“You may be right,” answered Pinocchio, “but I will not eat the pears if they are not peeled. I don’t like them.”
And good old Geppetto took out a knife, peeled the three pears, and put the skins on the table. Pinocchio ate one pear and started to throw the core away, but Geppetto held his arm.
“Oh, no, don’t throw it away! Everything in this world may be useful!”
“But the core I will not eat!” cried Pinocchio angrily.
“Who knows?” repeated Geppetto calmly.
And later the three cores were placed on the table next to the skins.
Pinocchio devoured the three pears. Then he yawned deeply, and wailed:
“I’m still hungry.”
“But I have no more to give you.”
“Really, nothing-nothing?”
“I have only these three cores and these skins.”
“Very well, then,” said Pinocchio, “if there is nothing else I’ll eat them.”
At first he made a wry face, but then ate the skins and the cores.
“Ah! Now I feel fine!” he said.
“You see,” observed Geppetto, “I was right. Don’t be too fussy and too dainty!”
Chapter 8
Geppetto makes Pinocchio a new pair of feet, and buys him an ABC book[12]
Soon the Marionette started to grumble and cry that he wanted a new pair of feet. After dinner Master Geppetto said to him:
“What for? To run away from home once more?”
“I promise you,” answered the Marionette, “that I’ll be good.”
“Boys always promise that when they want something,” said Geppetto.
“I promise to go to school every day, to study.”
“Boys always sing that song when they want something.”
“But I am not like other boys! I am better than all of them. I always tell the truth. I promise you, Father, that I’ll learn a trade, and I’ll help you in your old age.”
Geppetto’s eyes filled with tears and his heart softened. He said no more, but took his tools and two pieces of wood.
In less than an hour the feet were ready, two slender, nimble little feet, strong and quick. The Marionette jumped from the table.
“I am grateful to you, Father, I’ll go to school now. But I need some clothes.”
Geppetto did not have a penny in his pocket, so he made him a little suit of flowered paper, a pair of shoes from the bark of a tree, and a tiny cap from a bit of dough.
Pinocchio ran to look at himself in a bowl of water, and he felt so happy that he said proudly:
“Now I look like a gentleman.”
“Truly,” answered Geppetto.
“But, in order to go to school,” answered Pinocchio, “I still need something very important.”
“What is it?”
“An ABC book.”
“You’re right. But how shall we get it?”
“That’s easy. We’ll go to a bookstore and buy it.”
“And the money?”
“I have none.”
“Neither have I,” said the old man sadly.
Pinocchio became sad and downcast.
Suddenly Geppetto ran out of the house without another word. After a while he returned. In his hands he had the ABC book for his son. But he did not have his old coat anymore. The poor fellow was in his shirt and the day was cold.
“Where’s your coat, Father?”
“I sold it.”
“Why did you sell your coat?”
“It was too warm.”
Pinocchio understood the answer, and he jumped on his father’s neck and kissed him.
Chapter 9
Pinocchio sells his ABC book
Pinocchio hurried off to school with his new ABC book under his arm. He said:
“In school today, I’ll learn to read, tomorrow to write, and the day after tomorrow I’ll do arithmetic. I’ll become clever and earn a lot of money. I’ll buy Father a new coat. It will be of gold and silver with diamond buttons. That poor man certainly deserves it. He sold his coat and bought a book for me! On this cold day, too! Fathers are indeed good to their children!”
Then he heard sounds of pipes and drums:
“Pi-pi-pi, pi-pi-pi! Zum, zum, zum, zum!”
He stopped to listen. Those sounds came from a little street that led to a small village.
“What is that noise?”
He was very much puzzled.
“Today I’ll follow the pipes, and tomorrow I’ll go to school,” decided the little rascal.
He went down the street. Soon, he found himself in a large square. There was a little wooden building in brilliant colors.
“What is that house?” Pinocchio asked a little boy near him.
“Read the sign and you’ll know.”
“I can’t read.”
