after five months of play, pinocchio wakes up one fine morningand finds a great surprise awaiting himfinally the wagon arrived. it made no noise, for itswheels were bound with straw and rags.
it was drawn by twelve pair of donkeys, all of the samesize, but all of different color. some were gray, otherswhite, and still others a mixture of brown and black.
here and there were a few with large yellow and blue stripes.
the strangest thing of all was that those twenty-fourdonkeys, instead of being iron-shod like any other beastof burden, had on their feet laced shoes made of leather,just like the ones boys wear.
and the driver of the wagon?
imagine to yourselves a little, fat man, much widerthan he was long, round and shiny as a ball of butter, witha face beaming like an apple, a little mouth that alwayssmiled, and a voice small and wheedling like that of a catbegging for food.
no sooner did any boy see him than he fell in love withhim, and nothing satisfied him but to be allowed to ridein his wagon to that lovely place called the land of toys.
in fact the wagon was so closely packed with boys ofall ages that it looked like a box of sardines. they wereuncomfortable, they were piled one on top of the other,they could hardly breathe; yet not one word of complaintwas heard. the thought that in a few hours they wouldreach a country where there were no schools, no books,no teachers, made these boys so happy that they feltneither hunger, nor thirst, nor sleep, nor discomfort.
no sooner had the wagon stopped than the little fatman turned to lamp-wick. with bows and smiles, heasked in a wheedling tone:
"tell me, my fine boy, do you also want to come tomy wonderful country?""indeed i do.""but i warn you, my little dear, there's no more roomin the wagon. it is full.""never mind," answered lamp-wick. "if there's noroom inside, i can sit on the top of the coach."and with one leap, he perched himself there.
"what about you, my love?" asked the little man,turning politely to pinocchio. "what are you going to do?
will you come with us, or do you stay here?""i stay here," answered pinocchio. "i want to returnhome, as i prefer to study and to succeed in life.""may that bring you luck!""pinocchio!" lamp-wick called out. "listen to me.
come with us and we'll always be happy.""no, no, no!""come with us and we'll always be happy," cried fourother voices from the wagon.
"come with us and we'll always be happy," shouted theone hundred and more boys in the wagon, all together.
"and if i go with you, what will my good fairy say?"asked the marionette, who was beginning to waver andweaken in his good resolutions.
"don't worry so much. only think that we are goingto a land where we shall be allowed to make all the racketwe like from morning till night."pinocchio did not answer, but sighed deeply once--twice--a third time. finally, he said:
"make room for me. i want to go, too!""the seats are all filled," answered the little man,"but to show you how much i think of you, take my placeas coachman.""and you?""i'll walk.""no, indeed. i could not permit such a thing. i muchprefer riding one of these donkeys," cried pinocchio.
no sooner said than done. he approached the firstdonkey and tried to mount it. but the little animal turnedsuddenly and gave him such a terrible kick in the stomachthat pinocchio was thrown to the ground and fell withhis legs in the air.
at this unlooked-for entertainment, the whole companyof runaways laughed uproariously.
the little fat man did not laugh. he went up to therebellious animal, and, still smiling, bent over him lovinglyand bit off half of his right ear.
in the meantime, pinocchio lifted himself up from theground, and with one leap landed on the donkey's back.
the leap was so well taken that all the boys shouted,"hurrah for pinocchio!" and clapped their hands in hearty applause.
suddenly the little donkey gave a kick with his twohind feet and, at this unexpected move, the poor marionettefound himself once again sprawling right in themiddle of the road.
again the boys shouted with laughter. but the littleman, instead of laughing, became so loving toward thelittle animal that, with another kiss, he bit off half ofhis left ear.
"you can mount now, my boy," he then said to pinocchio.
