Pinocchio

my poor papa at this moment?”
“I do not know.”
“Shall I ever have the happiness of seeing him again and kissing him?”
“I think so; indeed, I am sure of it.”
At this answer Pinocchio was so delighted that he took the Fairy`s hands and began to kiss them with such fervor that he seemed beside himself. Then, raising his face and looking at her lovingly, he asked:
“Tell me, little mamma: then it was not true that you were dead?”
“It seems not,” said the Fairy, smiling.
“If you only knew the sorrow I felt and the tightening of my throat when I read, `Here lies-`”
“I know it, and it is on that account that I have forgiven you. I saw from the sincerity of your grief that you had a good heart; and when boys have good hearts, even if they are scamps and have got bad habits, there is always something to hope for; that is, there is always hope that they will turn to better ways. That is why I came to look for you here. I will be your mamma.”
“Oh, how delightful!” shouted Pinocchio, jumping for joy.
“You must obey me and do everything that I bid you.”
“Willingly, willingly, willingly!”
“Tomorrow,” rejoined the Fairy, “you will begin to go to school.”
Pinocchio became at once a little less joyful.
“Then you must choose an art, or a trade, according to your own wishes.”
Pinocchio became very grave.
“What are you muttering between your teeth?” asked the Fairy in an angry voice.
“I was saying,” moaned the puppet in a low voice, “that it seemed to me too late for me to go to school now.”
“No, sir. Keep it in mind that it is never too late to learn and to instruct ourselves.”
“But I do not wish to follow either an art or a trade.”
“Why?”
“Because it tires me to work.”
“My boy,” said the Fairy, “those who talk in that way end almost always either in prison or in the hospital. Let me tell you that every man, whether he is born rich or poor, is obliged to do something in this world-to occupy himself, to work. Woe to those who lead slothful lives. Sloth is a dreadful illness and must be cured at once, in childhood. If not, when we are old it can never be cured.”
Pinocchio was touched by these words and, lifting his head quickly, he said to the Fairy:
“I will study, I will work, I will do all that you tell me, for indeed I have become weary of being a puppet, and I wish at any price to become a boy. You promised me that I should, did you not?”
“I did promise you, and it now depends upon yourself.”
CHAPTER XXVI
THE TERRIBLE DOG-FISH
The following day Pinocchio went to the government school. Imagine the delight of all the little rogues, when they saw a puppet walk into their school! They set up a roar of laughter that never ended. They played him all sorts of tricks. One boy carried off his cap, another pulled his jacket behind; one tried to give him a pair of inky mustachios just under his nose, and another attempted to tie strings to his feet and hands to make him dance.
For a short time Pinocchio pretended not to care and got on as well as he could; but at last, losing all patience, he turned to those who were teasing him most and making game of him, and said to them, looking very angry:
“Beware, boys! I have not come here to be your buffoon. I respect others, and I intend to be respected.”
“Well said, boaster! You have spoken like a book!” howled the young rascals, convulsed with mad laughter, and one of them, more impertinent than the others, stretched out his hand, intending to seize the puppet by the end of his nose.
But he was not in time, for Pinocchio stuck his leg out from under the table and gave him a great kick on his shins.
“Oh, what hard feet!” roared the boy, rubbing the bruise that the puppet had given him.
“And what elbows! even harder than his feet!” said another, who for his rude tricks had received a blow in the stomach.
But, nevertheless, the kick and the blow acquired at once for Pinocchio the sympathy and the esteem of all the boys in the school. They all made friends with him and liked him heartily.
And even the master praised him, for he found him attentive, studious and intelligent-always the first to come to school, and the last to leave when school was over.
But he had one fault: he made too many friends, and amongst them were several young rascals well known for their dislike to study and love of mischief.
The master warned him every day, and even the good Fairy never failed to tell him and to repeat constantly:
“Take care, Pinocchio! Those bad school-fellows of yours will end sooner or later by making you lose all love of study, and perhaps they may even bring upon you some great misfortune.”
“There is no fear of that!” answered the puppet, shrugging his shoulders and touching his forehead as much as to say: “There is so much sense here!”
Now it happened that one fine day, as he was on his way to school, he met several of his usual companions who, coming up to him, asked:
“Have you heard the great news?”
“No.”
“In the sea near here a Dog-Fish has appeared as big as a mountain.”