“Oh, really? Listen. It says: Great Marionette Theater.
“When will the show start?”
“Now.”
“And how much is it?”
“Four pennies.”
Pinocchio lost all his pride and said to the boy shamelessly:
“Will you give me four pennies until tomorrow?”
“Gladly,” answered the other, “but not now.”
“For the price of four pennies, I’ll sell you my coat.”
“If it rains, what shall I do with a coat of paper?”
“Do you want to buy my shoes?”
“To light a fire?”
“What about my hat?”
“A cap of dough! The mice will eat it from my head!”
Pinocchio was almost in tears. At last he said:
“Will you give me four pennies for the book?”
“I am a boy and I buy nothing from boys,” said the little fellow.
“I’ll give you four pennies for your ABC book,” said a ragpicker who stood nearby.
Chapter 10
The Marionettes recognize their brother Pinocchio
So Pinocchio disappeared into the Marionette Theater. And then something happened. The performance started. Harlequin and Pulcinella were on the stage. The theater was full of people.
The play continued for a few minutes, and then suddenly Harlequin pointed to Pinocchio and yelled wildly:
“Look, look! Am I asleep? Or do I really see Pinocchio there?”
“Yes, yes! It is Pinocchio!” screamed Pulcinella.
“It is! It is!” shrieked Signora Rosaura.
“It is Pinocchio! It is Pinocchio!” yelled all the Marionettes. “It is Pinocchio. It is our brother Pinocchio! Hurrah for Pinocchio!”
“Pinocchio, come up to me!” shouted Harlequin. “Come to the arms of your wooden brothers!”
Pinocchio, with one leap, landed on the stage. It is impossible to describe the shrieks of joy and the friendly greetings with which actors and actresses received Pinocchio.
But the audience became angry and began to yell:
“The play, the play, we want the play!”
The Marionettes lifted up Pinocchio on their shoulders, and carried him around the stage in triumph. At that very moment, the Director came out of his room. He had a fearful appearance. His beard was as black as pitch, and it reached from his chin down to his feet. His mouth was as wide as an oven, his teeth like yellow fangs, and his eyes like two red coals. The poor Marionettes trembled like leaves in a storm.
“Why are you here, in my theater?” the Director asked Pinocchio with the voice of an ogre.
“Believe me, your Honor, this is not my fault.”
“Enough! Be quiet! I’ll talk to you later.”
As soon as the play was over, the Director went to the kitchen. There was a fine big lamb on the spit. The Director called Harlequin and Pulcinella and said to them:
“Bring that Marionette to me! He is made of wood. That’s good for the fire.”
Harlequin and Pulcinella, frightened, left the kitchen. A few minutes later they returned with poor Pinocchio.
“Father, save me! I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!” cried Pinocchio.
Chapter 11
The Director sneezes and forgives Pinocchio
The Director was very ugly, but he was not very bad. When he saw the poor Marionette he felt sorry for him and began to sneeze. At that sneeze, Harlequin smiled happily and whispered to the Marionette:
“Good news, my brother! The Director feels sorry for you.”
When other people are sad and sorrowful, they weep and wipe their eyes. The Director sneezed each time he felt unhappy. So the Director, ugly as ever, cried to Pinocchio:
“Stop it! Your wails-E-tchee! – E-tchee!”
Two loud sneezes finished his speech.
“God bless you!” said Pinocchio.
“Thanks! Are your father and mother alive?” demanded The Director.
“My father, yes.”
“Your poor father… Poor old man! I feel sorry for him! E-tchee! E-tchee! E-tchee!”
Three more sneezes sounded, louder than ever.
“God bless you!” said Pinocchio.
“Thanks! However, I have no more wood for the fire, and the lamb is only half cooked. Never mind![13] I’ll burn some other Marionette. Hey there! Officers!”
Two wooden officers appeared, long and thin, with queer hats on their heads and swords in their hands. The Director yelled at them in a hoarse voice:
“Take Harlequin, tie him, and throw him on the fire!”
