Part 15 (1/2)
”Ha! Hay gives me a headache!”
”Do you pretend, by any chance, that I should feed you duck or chicken?” asked the ave poor Pinocchio another lashi+ng
At that second beating, Pinocchio became very quiet and said no more
After that, the door of the stable was closed and he was left alone It wasand he started to yawn fro as an oven
Finally, not finding anything else in theit, he chewed it well, closed his eyes, and sed it
”This hay is not bad,” he said to himself ”But how much happier I should be if I had studied! Just now, instead of hay, I should be eating so, when he awoke, Pinocchio looked in the one He had eaten it all during the night
He tried the straw, but, as he cheay at it, he noticed to his great disappointment that it tasted neither like rice nor like macaroni
”Patience!” he repeated as he chewed ”If only ht serve as a lesson to disobedient boys who refuse to study! Patience! Have patience!”
”Patience indeed!” shouted his master just then, as he came into the stable ”Do you think, perhaps, ive you food and drink? Oh, no! You are to help , now I a to teach you to jump and bow, to dance a waltz and a polka, and even to stand on your head”
Poor Pinocchio, whether he liked it or not, had to learn all these wonderful things; but it took his before he was pronounced perfect
The day came at last when Pinocchio's master was able to announce an extraordinary performance The announcee letters, read thus: GREAT SPECTACLE TONIGHT LEAPS AND EXERCISES BY THE GREAT ARTISTS AND THE FAMOUS HORSES of the COMPANY First Public Appearance of the FAMOUS DONKEY called PINOCCHIO THE STAR OF THE DANCE ---- The Theater will be as Light as Day That night, as you can well i one hour before the shoas scheduled to start
Not an orchestra chair could be had, not a balcony seat, nor a gallery seat; not even for their weight in gold
The place swar and dancing about in a fever of impatience to see the famous Donkey dance
When the first part of the perforer of the circus, in a black coat, white knee breeches, and patent leather boots, presented himself to the public and in a loud, po announcement: ”Most honored friends, Gentleer of this theater, presents hireatest, the reat honor in his short life of perforreat courts of Europe
”We thank you for your attention!”
This speech was greeted by rew to a roar when Pinocchio, the fa He was handso leather with buckles of polished brass was on his back; thite camellias were tied to his ears; ribbons and tassels of red silk adorned his old and silver was fastened around his waist and his tail was decorated with ribbons of many brilliant colors He was a handso him to the public, added these words: ”Most honored audience! I shall not take your tireat difficulties which I have encountered while trying to tame this ani of you, the savage look of his eye All thewild beasts failed in this case I had finally to resort to the gentle language of the whip in order to bring him to aining e as the day I found hireat redee feature Do you see this little bureat talent of dancing and using his feet as ninori, and enjoy yourselves I let you, now, be the judges of my success as a teacher of animals Before I leave you, I wish to state that there will be another perforreat spectacle will take place at eleven o'clock in the er bowed and then turned to Pinocchio and said: ”Ready, Pinocchio! Before starting your performance, salute your audience!”
Pinocchio obediently bent his two knees to the ground and reer, with the crack of the whip, cried sharply: ”Walk!”
The Donkey lifted hi A few er called: ”Quickstep!” and Pinocchio obediently changed his step
”Gallop!” and Pinocchio galloped
”Full speed!” and Pinocchio ran as fast as he could As he ran thein the air
At the shot, the little Donkey fell to the ground as if he were really dead
A shower of applause greeted the Donkey as he arose to his feet Cries and shouts and handclappings were heard on all sides
At all that noise, Pinocchio lifted his head and raised his eyes There, in front of him, in a box sat a beautiful woold chain, froe medallion On the medallion was painted the picture of a Marionette
”That picture is of me! That beautiful lady isher He felt so happy that he tried his best to cry out: ”Oh, my Fairy! My own Fairy!”
But instead of words, a loud braying was heard in the theater, so loud and so long that all the spectators--men, wohing
Then, in order to teach the Donkey that it was not good er hit him on the nose with the handle of the whip
The poor little Donkey stuck out a long tongue and licked his nose for a long time in an effort to take away the pain
And as his grief when on looking up toward the boxes, he saw that the Fairy had disappeared!
He felt hi, his eyes filled with tears, and he wept bitterly No one knew it, however, least of all the Manager, who, cracking his whip, cried out: ”Bravo, Pinocchio! No us how gracefully you can jus”
Pinocchio tried two or three ti, he found it o under it The fourth tih it, but as he did so his hind legs caught in the ring and he fell to the floor in a heap
When he got up, he was lame and could hardly limp as far as the stable
”Pinocchio! We want Pinocchio! We want the little Donkey!” cried the boys from the orchestra, saddened by the accident
No one saw Pinocchio again that evening
The nextthe veterinary--that is, the animal doctor--declared that he would be lame for the rest of his life
”What do I ith a laer to the stableboy ”Take him to the market and sell him”
When they reached the square, a buyer was soon found
”How much do you ask for that little laive you four cents Don't think I' hih and I can use it toto a e and I need a drum”
I leave it to you, reat pleasure hich Pinocchio heard that he was to become a drumhead!
As soon as the buyer had paid the four cents, the Donkey changed hands His nener took hi the sea, put a stone around his neck, tied a rope to one of his hind feet, gave him a push, and threw him into the water
Pinocchio sank i for him to drown, so as to skin him and make himself a drumhead
CHAPTER 34
Pinocchio is thrown into the sea, eaten by fishes, and becomes a Marionette once more As he swims to land, he is sed by the Terrible Shark