"What are you, then?"
"I am a Marionette."
"Are you taking the place of the watchdog?"
"I"m sorry to say that I am. I"m being punished."
"Well, I shall make the same terms with you that we had with the dead Melampo. I am sure you will be glad to hear them."
"And what are the terms?"
"This is our plan: We"ll come once in a while, as in the past, to pay a visit to this henhouse, and we"ll take away eight chickens. Of these, seven are for us, and one for you, provided, of course, that you will make believe you are sleeping and will not bark for the Farmer."
"Did Melampo really do that?" asked Pinocchio.
"Indeed he did, and because of that we were the best of friends. Sleep away peacefully, and remember that before we go we shall leave you a nice fat chicken all ready for your breakfast in the morning. Is that understood?"
"Even too well," answered Pinocchio. And shaking his head in a threatening manner, he seemed to say, "We"ll talk this over in a few minutes, my friends."
As soon as the four Weasels had talked things over, they went straight to the chicken coop which stood close to the doghouse. Digging busily with teeth and claws, they opened the little door and slipped in. But they were no sooner in than they heard the door close with a sharp bang.
The one who had done the trick was Pinocchio, who, not satisfied with that, dragged a heavy stone in front of it. That done, he started to bark. And he barked as if he were a real watchdog: "Bow, wow, wow! Bow, wow!"
The Farmer heard the loud barks and jumped out of bed. Taking his gun, he leaped to the window and shouted: "What"s the matter?"
"The thieves are here," answered Pinocchio.
"Where are they?"
"In the chicken coop."
"I"ll come down in a second."
And, in fact, he was down in the yard in a twinkling and running toward the chicken coop.
He opened the door, pulled out the Weasels one by one, and, after tying them in a bag, said to them in a happy voice: "You"re in my hands at last! I could punish you now, but I"ll wait! In the morning you may come with me to the inn and there you"ll make a fine dinner for some hungry mortal. It is really too great an honor for you, one you do not deserve; but, as you see, I am really a very kind and generous man and I am going to do this for you!"
Then he went up to Pinocchio and began to pet and caress him.
"How did you ever find them out so quickly? And to think that Melampo, my faithful Melampo, never saw them in all these years!"
The Marionette could have told, then and there, all he knew about the shameful contract between the dog and the Weasels, but thinking of the dead dog, he said to himself: "Melampo is dead. What is the use of accusing him? The dead are gone and they cannot defend themselves. The best thing to do is to leave them in peace!"
"Were you awake or asleep when they came?" continued the Farmer.
"I was asleep," answered Pinocchio, "but they awakened me with their whisperings. One of them even came to the door of the doghouse and said to me, "If you promise not to bark, we will make you a present of one of the chickens for your breakfast." Did you hear that? They had the audacity to make such a proposition as that to me! For you must know that, though I am a very wicked Marionette full of faults, still I never have been, nor ever shall be, bribed."
"Fine boy!" cried the Farmer, slapping him on the shoulder in a friendly way. "You ought to be proud of yourself. And to show you what I think of you, you are free from this instant!"
And he slipped the dog collar from his neck.
CHAPTER 23.
Pinocchio weeps upon learning that the Lovely Maiden with Azure Hair is dead. He meets a Pigeon, who carries him to the seash.o.r.e. He throws himself into the sea to go to the aid of his father.
As soon as Pinocchio no longer felt the shameful weight of the dog collar around his neck, he started to run across the fields and meadows, and never stopped till he came to the main road that was to take him to the Fairy"s house.
When he reached it, he looked into the valley far below him and there he saw the wood where unluckily he had met the Fox and the Cat, and the tall oak tree where he had been hanged; but though he searched far and near, he could not see the house where the Fairy with the Azure Hair lived.
He became terribly frightened and, running as fast as he could, he finally came to the spot where it had once stood. The little house was no longer there. In its place lay a small marble slab, which bore this sad inscription: HERE LIES THE LOVELY FAIRY WITH AZURE HAIR WHO DIED OF GRIEF WHEN ABANDONED BY HER LITTLE BROTHER PINOCCHIO The poor Marionette was heartbroken at reading these words. He fell to the ground and, covering the cold marble with kisses, burst into bitter tears. He cried all night, and dawn found him still there, though his tears had dried and only hard, dry sobs shook his wooden frame. But these were so loud that they could be heard by the faraway hills.
As he sobbed he said to himself: "Oh, my Fairy, my dear, dear Fairy, why did you die? Why did I not die, who am so bad, instead of you, who are so good? And my father--where can he be? Please dear Fairy, tell me where he is and I shall never, never leave him again! You are not really dead, are you? If you love me, you will come back, alive as before. Don"t you feel sorry for me? I"m so lonely. If the two a.s.sa.s.sins come, they"ll hang me again from the giant oak tree and I will really die, this time. What shall I do alone in the world? Now that you are dead and my father is lost, where shall I eat? Where shall I sleep? Who will make my new clothes? Oh, I want to die! Yes, I want to die! Oh, oh, oh!"
Poor Pinocchio! He even tried to tear his hair, but as it was only painted on his wooden head, he could not even pull it.
Just then a large Pigeon flew far above him. Seeing the Marionette, he cried to him: "Tell me, little boy, what are you doing there?"
"Can"t you see? I"m crying," cried Pinocchio, lifting his head toward the voice and rubbing his eyes with his sleeve.
"Tell me," asked the Pigeon, "do you by chance know of a Marionette, Pinocchio by name?"
"Pinocchio! Did you say Pinocchio?" replied the Marionette, jumping to his feet. "Why, I am Pinocchio!"
At this answer, the Pigeon flew swiftly down to the earth. He was much larger than a turkey.