Poor Harlequin was so scared that he fell to the floor. Pinocchio threw himself at the feet of the Director and asked him:
“Have pity, signore!”
“There are no signori here!”
“Have pity, kind sir!”
“There are no sirs here!”
“Have pity, your Excellency!”
The Director of the Marionette Theater sat up very straight in his chair, stroked his long beard, and became suddenly kind and compassionate. He smiled proudly as he said to Pinocchio:
“Well, what do you want from me now, Marionette?”
“I beg for mercy for my poor friend, Harlequin.”
“There is no mercy here, Pinocchio. Harlequin must burn in your place[14]. I am hungry and my dinner is not ready yet.”
“In that case,” said Pinocchio proudly, “in that case, my duty is clear. Come, officers! Tie me up and throw me on those flames. In poor Harlequin’s place!”
All the Marionettes cried. Even the officers, who were made of wood also, cried like two babies.
The Director softened and began to sneeze. And after four or five sneezes, he opened wide his arms and said to Pinocchio:
“You are a brave boy! Come to my arms and kiss me!”
Pinocchio ran to him and kissed the Director on the tip of his nose.
“Well, tonight I shall eat my lamb only half cooked,” said The Director and sighed and wagged his head. He added: “But beware the next time, Marionettes.”
The Marionettes ran to the stage and danced and sang till dawn.
Chapter 12
Pinocchio meets a Fox and a Cat
The next day The Director called Pinocchio aside and asked him:
“What is your father’s name?”
“Geppetto.”
“And what is his trade?”
“He’s a wood carver.”
“Does he earn much?”
“He never has a penny in his pockets. In order to buy[15] me an ABC book for school, he sold his coat.”
“Poor fellow! I feel sorry for him. Here, take these five gold pieces[16]. Go, give them to him.”
Pinocchio thanked him a thousand times. He kissed each Marionette, even the officers, and went home.
Soon he met a lame Fox and a blind Cat. The lame Fox leaned on the Cat, and the blind Cat leaned on the Fox.
“Good morning, Pinocchio,” said the Fox courteously.
“How do you know my name?” asked the Marionette.
“I know your father well.”
“Where did you see him?”
“I saw him yesterday.”
“And what did he do?”
“He was in his shirt. He trembled with cold.”
“Poor Father! But, after today, he will suffer no longer.”
“Why?”
“Because I am a rich man.”
“You, a rich man?” said the Fox. The Cat laughed also, and stroked his long whiskers.
“Why do you laugh?” cried Pinocchio angrily. “Look: here are five gold pieces!”
And he pulled out the gold pieces. The Fox held out his paw, and the Cat opened wide his two eyes, but he closed them again so quickly that Pinocchio did not notice.
“And may I ask,” inquired the Fox, “what will you do with all that money?”
“First of all,” answered the Marionette, “I want to buy a fine new coat for my father, a coat of gold and silver with diamond buttons. After that, I’ll buy an ABC book for myself.”
“For yourself?”
“For myself. I want to go to school and study hard.”
“Look at me,” said the Fox. “I wanted to study and I lost a paw.”
“Look at me,” said the Cat. “For the same foolish reason, I lost the sight of both eyes.”
At that moment, a Blackbird on the fence along the road said:
“Pinocchio, do not listen to bad advice! You’ll be sorry!”
Poor little Blackbird! The Cat leaped on him, and ate him. Then he cleaned his whiskers, closed his eyes, and became blind once more.
“Poor Blackbird!” said Pinocchio to the Cat. “Why did you kill him?”
“I killed him to teach him a lesson. He talks too much. Next time he will be silent.”
Suddenly, the Fox turned to the Marionette and said to him:
“Do you want to double your gold pieces?”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you want one hundred, a thousand, two thousand gold pieces?”
“Yes, but how?”
“It is very easy. Just come with us.”
“And where will you take me?”
“To the City of Sillies.”
