health.'
Pinocchio took the' tumbler unwillingly
in his hand and put the point of his nose
to it: he then approached it to his lips:
he then again put his nose to it, and at last
said:







78 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
'It is too bitter! too bitter! I cannot
drink it.'
'How can you tell that, when you have
not even tasted it ?'
I can imagine it I know it from
the smell. I want first another lump of
sugar . and then I will drink it! . .'
The Fairy then, with all the patience of a
good mamma, put another lump of sugar in
his mouth, and then again presented the
tumbler to him.
'I cannot drink it so!' said the puppet,
making a thousand grimaces.
'Why ?'
'Because that pillow that is down there
on my feet bothers me.'
The Fairy removed the pillow.
'It is useless. Even so I cannot drink
it. . .
'What is the matter now ?'
'The door of the room, which is half open,
bothers me.'
The Fairy went and closed the door.
In short,' cried Pinocchio, bursting into
tears, 'I will not drink that bitter. water-
no, no, no! ..'
'My boy, you will repent it. .. .
'I don't care. . .
'Your illness is serious. . .
'I don't care. ..
'The fever in a few hours will carry you
into the other world. . .







ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 79
I don't care . .'
'Are you not afraid of death ?'
'I am not in the least afraid! .. I
would rather die than drink that bitter
medicine.'
At that moment the. door of the room
flew open, and four rabbits as black as ink
entered carrying on their shoulders a little
bier.















'What do you want with me?' cried
Pinocchio, sitting up in bed in a great
fright.
'We are come to take you,' said the
biggest rabbit.
'To take me? . But I am not yet
dead . .
No, not yet: but you have only a few
minutes to live, as you have refused the







8o ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
medicine that would have cured you of the
fever.'
'Oh, Fairy, Fairy !' the puppet then began
to scream, give me the tumbler at once . .
be quick, for pity's sake, for I will not
die-no . I will not die. .. .'
And taking the tumbler in both hands he
emptied it at a draught.
'We must have patience!' said the
rabbits; 'this time we have made our
journey in vain.' And taking the little
bier again on their shoulders they left the
room, grumbling and murmuring between
their teeth.
In fact, a few minutes afterwards Pin-
occhio jumped down from the bed quite
well: because you must know that wooden
puppets have the privilege of being seldom
ill and of being cured very quickly.
The Fairy, seeing him running and rush-
ing about the room as gay and as lively as
a young cock, said to him:
Then my medicine has really done you
good ?'
'Good, I should think so! It has
restored me to life .'
'Then why on earth did you require so
much persuasion to take it ?'
'Because you see that we boys are all
like that We are more afraid of medicine
than of the illness.'
'Disgraceful 1 Boys ought to know that


I *







ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 81
a good remedy taken in time may save them
from a serious illness, and perhaps even
from death. .'
'Oh! but another time I shall not
require so much persuasion. I shall re-
member those black rabbits with the bier
on their shoulders . and then I shall
immediately take the tumbler in my hand,
and down it will go . .
'Now come here to me, and tell me how
it came about that you fell into the hands
of those assassins.'
It came about that the showman Fire-
eater gave me some gold pieces and said
to me: Go, and take them to your father I"
and instead I met on the road a Fox and
a Cat, two very respectable persons, who
said to me: "Would you like those pieces
of gold to become a thousand or two?
Come with us and we will take you to the
Field of miracles," and I said: "Let us
go." And they said: "Let us stop at the
inn of the Red Craw-fish and after mid-
night they left. And when I awoke I
found that they were no longer there,
because they had gone away. Then I
began to travel by night, for you cannot
imagine how dark it was; and on that
account I met on the road two assassins
in charcoal sacks who said to me: "Out
with your money," and I said to them: I
have got none," because I had .hidden the







82 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
four gold pieces in my mouth, and one of
the assassins tried to put his hand in my
mouth, and I bit his hand off and spat it
out, but instead of a hand I spat out a cat's
paw. And the assassins ran after me, and
I ran, and ran, until at last they caught me,
and tied me by the neck to a tree in this
wood, and said to me: "To-morrow we
shall return here, and then you will be dead
with your mouth open, and we shall be able
to carry off the pieces of gold that you have
hidden under your tongue."'
'And the four pieces-where have you
put them ?' asked the Fairy.
I have lost them !' said Pinocchio; but
he was telling a lie, for he had them in his
pocket.
He had scarcely told the lie when his
nose, which was already long, grew at once
two fingers longer.
And where did you lose them ?
'In the wood near here.'
At this second lie his nose went on
growing.
If you have lost them in the wood near
here,' said the Fairy, 'we will look for
them, and we shall find them: because
everything that is lost in that wood is
always found.'
'Ah! now I remember all about it,' re-
plied the puppet, getting quite confused; I
didn't lose the four gold pieces, I swallowed







ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 83
them inadvertently whilst I was drinking
your medicine.'
At this third lie his nose grew to such
an extraordinary length that poor Pinocchio
could not move in any direction. If he
turned to one side he struck his nose
against the bed or the window-panes, if he
turned to the other he struck it against the
walls or the door, if he raised his head a
little he ran the risk of sticking it into one
of the Fairy's eyes.










And the Fairy looked at him and
laughed.
'What are you laughing at?' asked the
puppet, very confused and anxious at find-
ing his nose growing so prodigiously.
I am laughing at the lie you have told.'
'And how can you possibly know that I
have told a lie ?'
Lies, my dear boy, are found out im-
mediately, because they are of two sorts.
There are lies that have short legs, and







84 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
lies that have long noses. Your lie, as it
happens, is one .of those that have a long
nose.'
Pinocchio, not knowing where to hide
himself for shame, tried to run out of the
room; but he did not succeed, for his nose
had increased so much that it could no
longer pass through the door.
















XVIII

Pinocchio meets again the Fox and the
Cat, and goes with them to bury his
money in the Field of miracles.

THE Fairy, as you can imagine, allowed
the puppet to cry and to roar for a good
half-hour over his nose, which could no
longer pass through the door of the room.
This she did to give him a severe lesson,
and to correct him of the disgraceful fault
of telling lies-the most disgraceful fault that
a boy can have. But when she saw him
quite disfigured, and his eyes swollen out
of his head from weeping, she felt full
of compassion for him. She therefore
beat her hands together, and at that
signal a thousand large birds called Wood-
peckers flew in at the window. They im-
mediately perched on Pinocchio's nose,
and began to peck at it with such zeal
that in a few minutes his enormous and
ridiculous nose was reduced to its usual
dimensions.


-- ----L--~-- ---rrr-~--_ -L--i------ II







86 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
'What a good Fairy you are,' said the
puppet, drying his eyes, 'and how much I
love you 1'
'I love you also,' answered the Fairy;
'and if you will remain with me, you
shall be my little brother and I will be your
good little sister. . .'
'I would remain willingly . but my
poor papa ?'
'I have thought of everything. I have
already let your father know, and he will be
here to-night.'
'Really ?' shouted Pinocchio, jumping for
joy. 'Then, little Fairy, if you consent, I
should like to go and meet him. I am so
anxious to give a kiss to that poor old man
who has suffered so much on my account,
that I am counting the minutes.'
Go, then, but be careful not to lose your-
self. Take the road through the wood and
I am sure that you will meet him.'
Pinocchio set out; and as soon as he
was in the wood he began to run like a kid.
But when he had reached a certain spot,
almost in front of the Big Oak, he stopped,
because he thought that he heard people
amongst the bushes. In fact, two persons
came out on to the road. Can you guess
who they were? . His two travelling
companions, the Fox and the Cat, with
whom he had supped at the inn of the Red
Craw-fish.






ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 87
'Why, here is our.dear Pinocchio !' cried
the Fox, kissing and embracing him. How
come you to be here ?'
'How come you to be here ?' repeated
the Cat.
'It is a long story,' answered the puppet,
'which I will tell you when I have time.
But do you know that the other night, when
you left me alone at the inn, I met with
assassins on the road. ..
'Assassins! . Oh, poor Pinocchio!
And what did they want ?'
'They wanted to rob me of my gold
pieces.'
'Villains! . .' said the Fox.
'Infamous villains!' repeated the Cat.
'But I ran away from them,' continued
the puppet, and they followed me: and at
last they overtook me and hung me to a
branch of that oak-tree. . .
And Pinocchio pointed to the Big Oak,
which was two steps from them.
Is it possible to hear of anything more
dreadful ?' said the Fox. In what a world
we are condemned to live! Where can
respectable peoplelike us find a safe refuge ?'
Whilst they were thus talking Pinocchio
observed that the Cat was lame of her front
right leg, for in fact she had lost her paw
with all its claws. He therefore asked her :
What have you done with your paw ?
The Cat tried to answer but became







