pinocchio promises the fairy to be good and to study,as he is growing tired of being a marionette,and wishes to become a real boyif pinocchio cried much longer, the little woman thoughthe would melt away, so she finally admitted that she wasthe little fairy with azure hair.

"you rascal of a marionette! how did you know it was i?"she asked, laughing.

"my love for you told me who you were.""do you remember? you left me when i was a little girl and now you find me a grown woman. i am so old, i couldalmost be your mother!""i am very glad of that, for then i can call you motherinstead of sister. for a long time i have wanted a mother,just like other boys. but how did you grow so quickly?""that's a secret!""tell it to me. i also want to grow a little. look at me!

i have never grown higher than a penny's worth of cheese.""but you can't grow," answered the fairy.

"why not?""because marionettes never grow. they are born marionettes,they live marionettes, and they die marionettes.""oh, i'm tired of always being a marionette!" cried pinocchio disgustedly.

"it's about time for me to grow into a man as everyone else does.""and you will if you deserve it--""really? what can i do to deserve it?""it's a very simple matter. try to act like a well-behaved child.""don't you think i do?""far from it! good boys are obedient, and you, on the contrary--""and i never obey.""good boys love study and work, but you--""and i, on the contrary, am a lazy fellow and a tramp all year round.""good boys always tell the truth.""and i always tell lies.""good boys go gladly to school.""and i get sick if i go to school. from now on i'll be different.""do you promise?""i promise. i want to become a good boy and be a comfort to my father.

where is my poor father now?""i do not know.""will i ever be lucky enough to find him and embrace him once more?""i think so. indeed, i am sure of it."at this answer, pinocchio's happiness was very great.

he grasped the fairy's hands and kissed them so hard thatit looked as if he had lost his head. then lifting his face,he looked at her lovingly and asked: "tell me, little mother,it isn't true that you are dead, is it?""it doesn't seem so," answered the fairy, smiling.

"if you only knew how i suffered and how i wept when i read `here lies--'""i know it, and for that i have forgiven you. the depth of your sorrow made me see that you have a kind heart.

there is always hope for boys with hearts such as yours,though they may often be very mischievous. this is thereason why i have come so far to look for you. from nowon, i'll be your own little mother.""oh! how lovely!" cried pinocchio, jumping with joy.

"you will obey me always and do as i wish?""gladly, very gladly, more than gladly!""beginning tomorrow," said the fairy, "you'll go to school every day."pinocchio's face fell a little.

"then you will choose the trade you like best."pinocchio became more serious.

"what are you mumbling to yourself?" asked the fairy.

"i was just saying," whined the marionette in a whisper,"that it seems too late for me to go to school now.""no, indeed. remember it is never too late to learn.""but i don't want either trade or profession.""why?""because work wearies me!""my dear boy," said the fairy, "people who speak as you do usually end their days either in a prison or in ahospital. a man, remember, whether rich or poor, shoulddo something in this world. no one can find happinesswithout work. woe betide the lazy fellow! laziness is aserious illness and one must cure it immediately; yes, evenfrom early childhood. if not, it will kill you in the end."these words touched pinocchio's heart. he liftedhis eyes to his fairy and said seriously:

"i'll work; i'll study; i'll do all you tell me.

after all, the life of a marionette has grown very tiresometo me and i want to become a boy, no matter how hard it is.

you promise that, do you not?""yes, i promise, and now it is up to you."

好心的小妇人起先说她不是那位天蓝色头发的小仙女。可后来看到识破了，也不想再把这场喜剧继续演下去，终于承认她就是小仙女，她对皮诺乔说：

“你这木头小鬼！你怎么认出是我的？”

“我热爱您，就认出是您了。”

“你记得吗？你扔下我的时候，我还是个小姑娘，可你现在碰到我，我已经是个妇人了。我简直可以做你的妈妈了，”

“那我太高兴了，这样我就不是叫您姐姐，而要叫您妈妈了。多少日子以来，我一直想跟所有的孩子那样有个妈妈！……可您怎么会长得这样快的？”

“这是一个秘密。”

“告诉我吧。我也想长大一点。您没看到吗？我还是跟一个子儿的干酪那么高。”

“可你不会长大。”仙女回答说。

“为什么？”

“因为木偶是从来不长大的。他们生下来是木偶，活着是木偶，死了也是木偶。”

“噢！我老做木偶都做腻了！”皮诺乔拍着后脑勺大叫着说，“我现在要变人，跟所有人一样的人。”

“你会变人的，如果你配得上变人的话……”

“真的吗？怎么办才配得上呢？”

“容易极了，只要你一直做个好孩子。”

“噢，我不是个好孩子吗？”

“根本不是！好孩子听话，可你正好相反……”

“我从来不听话。”

“好孩子爱读书爱干活，可你……”

“正好相反，我一年到头偷懒，吊儿郎当。”

“好孩子向来说真话……”

“可我向来说假话。”

“好孩子高高兴兴去上学……”

“可学校叫我肚子疼。不过从今以后，我要改变我的生活。”

“你答应我这样做吗？”

“我答应你这样做。我要变成一个好孩子，我还要成为我爸爸的安慰……这会儿我可怜的爸爸在哪儿呢？”

“我不知道。”

“我还能看见他和拥抱他吗，我有这份福气吗？”

“我相信你有，而且我保证。”

皮诺乔听了这个回答，高兴得抓住仙女的手发疯似地吻起来。接着他抬起头，亲热地看着仙女问道：

“告诉我，好妈妈，你不是真死了吧？”

“好像不是，”仙女微笑着回答。

“你知道我当时多么伤心，觉得喉咙都堵住了，一个字一个字地读：‘这里安眠着……’”

“我知道，因此我就原谅你了。你的伤心是真诚的，这使我知道，你有一顾善良的心。一个孩子有颗善良的心，即使有点顽皮，有些不好的习惯，总还是有希望，就是说，总是可以希望他重新走上正路的，因此我跟到这儿来找你。我要做你的妈妈……”

“噢！多美啊！”皮诺乔大叫，高兴得跳起来。

“你要听我的话，永远照我对你说的话去做。”

“我愿意，我愿意，我愿意！”

“从明天开始，”仙女往下说，“你就去上学。”

皮诺乔马上不那么高兴了。

“然后选择一种你喜欢的手艺或者工作……”

皮诺乔脸都板起来了。

“你牙齿缝里咕噜些什么，”仙女用不高兴的口气问他。

“我说的是……”木偶低声叽叽叫着说，“现在才去上学，好像晚了点……”

“一点也不晚，我的宝贝。你记住了，读书学习是永远不会晚的。”

“可我不想干手艺或工作什么的……”

“为什么？”

“因为我觉得干活太累。”

“我的孩子，”仙女说，“说这种话的人，最后差不多不是进监狱就是进医院。告诉我，一个人不管生下来是穷是富，在这个世界上都得做点事，干上一行，都要劳动。懒惰没有好结果！懒惰是一种最坏的毛病，必须马上从小治好。要不，大了就再也治不好了！”

这番话打动了皮诺乔的心。他高兴地又抬起头来，对仙女说：

“我要学习，我要干活，你对我怎么说我就怎么做，一句话，木偶的生活我过腻了，我无论如可要变成一个孩子。你答应我了，不是吗？”