Pinocchio thought a while and then said firmly:
“No, I don’t want to go. Home is near. The Cricket was right when he said that a disobedient boy could not be happy in this world. Even last night in the theater, when The Director… Brrrr!”
“Well, then,” said the Fox, “if you really want to go home, go ahead, but you’ll be sorry.”
“You’ll be sorry,” repeated the Cat.
“Think well, Pinocchio. Tomorrow your five gold pieces will be two thousand!” said the Fox.
“Two thousand!” repeated the Cat.
“But how can they possibly become so many?” asked Pinocchio wonderingly.
“I’ll explain,” said the Fox. “You must know that, just outside the City of Simple Sillies, there is a blessed field called the Field of Wonders. In this field you dig a hole and in the hole you bury a gold piece. Then cover up the hole with earth and water it well, sprinkle a bit of salt on it, and go to bed. During the night, the gold piece sprouts, grows, blossoms. Next morning you find a beautiful tree with gold pieces.”
“Really? Fine! Fine!” cried Pinocchio. “If it’s true, I’ll give you a gift.”
“A gift for us?” cried the Fox. “Why, of course not!”
“Of course not!” repeated the Cat.
“We work absolutely unselfishly,” answered the Fox. “We work only to enrich others.”
“To enrich others!” repeated the Cat.
“What good people,” thought Pinocchio. And he said to the Fox and to the Cat:
“Let us go. I am with you.”
Chapter 13
The Inn of the Red Lobster
Cat and Fox and Marionette walked and walked and walked. At last, toward evening, tired, they came to the Inn of the Red Lobster.
“Let us stop here a while,” said the Fox, “to eat and rest. At midnight we’ll start out again, for at dawn tomorrow we must be at the Field of Wonders.”
They went into the Inn and all three sat down at the table. The poor Cat felt very weak, and he was able to eat only thirty-five mullets with tomato sauce and four portions of tripe with cheese and butter.
The Fox ate a little: a small hare with a dozen young chickens. After that, the Fox ordered some partridges, a few pheasants, a couple of rabbits, and a dozen frogs and lizards. That was all.
Pinocchio asked for a piece of bread and a few nuts.
Then the Fox said to the Innkeeper:
“Give us two good rooms, one for Signor Pinocchio and the other for me and my friend. Wake us at midnight, for we must continue our journey.”
“Yes,” answered the Innkeeper, “I understand.”
As soon as Pinocchio was in bed, he began to dream. He dreamed he was in the middle of a field. The field was full of vines with grapes. The grapes were gold coins which tinkled merrily as they swayed in the wind.
Just as Pinocchio stretched out his hand to take a handful of them, three loud knocks at the door awakened him. It was the Innkeeper.
“Are my friends ready?” the Marionette asked him.
“Indeed, yes! They went two hours ago.”
“Why in such a hurry?”
“Unfortunately the Cat received a telegram which said that his kitten was ill. He could not even wait to say good-bye to you.”
“Did they pay for the supper?”
“How could they do it? They did not want to offend you as not to allow you to pay the bill.”
“Too bad!” said Pinocchio and scratched his head.
“Where will my good friends wait for me?” he added.
“At the Field of Wonders, at sunrise tomorrow morning.”
Pinocchio paid a gold piece for the three suppers and went toward the wonderful field.
It was dark, nothing was visible. A few bats skimmed his nose and scared him. Once or twice he shouted, “Who goes there? Who goes there? Who goes…?”
As he walked, Pinocchio noticed a tiny insect on the trunk of a tree. It glowed with a pale, soft light.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“I am the ghost of the Cricket,” answered it.
“What do you want?” asked the Marionette.
“I want to give you some good advice. Return home and give the four gold pieces to your poor old father.”
“Tomorrow my father will be a rich man, for these four gold pieces will become two thousand.”
“Don’t listen to those who promise you wealth overnight, my boy. As a rule they are either fools or swindlers! Listen to me and go home.”
“But I want to go on!”
“The hour is late!”
“I want to go on.”