"We have come for you," said the largest Rabbit.
"For me? But I'm not dead yet!"
"No, not dead yet; but you will be in a few moments since you haverefused to take the medicine which would have made you well."
"Oh, Fairy, my Fairy," the Marionette cried out, "give me that glass!Quick, please! I don't want to die! No, no, not yet--not yet!"
And holding the glass with his two hands, he swallowed the medicine atone gulp.
"Well," said the four Rabbits, "this time we have made the trip fornothing."
And turning on their heels, they marched solemnly out of the room,carrying their little black coffin and muttering and grumbling betweentheir teeth.
In a twinkling, Pinocchio felt fine. With one leap he was out of bed andinto his clothes.
The Fairy, seeing him run and jump around the room gay as a bird onwing, said to him:
"My medicine was good for you, after all, wasn't it?"
"Good indeed! It has given me new life."
"Why, then, did I have to beg you so hard to make you drink it?"
"I'm a boy, you see, and all boys hate medicine more than they dosickness."
"What a shame! Boys ought to know, after all, that medicine, taken intime, can save them from much pain and even from death."
"Next time I won't have to be begged so hard. I'll remember those blackRabbits with the black coffin on their shoulders and I'll take the glassand pouf!--down it will go!"
"Come here now and tell me how it came about that you found yourself inthe hands of the Assassins."
"It happened that Fire Eater gave me five gold pieces to give to myFather, but on the way, I met a Fox and a Cat, who asked me, 'Do youwant the five pieces to become two thousand?' And I said, 'Yes.' Andthey said, 'Come with us to the Field of Wonders.' And I said, 'Let'sgo.' Then they said, 'Let us stop at the Inn of the Red Lobster fordinner and after midnight we'll set out again.' We ate and went tosleep. When I awoke they were gone and I started out in the darkness allalone. On the road I met two Assassins dressed in black coal sacks,who said to me, 'Your money or your life!' and I said, 'I haven't anymoney'; for, you see, I had put the money under my tongue. One of themtried to put his hand in my mouth and I bit it off and spat it out; butit wasn't a hand, it was a cat's paw. And they ran after me and I ranand ran, till at last they caught me and tied my neck with a rope andhanged me to a tree, saying, 'Tomorrow we'll come back for you andyou'll be dead and your mouth will be open, and then we'll take the goldpieces that you have hidden under your tongue.'"
"Where are the gold pieces now?" the Fairy asked.
"I lost them," answered Pinocchio, but he told a lie, for he had them inhis pocket.
As he spoke, his nose, long though it was, became at least two incheslonger.
"And where did you lose them?"
"In the wood near by."
At this second lie, his nose grew a few more inches.
"If you lost them in the near-by wood," said the Fairy, "we'll look forthem and find them, for everything that is lost there is always found."
"Ah, now I remember," replied the Marionette, becoming more and moreconfused. "I did not lose the gold pieces, but I swallowed them when Idrank the medicine."
At this third lie, his nose became longer than ever, so long that hecould not even turn around. If he turned to the right, he knocked itagainst the bed or into the windowpanes; if he turned to the left, hestruck the walls or the door; if he raised it a bit, he almost put theFairy's eyes out.
The Fairy sat looking at him and laughing.
"Why do you laugh?" the Marionette asked her, worried now at the sightof his growing nose.
"I am laughing at your lies."
"How do you know I am lying?"
"Lies, my boy, are known in a moment. There are two kinds of lies, lieswith short legs and lies with long noses. Yours, just now, happen tohave long noses."
Pinocchio, not knowing where to hide his shame, tried to escape from theroom, but his nose had become so long that he could not get it out ofthe door.
CHAPTER 18
Pinocchio finds the Fox and the Cat again, and goes with them to sow thegold pieces in the Field of Wonders.
Crying as if his heart would break, the Marionette mourned for hoursover the length of his nose. No matter how he tried, it would not gothrough the door. The Fairy showed no pity toward him, as she was tryingto teach him a good lesson, so that he would stop telling lies, theworst habit any boy may acquire. But when she saw him, pale with frightand with his eyes half out of his head from terror, she began to feelsorry for him and clapped her hands together. A thousand woodpeckersflew in through the window and settled themselves on Pinocchio's nose.They pecked and pecked so hard at that enormous nose that in a fewmoments, it was the same size as before.
"How good you are, my Fairy," said Pinocchio, drying his eyes, "and howmuch I love you!"
"I love you, too," answered the Fairy, "and if you wish to stay with me,you may be my little brother and I'll be your good little sister."
"I should like to stay--but what about my poor father?"
"I have thought of everything. Your father has been sent for and beforenight he will be here."
"Really?" cried Pinocchio joyfully. "Then, my good Fairy, if you arewilling, I should like to go to meet him. I cannot wait to kiss thatdear old man, who has suffered so much for my sake."
"Surely; go ahead, but be careful not to lose your way. Take the woodpath and you'll surely meet him."
Pinocchio set out, and as soon as he found himself in the wood, heran like a hare. When he reached the giant oak tree he stopped, for hethought he heard a rustle in the brush. He was right. There stood theFox and the Cat, the two traveling companions with whom he had eaten atthe Inn of the Red Lobster.
"Here comes our dear Pinocchio!" cried the Fox, hugging and kissing him."How did you happen here?"
"How did you happen here?" repeated the Cat.
"It is a long story," said the Marionette. "Let me tell it to you. Theother night, when you left me alone at the Inn, I met the Assassins onthe road--"
"The Assassins? Oh, my poor friend! And what did they want?"
"They wanted my gold pieces."
"Rascals!" said the Fox.
"The worst sort of rascals!" added the Cat.
"But I began to run," continued the Marionette, "and they after me,until they overtook me and hanged me to the limb of that oak."
Pinocchio pointed to the giant oak near by.
"Could anything be worse?" said the Fox.
"What an awful world to live in! Where shall we find a safe place forgentlemen like ourselves?"
As the Fox talked thus, Pinocchio noticed that the Cat carried his rightpaw in a sling.
"What happened to your paw?" he asked.
The Cat tried to answer, but he became so terribly twisted in his speechthat the Fox had to help him out.
"My friend is too modest to answer. I'll answer for him. About an hourago, we met an old wolf on the road. He was half starved and begged forhelp. Having nothing to give him, what do you think my friend did outof the kindness of his heart? With his teeth, he bit off the paw ofhis front foot and threw it at that poor beast, so that he might havesomething to eat."
As he spoke, the Fox wiped off a tear.
Pinocchio, almost in tears himself, whispered in the Cat's ear:
"If all the cats were like you, how lucky the mice would be!"
"And what are you doing here?" the Fox asked the Marionette.
"I am waiting for my father, who will be here at any moment now."
"And your gold pieces?"
"I still have them in my pocket, except one which I spent at the Inn ofthe Red Lobster."
"To think that those four gold pieces might become two thousandtomorrow. Why don't you listen to me? Why don't you sow them in theField of Wonders?"
"Today it is impossible. I'll go with you some other time."
"Another day will be too late," said the
Fox.
"Why?"
"Because that field has been bought by a very rich man, and today is thelast day that it will be open to the public."
"How far is this Field of Wonders?"
"Only two miles away. Will you come with us? We'll be there in half anhour. You can sow the money, and, after a few minutes, you will gatheryour two thousand coins and return home rich. Are you coming?"
Pinocchio hesitated a moment before answering, for he remembered thegood Fairy, old Geppetto, and the advice of the Talking Cricket. Thenhe ended by doing what all boys do, when they have no heart and littlebrain. He shrugged his shoulders and said to the Fox and the Cat:
"Let us go! I am with you."
And they went.
They walked and walked for a half a day at least and at last they cameto the town called the City of Simple Simons. As soon as they enteredthe town, Pinocchio noticed that all the streets were filled withhairless dogs, yawning from hunger; with sheared sheep, trembling withcold; with combless chickens, begging for a grain of wheat; with largebutterflies, unable to use their wings because they had sold all theirlovely colors; with tailless peacocks, ashamed to show themselves; andwith bedraggled pheasants, scuttling away hurriedly, grieving for theirbright feathers of gold and silver, lost to them forever.
Through this crowd of paupers and beggars, a beautiful coach passed nowand again. Within it sat either a Fox, a Hawk, or a Vulture.
"Where is the Field of Wonders?" asked Pinocchio, growing tired ofwaiting.
"Be patient. It is only a few more steps away."
They passed through the city and, just outside the walls, they steppedinto a lonely field, which looked more or less like any other field.
"Here we are," said the Fox to the Marionette. "Dig a hole here and putthe gold pieces into it."
The Marionette obeyed. He dug the hole, put the four gold pieces intoit, and covered them up very carefully. "Now," said the Fox, "go to thatnear-by brook, bring back a pail full of water, and sprinkle it over thespot."
Pinocchio followed the directions closely, but, as he had no pail, hepulled off his shoe, filled it with water, and sprinkled the earth whichcovered the gold. Then he asked:
"Anything else?"
"Nothing else," answered the Fox. "Now we can go. Return here withintwenty minutes and you will find the vine grown and the branches filledwith gold pieces."
Pinocchio, beside himself with joy, thanked the Fox and the Cat manytimes and promised them each a beautiful gift.
"We don't want any of your gifts," answered the two rogues. "It isenough for us that we have helped you to become rich with little or notrouble. For this we are as happy as kings."
They said good-by to Pinocchio and, wishing him good luck, went on theirway.
CHAPTER 19
Pinocchio is robbed of his gold pieces and, in punishment, is sentencedto four months in prison.
If the Marionette had been told to wait a day instead of twenty minutes,the time could not have seemed longer to him. He walked impatiently toand fro and finally turned his nose toward the Field of Wonders.
And as he walked with hurried steps, his heart beat with an excited tic,tac, tic, tac, just as if it were a wall clock, and his busy brain keptthinking:
"What if, instead of a thousand, I should find two thousand? Or if,instead of two thousand, I should find five thousand--or one hundredthousand? I'll build myself a beautiful palace, with a thousand stablesfilled with a thousand wooden horses to play with, a cellar overflowingwith lemonade and ice cream soda, and a library of candies and fruits,cakes and cookies."
Thus amusing himself with fancies, he came to the field. There hestopped to see if, by any chance, a vine filled with gold coins wasin sight. But he saw nothing! He took a few steps forward, and stillnothing! He stepped into the field. He went up to the place where he haddug the hole and buried the gold pieces. Again nothing! Pinocchio becamevery thoughtful and, forgetting his good manners altogether, he pulled ahand out of his pocket and gave his head a thorough scratching.
As he did so, he heard a hearty burst of laughter close to his head. Heturned sharply, and there, just above him on the branch of a tree, sat alarge Parrot, busily preening his feathers.
"What are you laughing at?" Pinocchio asked peevishly.
"I am laughing because, in preening my feathers, I tickled myself underthe wings."
The Marionette did not answer. He walked to the brook, filled his shoewith water, and once more sprinkled the ground which covered the goldpieces.
Another burst of laughter, even more impertinent than the first, washeard in the quiet field.
"Well," cried the Marionette, angrily this time, "may I know, Mr.Parrot, what amuses you so?"
"I am laughing at those simpletons who believe everything they hear andwho allow themselves to be caught so easily in the traps set for them."
"Do you, perhaps, mean me?"
"I certainly do mean you, poor Pinocchio--you who are such a littlesilly as to believe that gold can be sown in a field just like beansor squash. I, too, believed that once and today I am very sorry for it.Today (but too late!) I have reached the conclusion that, in order tocome by money honestly, one must work and know how to earn it with handor brain."
