Part 9 (2/2)

Fortune now seemed to favor Pinocchio. Not far off he thought he saw a group of huts at the foot of a hill. He felt that besides getting rest and shelter, he might also find something to eat. Greedy marionette!

As he approached he was struck by the strangeness of these buildings. They looked like little towers topped with domes. He went along wondering what race of people lived in houses built without windows or doors. He saw no one, and he was filled with a sort of fear.

”Shall I go on or not?” he mused. ”Perhaps it would be best to call out, Some one will show me where to go for food and shelter.”

”h.e.l.lo there!” he said in a low voice. No one answered.

”h.e.l.lo there!” repeated the marionette a little louder. But there was no answer.

”They are deaf, or asleep, or dead!” concluded the marionette, after calling out at the top of his voice again and again.

Then he thought it might be a deserted village, and he entered bravely between the towers. There was no one to be seen. As he stretched out his tired limbs on the ground he murmured. ”Since it is useless to think of eating, I may at least rest.” And in a few minutes he was sound asleep.

He dreamed that he was being pulled along by an army of small insects that resembled ants. It seemed to him that he was making every effort to stop them, but he could not succeed. They dragged and rolled him down a slope toward a frightful precipice, over which he must fall.

I even seemed as if they had entered his mouth by hundreds, busying themselves in tearing out his tongue. It served him right, too, because his tongue had made many false promises and caused everybody much suffering.”You will never tell any more lies!” the ants seemed to say.

Then the marionette awoke with a struggle and a cry of fear. His dream was a reality. He was covered with ants. He brushed them off his face, his arms, his legs, - in short, his whole body. They had tortured him for four or five hours, and only the fact that he was made of very hard wood had saved his life.

”Thanks to my strong const.i.tution.” thought the marionette, ”I am as good as new.”

28. Pinocchio Is Carried Away In An Eggsh.e.l.l

PINOCCHIO now found himself in a dense growth of shrubbery which made his progress difficult. He pushed on among the th.o.r.n.y plants. They would have stopped any one but a wooden marionette. His clothes were torn, to be sure, but he did not mind that.

”Soon I shall have a suit that will make me look like a price. Goods of the best quality, and tailoring that has never been equaled! The gold, the silver, and the diamonds must be found.” And he went on at a brisk gait as if he had been on the highway.

Trees, shrubs, underbrush, nothing else! The scene would have grown tiresome had it not been for a swarm of b.u.t.terflies of the most beautiful and brilliant colors. They flew here and there, now letting themselves be carried by the wind, now hovering about in search of the flowers hidden in the thick foliage.From time to time a hare would run between Pinocchio's feet, and after a few bounds would turn sharply around to stare at him with curious eyes, as much as to say that a marionette was a comical sight. Young monkeys peeped through the leaves, laughed at him, and then scampered away.

Pinocchio walked along fearlessly, caring little for what went on around him, and thinking only of the treasures for which he was seeking.

On and on he walked until at length he found himself at the edge of a vast plain. He gave a great sigh of relief. The long march through the woods had tired him. However, he kept his eyes open, now and then looking down at his feet to see if any precious stones were lying about. Presently his attention was drawn to a great hole or nest, in which he saw some white objects shaped like hen's eggs, but considerably larger than his head.

Curious to see whether or not he could lift one, Pinocchio approached the nest. Just then he heard a frightful noise behind him.

Turning quickly, the marionette saw a huge bird running toward him.

The next moment a powerful push sent him head over heels upon one of the eggs! As he fell he heard a loud crash, and at almost the same instant found himself carried through the air. What had befallen him?

Of course, the hole was the nest of an ostrich. Enraged at the sight of the broken egg, the fierce bird had seized in its powerful beak that part of the sh.e.l.l into which the unfortunate marionette had fallen, and was now rus.h.i.+ng across the plain with the swiftness of an express train.

The marionette screamed in terror, and with the stick which he still held in his hand rained blows upon the bird's long neck. But the blows had no effect whatever. The furious creature ran and ran and ran.

Pinocchio, gasping for breath, was certain that his end was near.

The mad race lasted for hours. Suddenly the marionette was thrown into a muddy pool, in which he sank up to his neck like a frog. Having no desire to be suffocated in the mud, he raised his head a little, although he did not try to climb out. What he saw surprised him beyond measure.

29. Pinocchio Escapes Again

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