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50 PINOCCHIO
He was very big, and so ugly that the sight
of him was enough to frighten anyone. His
beard was as black as ink, and so long that it
reached from his chin to the ground. I need
only say that he trod upon it when he walked.
His mouth was as big as an oven, and his eyes
were like two lanterns of red glass with lights
burning inside them. He carried a large whip
made of snakes and foxes’ tails twisted to¬
gether, which he cracked constantly.
At his unexpected appearance there was a
profound silence: no one dared to breathe. A
fly might have been heard in the stillness. ‘The
poor puppets of both sexes trembled like so
many leaves.
“Why have you come to raise a disturbance
in my theatre?” asked the showman of Pinoc¬
chio, in the gruff voice of a hob-goblin suffering
from a severe cold in the head.
“ Believe me, sir, it was not my fault!.. .”
“That is enough! ‘To-night we will settle
our accounts.”
As soon as the play was over the showman
went into the kitchen where a fine sheep, pre¬
paring for his supper, was turning slowly on
the spit in front of the fire. As there was not
enough wood to finish roasting and browning
it, he called Harlequin and Punchinello, and
said to them: