Carlo Collodi

“ But Pinocchio, thinking it was from fear, said, to comfort him:
"Courage, papa! In a few minutes we shall be safely on shore."
"But where is this blessed shore?" asked the little old man, becoming still more frightened, and screwing up his eyes as tailors do when they wish to thread a needle. "I have been looking in every direction and I see nothing but the sky and the sea."
"But I see the shore as well," said the puppet. "You must know that I am like a cat: I see better by night than by day." ”

“ Pinocchio, mortified at being called a crawfish, indignantly cried out: “I am not a crawfish! Look at me; I am a marionette.”
“A marionette!” replied the fisherman. “Well, well! A marionette fish is a new kind to me. All the better; I shall eat you with more relish.”
“Eat me? But you do not understand! I am not a fish. Don’t you see that I reason and talk as you do?”
“It is true,” replied the fisherman. “As I see that you live in the water and must be a fish, and as you know how to reason and talk, I will respect your wisdom and will therefore let you decide.” ”

“ No sooner had Pinocchio got into bed 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 sovereigns, 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 beautiful gold pieces and to put them in his pocket, he was suddenly wakened by three violent blows on the door of his room. ”

“ Pinocchio was afraid of thunder and lightning, but his hunger was greater than his fear. In a few hundred jumps he arrived at the edge of the town, out of breath, with his tongue hanging out on his chin, just like a hunting dog. But he found the town all dark and deserted. The stores were closed; the doors of the houses were shut and the windows were bolted; there was not even a dog in the streets; it appeared as if the town were dead.
Then Pinocchio despairingly pulled a doorbell of one of the houses and rang it with all his might, saying to himself, “Some one will come.” ”

“ In the twinkling of an eye he had swum so far off that he was scarcely visible. All that could be seen of him was a little black speck on the surface of the sea that from time to time lifted its legs out of the water and leaped and capered like a dolphin enjoying himself.
Whilst Pinocchio was swimming, he knew not whither, he saw in the midst of the sea a rock that seemed to be made of white marble, and on the summit there stood a beautiful little goat who bleated lovingly and made signs to him to approach. ”

“ .'
'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 medicine that would have cured you of the fever.'
'Oh, Fairy, Fairy!' the puppet then began to scream, 'give me the tumbler at once . ”

“ 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.
And then he fell asleep, and whilst he slept his feet, which were wooden, took fire, and little by little they burnt away and became 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!" answered a voice. ”

“ The donkeys galloped, the wagon rolled on smoothly, the boys slept (Lamp-Wick snored like a dormouse) and the little, fat driver sang sleepily between his teeth.
After a mile or so, Pinocchio again heard the same faint voice whispering: “Remember, little simpleton! Boys who stop studying and turn their backs upon books and schools and teachers in order to give all their time to nonsense and pleasure, sooner or later come to grief. Oh, how well I know this! How well I can prove it to you! A day will come when you will weep bitterly, even as I am weeping now—but it will be too late!” ”

“ And Pinocchio swam quicker than ever, and flew on with the rapidity of a ball from a gun. He had nearly reached the rock, and the little goat leaning over towards the sea had stretched out her fore-legs to help him out of the water! . . .
But it was too late! The monster had overtaken him, and drawing in his breath he sucked in the poor puppet as he would have sucked a hen's egg; and he swallowed him with such violence and avidity that Pinocchio, in falling into the Dog-fish's stomach, received such a blow that he remained unconscious for a quarter of an hour afterwards. ”

“ The play continued for a few minutes, and then suddenly, without any warning, Harlequin stopped talking. Turning toward the audience, he pointed to the rear of the orchestra, yelling wildly at the same time:
“Look, look! Am I asleep or awake? Or do I really see Pinocchio there?”
“Yes, yes! It is Pinocchio!” screamed Pulcinella.
“It is! It is!” shrieked Signora Rosaura, peeking in from the side of the stage.
“It is Pinocchio! It is Pinocchio!” yelled all the Marionettes, pouring out of the wings. “It is Pinocchio. It is our brother Pinocchio! Hurrah for Pinocchio!” ”

“ Pinocchio, urged by desperation and hunger, took hold of the bell of a house and began to ring 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 night-cap 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 it was one of those rascally boys who amuse themselves at night by ringing the house-bells to rouse respectable people who are sleeping quietly. ”

“ 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 then 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. ”

“ Poor Pinocchio huddled close to the doghouse more dead than alive from cold, hunger, and fright. Now and again he pulled and tugged at the collar which nearly choked him and cried out in a weak voice:
“I deserve it! Yes, I deserve it! I have been nothing but a truant and a vagabond. I have never obeyed anyone and I have always done as I pleased. If I were only like so many others and had studied and worked and stayed with my poor old father, I should not find myself here now, in this field and in the darkness, taking the place of a farmer’s watchdog. ”

“ There was once upon a time a piece of wood in the shop of an old carpenter named Master Antonio. Everybody, however, called him 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 moment; it will just do to make the leg of a little table." ”

“ Why, you find a tree loaded with gold pieces!”
“If I bury five pieces,” said Pinocchio, all excited, “how many shall I find next morning?”
“It is easy to count,” replied the Fox. “You can do it on your fingers. Every gold piece will make five hundred; and therefore, multiplying each by five, you will have two thousand five hundred.”
“Oh, how beautiful!” cried Pinocchio, dancing with joy. “When I have all those gold pieces I will give you five hundred of them and I will take the other two thousand to my papa.”
“A present to us!” cried the Fox, disdainfully, as if he were offended. ”

“ 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 mouthfuls, 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.
'Who knows! there are so many chances! . . .' repeated Geppetto without losing his temper. ”