“Not really? Can it be the same Dog-Fish that was there when my papa was drowned?”
“We are going to the shore to see him. Will you come with us?”
“No; I am going to school.”
“What matters school? We can go to school tomorrow. Whether we have a lesson more or a lesson less, we shall always remain the same donkeys.”
“But what will the master say?”
“The master may say what he likes. He is paid on purpose to grumble all day.”
“And my mamma?”
“Mammas know nothing,” answered those bad little boys.
“Do you know what I will do?” said Pinocchio. “I have reasons for wishing to see the Dog-Fish, but I will go and see him when school is over.”
“Poor donkey!” exclaimed one of the number. “Do you suppose that a fish of that size will wait your convenience? As soon as he is tired of being here he will start for another place, and then it will be too late.”
“How long does it take to go from here to the shore?” asked the puppet.
“We can be there and back in an hour.”
“Then away!” shouted Pinocchio, “and he who runs fastest is the best!”
Having thus given the signal to start, the boys, with their books and copy-books under their arms, rushed off across the fields, and Pinocchio was always the first-he seemed to have wings to his feet.
From time to time he turned to jeer at his companions, who were some distance behind, and, seeing them panting for breath, covered with dust, and their tongues hanging out of their mouths, he laughed heartily. The unfortunate boy little knew what terrors and horrible disasters he was going to meet with!
CHAPTER XXVII
PINOCCHIO IS ARRESTED BY THE GENDARMES
When he arrived on the shore Pinocchio looked out to sea, but he saw no Dog-Fish. The sea was as smooth as a great crystal mirror.
“Where is the Dog-Fish?” he asked, turning to his companions.
“He must have gone to have his breakfast,” said one of them, laughing.
“Or he has thrown himself on to his bed to have a little nap,” added another, laughing still louder.
From their absurd answers and silly laughter Pinocchio perceived that his companions had been making a fool of him, in inducing him to believe a tale with no truth in it. Taking it very badly, he said to them angrily:
“And now, may I ask what fun you could find in deceiving me with the story of the Dog-Fish?”
“Oh, it was great fun!” answered the little rascals in chorus.
“And in what did it consist?”
“In making you miss school and persuading you to come with us. Are you not ashamed of being always so punctual and so diligent with your lessons? Are you not ashamed of studying so hard?”
“And if I study hard, what concern is it of yours?”
“It concerns us excessively, because it makes us appear in a bad light to the master.”
“Why?”
“Because boys who study make those who, like us, have no wish to learn, seem worse by comparison. And that is too bad. We, too, have our pride!”
“Then what must I do to please you?”
“You must follow our example and hate school, lessons, and the master-our three greatest enemies.”
“And if I wish to continue my studies?”
“In that case we will have nothing more to do with you, and at the first opportunity we will make you pay for it.”
“Really,” said the puppet, shaking his head, “you make me inclined to laugh.”
“Eh, Pinocchio” shouted the biggest of the boys, confronting him. “None of your superior airs: don`t come here to crow over us, for if you are not afraid of us, we are not afraid of you. Remember that you are one against seven of us.”
“Seven, like the seven deadly sins,” said Pinocchio, with a shout of laughter.
“Listen to him! He has insulted us all! He called us the seven deadly sins!”
“Take that to begin with and keep it for your supper tonight,” said one of the boys.
And, so saying, he gave him a blow on the head with his fist.
But it was give and take; for the puppet, as was to be expected, immediately returned the blow, and the fight in a moment became general and desperate.
Pinocchio, although he was one alone, defended himself like a hero. He used his feet, which were of the hardest wood, to such purpose that he kept his enemies at a respectful distance. Wherever they touched they left a bruise by way of reminder.
The boys, becoming furious at not being able to measure themselves hand to hand with the puppet, had recourse to other weapons. Loosening their satchels, they commenced throwing their school-books at him-grammars, dictionaries, spelling-books, geography books, and other scholastic works. But Pinocchio was quick and had sharp eyes, and always managed to duck in time, so that the books passed over his head and all fell into the sea.
Imagine the astonishment of the fish! Thinking that the books were something to eat they all arrived in shoals, but, having tasted a page or two, or a frontispiece, they spat it quickly out and made a wry face that seemed to say: “It isn`t food for us; we are accustomed to something much better!”
The battle meantime had become fiercer than ever, w…