88 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
confused. Therefore the Fox said im-
mediately :
My friend is too modest, and that is why
she doesn't speak. I will answer for her.
I must tell you that an hour ago we met an
old wolf on the road, almost fainting from
want of food, who asked alms of us. Not
having so much as a fish-bone to give him,
what did my friend, who has really the heart
of a Caesar, do ? She bit off one of her
fore paws, and threw it to that poor beast
that he might appease his hunger.'
And the Fox, in relating this, dried a tear.
Pinocchio was also touched, and approach-
ing the Cat. he whispered into her ear :
If all cats resembled you, how fortunate
the mice would be !'
'And now, what are you doing here ?'
asked the Fox of the puppet.
'I am waiting for my papa, whom I
expect to arrive every moment.'
'And your gold pieces ?'
'I have got them in my pocket, all but
one that I spent at the inn of the Red
Craw-fish.'
'And to think that, instead of four pieces,
by to-morrow they might become one or two
thousand! Why do you not listen to my
advice ? why will you not go and bury them
in the Field of miracles ?'
'To-day it is impossible: I will go
another day.'







ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 89
'Another day it will be too late! . .'
said the Fox.
'Why ?'
'Because the field has been bought by
a gentleman, and after to-morrow no one
will be allowed to bury money there.'
'How far off is the Field of miracles ?'
Not two miles. Will you come with
us? In half an hour you will be there.
You can bury your money at once, and in a
few minutes you will collect two thousand,
and this evening you will return with your
pockets full. Will you come with us ?'
Pinocchio thought of the good Fairy,
old Geppetto, and the warnings of the
Talking-cricket, and he hesitated a little
before answering. He ended, however, by
doing as all boys do who have not a grain
of sense and who have no heart-he ended
by giving his head a little shake, and
saying to the Fox and the Cat:
Let us go: I will come with you.'
And they went.
After having walked half the day they
reached a town that was called 'Trap for
blockheads.' As soon as Pinocchio entered
this town, he saw that the streets were
crowded with dogs who had lost their coats
and who were yawning from hunger, shorn
sheep trembling with cold, cocks without
combs or crests who were begging for a
grain of Indian corn, large butterflies who







90 ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
could no longer fly because they had sold
their beautiful coloured wings, peacocks
who had no tails and were ashamed to be
seen, and pheasants who went scratching
about in a subdued fashion, mourning for
their brilliant gold and silver feathers gone
for ever.
In the midst of this crowd of beggars
and shame-faced creatures, some lordly
carriage passed from time to time contain-
ing a Fox, or a thieving Magpie, or some
other ravenous bird of prey.
'And where is the Field of miracles?'
asked Pinocchio.
'It is here, not two steps from us.'
SThey crossed the town, and having gone
beyond the walls they came to a solitary
field which to look at resembled all other
fields.
'We are arrived,' said the Fox to the
puppet. 'Now stoop down and dig with
your hands a little hole in the ground and
put your gold pieces into it.'
Pinocchio obeyed. He dug a hole, put
into it the four gold pieces that he had left,
and then filled up the hole with a little earth.
'Now, then,' said the Fox, 'go to that
canal close to us, fetch a can of water, and
water the ground where you have sowed
them.'
Pinocchio went to the canal, and as he
had no can he took off one of his old shoes







ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO 91
and filling it with water he watered the
ground over the hole.
He then asked:
Is- there anything else to be done ?'
'Nothing else,' answered the Fox. 'We
can now go away. You can return in
about twenty minutes, and you will find a
shrub already pushing through the ground,
with its branches quite loaded with money.'
The poor puppet, beside himself with joy,
thanked the Fox and the Cat a thousand
times, and promised them a beautiful
present.
We wish for no presents,' answered the
two rascals. 'It is enough for us to have
taught you the way to enrich yourself with-
out undergoing hard work, and we are as
happy as folk out for a holiday.'
Thus saying they took leave of Pinocchio,
and wishing him a good harvest went
about their business.
























XIX

Pinocchio is robbed of his money, and as a
punishment he is sent to prison for
four months.

THE puppet returned to the town and began
to count the minutes one by one ; and when
he thought that it must be time he took the
road leading to the Field of miracles.
And as he walked along with hurried
steps his heart beat fast tic, tac, tic, tac,
like a drawing-room clock when it is really
going well. Meanwhile he was thinking to
himself:
'And if instead of a thousand gold pieces,
I was to.find on the branches of the tree
two thousand ? . .And instead of two


f