"have no fear. that donkey was worried about something,but i have spoken to him and now he seems quiet and reasonable."pinocchio mounted and the wagon started on its way.
while the donkeys galloped along the stony road, themarionette fancied he heard a very quiet voice whispering to him:
"poor silly! you have done as you wished. but youare going to be a sorry boy before very long."pinocchio, greatly frightened, looked about him to seewhence the words had come, but he saw no one. thedonkeys galloped, the wagon rolled on smoothly, theboys slept (lamp-wick snored like a dormouse) and thelittle, fat driver sang sleepily between his teeth.
after a mile or so, pinocchio again heard the samefaint voice whispering: "remember, little simpleton!
boys who stop studying and turn their backs upon booksand schools and teachers in order to give all their timeto nonsense and pleasure, sooner or later come to grief.
oh, how well i know this! how well i can prove it to you!
a day will come when you will weep bitterly, even as iam weeping now--but it will be too late!"at these whispered words, the marionette grew moreand more frightened. he jumped to the ground, ran upto the donkey on whose back he had been riding, andtaking his nose in his hands, looked at him. think howgreat was his surprise when he saw that the donkey wasweeping--weeping just like a boy!
"hey, mr. driver!" cried the marionette. "do you know whatstrange thing is happening here! this donkey weeps.""let him weep. when he gets married, he will have time to laugh.""have you perhaps taught him to speak?""no, he learned to mumble a few words when he livedfor three years with a band of trained dogs.""poor beast!""come, come," said the little man, "do not lose time overa donkey that can weep. mount quickly and let us go.
the night is cool and the road is long."pinocchio obeyed without another word. the wagonstarted again. toward dawn the next morning they finallyreached that much-longed-for country, the land of toys.
this great land was entirely different from any otherplace in the world. its population, large though it was,was composed wholly of boys. the oldest were aboutfourteen years of age, the youngest, eight. in the street,there was such a racket, such shouting, such blowing oftrumpets, that it was deafening. everywhere groups ofboys were gathered together. some played at marbles, athopscotch, at ball. others rode on bicycles or on woodenhorses. some played at blindman's buff, others at tag.
here a group played circus, there another sang and recited.
a few turned somersaults, others walked on their handswith their feet in the air. generals in full uniform leadingregiments of cardboard soldiers passed by. laughter,shrieks, howls, catcalls, hand-clapping followed thisparade. one boy made a noise like a hen, another likea rooster, and a third imitated a lion in his den. alltogether they created such a pandemonium that it wouldhave been necessary for you to put cotton in your ears.
the squares were filled with small wooden theaters,overflowing with boys from morning till night, and on thewalls of the houses, written with charcoal, were wordslike these: hurrah for the land of toys! down witharithmetic! no more school!
as soon as they had set foot in that land, pinocchio,lamp-wick, and all the other boys who had traveled withthem started out on a tour of investigation. theywandered everywhere, they looked into every nook andcorner, house and theater. they became everybody's friend.
who could be happier than they?
what with entertainments and parties, the hours, the days,the weeks passed like lightning.
"oh, what a beautiful life this is!" said pinocchio eachtime that, by chance, he met his friend lamp-wick.
"was i right or wrong?" answered lamp-wick. "andto think you did not want to come! to think that evenyesterday the idea came into your head to return hometo see your fairy and to start studying again! if todayyou are free from pencils and books and school, you oweit to me, to my advice, to my care. do you admit it? onlytrue friends count, after all.""it's true, lamp-wick, it's true. if today i am a reallyhappy boy, it is all because of you. and to think that theteacher, when speaking of you, used to say, `do not gowith that lamp-wick! he is a bad companion and someday he will lead you astray.'""poor teacher!" answered the other, nodding his head.
"indeed i know how much he disliked me and how heenjoyed speaking ill of me. but i am of a generous nature,and i gladly forgive him.""great soul!" said pinocchio, fondly embracing his friend.
five months passed and the boys continued playing andenjoying themselves from morn till night, without everseeing a book, or a desk, or a school. but, my children,there came a morning when pinocchio awoke and founda great surprise awaiting him, a surprise which made himfeel very unhappy, as you shall see.
