Page 119 [119]
PINOCCHIO 103
for me? Shall I find him at the Fairy’s house?
Poor man, it is so long since I last saw him: I
am dying to embrace him, and to cover him with
kisses! And will the Fairy forgive me my bad
conduct toher? . . . To think of all the kind¬
ness and loving care I received from her. . .
to think that if I am now alive I owe it to her:
. . Would it be possible to find a more
ungrateful boy, or one with less heart than I
navel) 2"
Whilst he was saying this he stopped sud¬
denly, frightened to death, and made four steps
backwards.
What had he seen? . . .
He had seen an immense Serpent stretched
across the road. Its skin was green, it had red
eyes, and a pointed tail that was smoking like
a chimney.
It would be impossible to imagine the pup¬
pets terror. He walked away to a safe dis¬
tance, and sitting down on a heap of stones
waited until the Serpent should have gone about
its business and had left the road clear.
He waited an hour; two hours; three hours;
but the Serpent was always there, and even
from a distance he could see the red light of
his fiery eyes and the column of smoke that
ascended from the end of his tail. |
At last Pinocchio, trying to feel courageous,