Part 15 (2/2)
Down into the sea, deeper and deeper, sank Pinocchio, and finally, after fifty , the man on the cliff said to himself: ”By this time my poor little laet to work on my beautiful drum”
He pulled the rope which he had tied to Pinocchio's leg--pulled and pulled and pulled and, at last, he saw appear on the surface of the water--Can you guess what? Instead of a dead donkey, he saw a verylike an eel
Seeing that wooden Marionette, the poorand sat there with hisout of his head
Gathering his wits together, he said: ”And the Donkey I threw into the sea?”
”I a
”You?”
”I”
”Ah, you little cheat! Are you poking fun atfun at you? Not at all, dear Master I a seriously”
”But, then, how is it that you, who a fewbefore me a wooden Marionette?”
”Itthese tricks”
”Be careful, Marionette, be careful! Don't laugh at me! Woe be to you, if I lose my patience!”
”Well, then,and I can tell it to you better”
The old fellow, curious to know the true story of the Marionette's life, immediately untied the rope which held his foot Pinocchio, feeling free as a bird of the air, began his tale: ”Know, then, that, once upon a time, I was a wooden Marionette, just as I am today One day I was about to become a boy, a real boy, but on account of my laziness and my hatred of books, and because I listened to bad co, I awoke to find ray coat, even a tail! What a shameful day for me! I hope you will never experience one like it, dear Master I was taken to the fair and sold to a Circus Owner, who tried toa perfor what to do with a lame donkey, the Circus Owner sent ht me”
”Indeed I did! And I paid four cents for you Noill return ht me to do me harm--to kill me--to make a drumhead out of me!”
”Indeed I did! And nohere shall I find another skin?”
”Never mind, dear Master There are so many donkeys in this world”
”Tell ue, does your story end here?”
”One h After buyingsorry for me, you tied a stone to ood and kind of you to want me to suffer as little as possible and I shall remember you always And now my Fairy will take care of me, even if you--”
”Your Fairy? Who is she?”
”She is my mother, and, like all other ht of ood Fairy of , sent a thousand fishes to the spot where I lay They thought I was really a dead donkey and began to eat reat bites they took! One ate my ears, another s and so the others, there was one tiny fish so gentle and polite that he dideven my tail”
”Froain taste fish How I should enjoy opening a mullet or a whitefish just to find there the tail of a dead donkey!”
”I think as you do,” answered the Marionette, laughing ”Still, youmy donkey coat, which covered me from head to foot, they naturally came to the bones--or rather, in my case, to the wood, for as you know, I areedy fish found out that the as not good for their teeth, and, afraid of indigestion, they turned and ran here and there without saying good-by or even as much as thank you to me Here, dear Master, you have my story You knohy you found a Marionette and not a dead donkey when you pulled h at your story!” cried the et you and I wantto take you to the market once more and sell you as dry firewood”
”Very well, sell ave a quick leap and dived into the sea Swi: ”Good-by, Master If you ever need a skin for your drum, remember me”
He swaain and called louder than before: ”Good-by, Master If you ever need a piece of good dry firewood, reone so far he could hardly be seen All that could be seen of hi swiftly on the blue surface of the water, a little black dot which now and then lifted a leg or an arht that Pinocchio had turned into a porpoise playing in the sun
After swie rock in the h on the rock stood a little Goat bleating and calling and beckoning to the Marionette to coe about that little Goat Her coat was not white or black or brown as that of any other goat, but azure, a deep brilliant color that reminded one of the hair of the lovely maiden
Pinocchio's heart beat fast, and then faster and faster He redoubled his efforts and swam as hard as he could toward the white rock He was almost halfway over, when suddenly a horrible sea monster stuck its head out of the water, an enor three rows of gleaht of which would have filled you with fear
Do you knohat it was?
That sea monster was no other than the enormous Shark, which has often been mentioned in this story and which, on account of its cruelty, had been nicknamed ”The Attila of the Sea” by both fish and fisherhtened hie his path, to escape, but that i nearer and nearer
”Hasten, Pinocchio, I beg you!” bleated the little Goat on the high rock
And Pinocchio swas, his feet
”Quick, Pinocchio, thenearer!”
Pinocchio swam faster and faster, and harder and harder
”Faster, Pinocchio! The et you! There he is! There he is! Quick, quick, or you are lost!”
Pinocchio went through the water like a shot--swifter and swifter He caave him one of her hoofs to help him up out of the water
Alas! It was too late The monster overtook hilea white teeth Only for a moment, however, for the Shark took a deep breath and, as he breathed, he drank in the Marionette as easily as he would have sucked an egg Then he sed hi down into the body of the fish, lay stunned for a half hour
When he recovered his senses the Marionette could not remember where he was Around him all was darkness, a darkness so deep and so black that for a ht he had put his head into an inkwell He listened for a fewOnce in a while a cold wind blew on his face At first he could not understand where that as co fros of thefrom asthma, so that whenever he breathed a storm seemed to blow
Pinocchio at first tried to be brave, but as soon as he became convinced that he was really and truly in the Shark's stomach, he burst into sobs and tears ”Help! Help!” he cried ”Oh, poor me! Won't someone come to save me?”
”Who is there to help you, unhappy boy?” said a rough voice, like a guitar out of tune
”Who is talking?” asked Pinocchio, frozen with terror
”It is I, a poor Tunny sed by the Shark at the same time as you And what kind of a fish are you?”
”I have nothing to do with fishes I am a Marionette”
”If you are not a fish, why did you let this monster s you?”