最后车子到了，车子一路过来、一点声音也没有，因为轮子上裹着干草和破布。
拉车的是十二对小驴子，它们都同样大小，只是毛色两样，
有些驴子是灰的；有些驴子是白的；有些驴子是斑白的，像撒上了胡椒和盐；有些驴子是一道一道很宽的黄条子和蓝条子。
可有一点最奇怪，这十二对驴子，也就是二十四头驴子，不像其他拉车驮货的牲口那样打上铁掌，却像人那样穿着白皮靴。
那赶车的呢？……
请诸位想象那么个小个子，横里宽，直里短，软扑扑，油腻腻，像一球黄油，苹果脸，嘴巴很小，老是笑嘻嘻的，声音又尖又嗲，似猫向主人讨吃时的叫声。
所有的孩子一看见他就不由得喜欢他，抢着要上他的车，给带到这个真正的快乐国家去。这国家在地图上有一个国的名字，叫“玩儿国”。
说实在的，车上八岁到十二岁的孩子都已经挤满了，一个叠一个，活像一堆腌鳀鱼。他们给挤得够呛，连气都几乎透不过来，可是没人叫一声“唉呀！”没人说一句埋怨话。他们感到安慰，因为他们知道，过几个钟头他们就要到一个国家，那儿没有书本，没有学校，没有老师。他们高兴得什么都能忍耐，他们不觉得苦，不觉得累，不觉得饿，不觉得渴，甚至不觉得瞌睡。
车子一停，赶车的就向小灯芯转过脸来，做出几千个怪相，打上几千个手势，笑着问他说：
“告诉我，我的好孩子，你也要到那幸福的国家去吗？”
“不用说，当然要去。”
“可我要告诉你，我的小宝贝，车上已经没有地方了，瞧，全挤满了！……”
“没关系！小灯芯回答说，“车上没地方，我将就点，就坐在车辕上。”
他说着一跳就跳上去，骑在车辕上。
“那你呢？我的小宝贝？……”赶车的十分客气地向皮诺乔转过来问。“你打算怎样，跟我们去还是留下？……”
“我留下，”皮诺乔回答，“我要回家。我要和所有好孩子那样学习，在学样里做个好学生。”
“祝你成功！”
“皮诺乔！”小灯芯说了，“听我的话，跟我们去吧，咱们会过得快活的。”
“不去，不去，不去！”
“跟我们去吧，咱们会过得快活的，”车上又有四个人叫道。
“跟我们去吧，咱们会过得快活的，”车上有成百个人同声嚷嚷起来。
“我跟你们去，我的好仙女会怎么说呢？”木偶话是这么说，可心动了，开始动摇了。“别去想这种伤脑筋事。你就想一想，咱们要到一个国家去，到了那儿，咱们可以无拘无束，从早玩到晚！”
皮诺乔没有回答，只是叹了一口气，叹了两口气，叹了三口气，最后说：
“给我挪点地方，我也要去！……”
“都挤满了，”赶车的回答说，“不过为了表示欢迎你，我可以让你坐到赶车座儿上来……”
“那您呢？……”
“我在地上走。”
“不行，说真个的，我不答应。我宁愿骑到随便那一头驴子的屁股上面！”皮诺乔叫道。
说干就干。他走近第一对驴子里右面的一头，要骑到它身上去。可是这小牲口粗暴地转过身来，在他肚子上狠狠地就是一脚，踢了他一个两脚朝天。
诸位可以想象，所有孩子看到这个场面，全都毫不客气地乱笑一通！
可赶车的不笑。他十分疼爱似的走到发脾气的驴子身边，装出要亲亲它的样子，却一口咬掉了它半只右耳朵。
这时候皮诺乔赶紧从地上爬起来，一跳就跳上了这头可怜牲口的屁股。他跳得那么利索，孩子们一下子停下笑，欢呼了起来：“好啊，皮诺乔！”还不住地拍手。
可驴子一下子又蹦起两只腿，用尽力气一踢，把可怜的木偶甩到路当中一堆石子上面。
孩子们又大笑起来。可赶车的不笑，还是装出十分疼爱那不听话的驴子的样子，要去亲亲它，一口又咬掉它半只左耳朵。然后他对木偶说：
“再骑上去，不用怕。这驴子有点任性，我跟它咬了两下耳朵，我想它变得温顺懂得道理了。”
皮诺乔骑上驴子，车子出发了。可是当驴子这么跑着，车子在圆石子大道上滚动着的时候，木偶觉得听到一个很轻很轻、仅仅听得出来的声音对他说：
