Stranica 63 [63]
PINOCCHIO 53
After he had sneezed, the showman, still
acting the ruffian, shouted to Pinocchio:
" Have done crying! Your lamentations
have given me a pain in my stomach.... I feel
a spasm, that almost... Etci! etci!” and he
sneezed again twice.
“ Bless you!” said Pinocchio.
“'Thank you! And your papa and your
mamma, are they still alive? " asked Fire-eater.
“Papa, yes; my mamma I have never
known.”
" Who can say what a sorrow it would be
for your poor old father if I was to have you
thrown amongst those burning coals! Poor old
man! I compassionate him! ... Etci! etci!
etci! " and he sneezed again three times,
“Bless you!” said Pinocchio.
- Thank you! All the same, some compas¬
sion 1s due to me, for as you see I have no more
wood with which to finish roasting my mutton,
and to tell you the truth, under the circum¬
stances you would have been of great use to
me! However, I have had pity on you, so I
must have patience. Instead of you I will
burn under the spit one of the puppets belong¬
ing to my company. Ho there, gendarmes!”’
At this call two wooden gendarmes imme¬
diately appeared. ‘They were very long and