"I don't know what you are talking about," said the Marionette, who wasbeginning to tremble with fear.
"Too bad! I'll explain myself better," said the Parrot. "While you wereaway in the city the Fox and the Cat returned here in a great hurry.They took the four gold pieces which you have buried and ran away asfast as the wind. If you can catch them, you're a brave one!"
Pinocchio's mouth opened wide. He would not believe the Parrot's wordsand began to dig away furiously at the earth. He dug and he dug tillthe hole was as big as himself, but no money was there. Every penny wasgone.
In desperation, he ran to the city and went straight to the courthouseto report the robbery to the magistrate. The Judge was a Monkey, a largeGorilla venerable with age. A flowing white beard covered his chest andhe wore gold-rimmed spectacles from which the glasses had droppedout. The reason for wearing these, he said, was that his eyes had beenweakened by the work of many years.
Pinocchio, standing before him, told his pitiful tale, word by word.He gave the names and the descriptions of the robbers and begged forjustice.
The Judge listened to him with great patience. A kind look shone in hiseyes. He became very much interested in the story; he felt moved; healmost wept. When the Marionette had no more to say, the Judge put outhis hand and rang a bell.
At the sound, two large Mastiffs appeared, dressed in Carabineers'uniforms.
Then the magistrate, pointing to Pinocchio, said in a very solemn voice:
"This poor simpleton has been robbed of four gold pieces. Take him,therefore, and throw him into prison." The Marionette, on hearing thissentence passed upon him, was thoroughly stunned. He tried to protest,but the two officers clapped their paws on his mouth and hustled himaway to jail.
There he had to remain for four long, weary months. And if it had notbeen for a very lucky chance, he probably would have had to stay therelonger. For, my dear children, you must know that it happened just thenthat the young emperor who ruled over the City of Simple Simons hadgained a great victory over his enemy, and in celebration thereof, hehad ordered illuminations, fireworks, shows of all kinds, and, best ofall, the opening of all prison doors.
"If the others go, I go, too," said Pinocchio to the Jailer.
"Not you," answered the Jailer. "You are one of those--"
"I beg your pardon," interrupted Pinocchio, "I, too, am a thief."
"In that case you also are free," said the Jailer. Taking off his cap,he bowed low and opened the door of the prison, and Pinocchio ran outand away, with never a look backward.
CHAPTER 20
Freed from prison, Pinocchio sets out to return to the Fairy; but on theway he meets a Serpent and later is caught in a trap.
Fancy the happiness of Pinocchio on f
inding himself free! Without sayingyes or no, he fled from the city and set out on the road that was totake him back to the house of the lovely Fairy.
It had rained for many days, and the road was so muddy that, at times,Pinocchio sank down almost to his knees.
But he kept on bravely.
Tormented by the wish to see his father and his fairy sister with azurehair, he raced like a greyhound. As he ran, he was splashed with mudeven up to his cap.
"How unhappy I have been," he said to himself. "And yet I deserveeverything, for I am certainly very stubborn and stupid! I will alwayshave my own way. I won't listen to those who love me and who have morebrains than I. But from now on, I'll be different and I'll try to becomea most obedient boy. I have found out, beyond any doubt whatever, thatdisobedient boys are certainly far from happy, and that, in the longrun, they always lose out. I wonder if Father is waiting for me. WillI find him at the Fairy's house? It is so long, poor man, since I haveseen him, and I do so want his love and his kisses. And will the Fairyever forgive me for all I have done? She who has been so good to me andto whom I owe my life! Can there be a worse or more heartless boy than Iam anywhere?"
As he spoke, he stopped suddenly, frozen with terror.
What was the matter? An immense Serpent lay stretched across the road--aSerpent with a bright green skin, fiery eyes which glowed and burned,and a pointed tail that smoked like a chimney.
How frightened was poor Pinocchio! He ran back wildly for half a mile,and at last settled himself atop a heap of stones to wait for theSerpent to go on his way and leave the road clear for him.