“可怜的傻瓜！你要由着自己性子做的话，你会后悔的！”
皮诺乔有点儿害怕，东张西望，想弄明白这声音到底是打哪来的。可他什么人也没见：驴子在跑，车子在滚动，车上的孩子在打盹，小灯芯在呼呼大睡，赶车的坐在赶车座儿上打牙缝里轻轻唱着歌：
“大家夜里都睡觉，
可我从来就不睡……”
车子走了半公里光景，皮诺乔又听见那很轻的声音对他说：
“小傻瓜，你要记住！孩子不肯学习，一看见书，看见学校，看见老师就背过身子，只想玩儿，结果都只会倒大霉！……这个我有教训，我知道！……可能跟你这么说！总有一天你也会像我今天一样地哭……可到那时候，你就来不及啦！……”
木偶听到这番很轻很轻，轻得像耳语似的话，有生以来还没那么害怕过，连忙打驴子屁股上跳下来，跑过去抓住驴子的嘴。
请诸位想象一下，木偶这时候有多么惊奇吧，因为他看到这头驴子在哭……哭得完完全全像个孩子！
“喂，赶车的先生，”皮诺乔对车主叫道，“您知道这儿出了什么新鲜玩意儿吗？这头驴子在哭。
“让它去哭吧，到它娶媳妇的时候就会笑的。”
“也许您教会它说话了吧？”
“没有。它在一群受过训练的狗那里待过三年，自己学会了咕噜两句话。”
“可怜的小驴子！……”
“快，快，”赶车的说，“别浪费咱们的时间去看驴子哭了。骑上去吧，咱们要走了。夜很冷，路很长。”
皮诺乔没说什么，马上照办。车子重新上路。天亮的时候，他们兴高采烈地来到了“玩儿国”。
这个国家跟世界上任何国家不同。它全国都是小孩子，最大的十四岁，最小的才八岁。满街都是嘻嘻哈哈声，吵闹声，叫喊声，叫人头都搞昏了！到处是一群群的小捣蛋：有的打弹子，有的扔石片，有的打球，有的蹬自行车，有的骑木马，有的捉迷藏，有的玩追人，有的扮小丑吃火，有的朗诵，有的唱歌，有的翻跟头，有的竖蜻蜓，有的滚铁环，有的身穿将军装，戴纸头盔，骑一只硬纸板做的马，有的笑，有的叫，有的喊，有的拍手，有的吹口哨，有的学母鸡生蛋咯咯叫。总而言之是一片乱七八糟，大吵大闹，叫人得用棉花塞住耳朵，别让耳朵给震聋了。所有的广场都只见小戏棚，从早到晚挤满了孩子。所有的墙上都可以读到用炭写的最好玩的东西，像：“完具万水：”（应该是“玩具万岁！”）“我们不在要学小！”（应该是我们不再要学校！”）“打到算树！”（应该是“打倒算术！”）等等，等等。
皮诺乔、小灯芯，以及赶车的带来的一大车孩子，进了城一下车就马上投入这种大混乱之中。才几分钟，诸位很容易想象到，他们已经和所有的孩子交上了朋友。天底下还有谁能比他们更幸福，更快活呢？
在没完没了的种种玩乐当中，一个钟头又一个钟头，一天又一天，一个星期又一个星期，飞也似地过去了。
“噢！多美的生活啊！”皮诺乔每次碰到小灯芯就说。
“看，我的话不错吧？”小灯芯回答说，“还说你不想来呢！还想回你那个仙女的家去，把时间浪费在学习上呢！……你今天用不着再为什么书本和学校伤脑筋了，你都得谢谢我，谢谢我的好主意，谢谢我的关心，对不对？只有真正的朋友才会帮你这么大的忙。”
“你说得对，小灯芯！今天我成为真正快活的孩子，全都亏了你。可你知道老师跟我是怎么讲你的？他总是跟我说：‘别跟小灯芯这小流氓在一起，因为小灯芯是个坏同学，只会怂恿你做坏事！’……”
“可怜的老师！”小灯芯摇摇头回答说。“我知道得太清楚了，他讨厌我，老说我坏话，可我宽宏大量，我原谅他！”
“你真是宽宏大量！”皮诺乔说着，热情地拥抱他的朋友，在他脑门上亲了亲。
他们书也不读，学校也不上，一天天就这样无忧无虑地玩啊，乐啊，一下子五个月过去了。可是有一天皮诺乔清早醒来，就像老话说的，遇到了一个晴天霹雳，一下子什么劲都没有了。