"Then you know Geppetto also?"
"Do I know him? He"s my father, my poor, dear father! Has he, perhaps, spoken to you of me? Will you take me to him? Is he still alive? Answer me, please! Is he still alive?"
"I left him three days ago on the sh.o.r.e of a large sea."
"What was he doing?"
"He was building a little boat with which to cross the ocean. For the last four months, that poor man has been wandering around Europe, looking for you. Not having found you yet, he has made up his mind to look for you in the New World, far across the ocean."
"How far is it from here to the sh.o.r.e?" asked Pinocchio anxiously.
"More than fifty miles."
"Fifty miles? Oh, dear Pigeon, how I wish I had your wings!"
"If you want to come, I"ll take you with me."
"How?"
"Astride my back. Are you very heavy?"
"Heavy? Not at all. I"m only a feather."
"Very well."
Saying nothing more, Pinocchio jumped on the Pigeon"s back and, as he settled himself, he cried out gayly: "Gallop on, gallop on, my pretty steed! I"m in a great hurry."
The Pigeon flew away, and in a few minutes he had reached the clouds. The Marionette looked to see what was below them. His head swam and he was so frightened that he clutched wildly at the Pigeon"s neck to keep himself from falling.
They flew all day. Toward evening the Pigeon said: "I"m very thirsty!"
"And I"m very hungry!" said Pinocchio.
"Let us stop a few minutes at that pigeon coop down there. Then we can go on and be at the seash.o.r.e in the morning."
They went into the empty coop and there they found nothing but a bowl of water and a small basket filled with chick-peas.
The Marionette had always hated chick-peas. According to him, they had always made him sick; but that night he ate them with a relish. As he finished them, he turned to the Pigeon and said: "I never should have thought that chick-peas could be so good!"
"You must remember, my boy," answered the Pigeon, "that hunger is the best sauce!"
After resting a few minutes longer, they set out again. The next morning they were at the seash.o.r.e.
Pinocchio jumped off the Pigeon"s back, and the Pigeon, not wanting any thanks for a kind deed, flew away swiftly and disappeared.
The sh.o.r.e was full of people, shrieking and tearing their hair as they looked toward the sea.
"What has happened?" asked Pinocchio of a little old woman.
"A poor old father lost his only son some time ago and today he built a tiny boat for himself in order to go in search of him across the ocean. The water is very rough and we"re afraid he will be drowned."
"Where is the little boat?"
"There. Straight down there," answered the little old woman, pointing to a tiny shadow, no bigger than a nutsh.e.l.l, floating on the sea.
Pinocchio looked closely for a few minutes and then gave a sharp cry: "It"s my father! It"s my father!"
Meanwhile, the little boat, tossed about by the angry waters, appeared and disappeared in the waves. And Pinocchio, standing on a high rock, tired out with searching, waved to him with hand and cap and even with his nose.
It looked as if Geppetto, though far away from the sh.o.r.e, recognized his son, for he took off his cap and waved also. He seemed to be trying to make everyone understand that he would come back if he were able, but the sea was so heavy that he could do nothing with his oars. Suddenly a huge wave came and the boat disappeared.
They waited and waited for it, but it was gone.
"Poor man!" said the fisher folk on the sh.o.r.e, whispering a prayer as they turned to go home.
Just then a desperate cry was heard. Turning around, the fisher folk saw Pinocchio dive into the sea and heard him cry out: "I"ll save him! I"ll save my father!"
The Marionette, being made of wood, floated easily along and swam like a fish in the rough water. Now and again he disappeared only to reappear once more. In a twinkling, he was far away from land. At last he was completely lost to view.
"Poor boy!" cried the fisher folk on the sh.o.r.e, and again they mumbled a few prayers, as they returned home.
CHAPTER 24.
Pinocchio reaches the Island of the Busy Bees and finds the Fairy once more.
Pinocchio, spurred on by the hope of finding his father and of being in time to save him, swam all night long.
And what a horrible night it was! It poured rain, it hailed, it thundered, and the lightning was so bright that it turned the night into day.
At dawn, he saw, not far away from him, a long stretch of sand. It was an island in the middle of the sea.
Pinocchio tried his best to get there, but he couldn"t. The waves played with him and tossed him about as if he were a twig or a bit of straw. At last, and luckily for him, a tremendous wave tossed him to the very spot where he wanted to be. The blow from the wave was so strong that, as he fell to the ground, his joints cracked and almost broke. But, nothing daunted, he jumped to his feet and cried: "Once more I have escaped with my life!"
Little by little the sky cleared. The sun came out in full splendor and the sea became as calm as a lake.
Then the Marionette took off his clothes and laid them on the sand to dry. He looked over the waters to see whether he might catch sight of a boat with a little man in it. He searched and he searched, but he saw nothing except sea and sky and far away a few sails, so small that they might have been birds.
"If only I knew the name of this island!" he said to himself. "If I even knew what kind of people I would find here! But whom shall I ask? There is no one here."
The idea of finding himself in so lonesome a spot made him so sad that he was about to cry, but just then he saw a big Fish swimming near-by, with his head far out of the water.
Not knowing what to call him, the Marionette said to him: "Hey there, Mr. Fish, may I have a word with you?"
"Even two, if you want," answered the fish, who happened to be a very polite Dolphin.
"Will you please tell me if, on this island, there are places where one may eat without necessarily being eaten?"
"Surely, there are," answered the Dolphin. "In fact you"ll find one not far from this spot."
"And how shall I get there?"
"Take that path on your left and follow your nose. You can"t go wrong."
"Tell me another thing. You who travel day and night through the sea, did you not perhaps meet a little boat with my father in it?"
"And who is you father?"