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160 PINOCCHIO
“One of his schoolfellows, a certain Pin¬
OCCMIÓ. (ae
“And who is this Pinocchio?” asked the
puppet, pretending ignorance.
" "They say that he is a bad boy, a vagabond,
a regular good-for-nothing. .
“ Calumnies! all calumnies! i
‘Do you know this Pinocchio? ”
“ By sight,” answered the puppet.
“ And what is your opinion of him? ” asked
the little man.
“He seems to me to be a very good boy,
anxious to learn, and obedient and affectionate
to his father and family... .”
Whilst the puppet was firing off all these
lies, he touched his nose and perceived that it
had lengthened more than a hand. Very much
alarmed he began to cry out:
‘Don’t believe, good man, what I have been
telling you. I know Pinocchio very well, and
I can assure you that he 1s really a very bad
boy, disobedient and idle, who instead of going
to school runs off with his companions to amuse
himself.”
He had hardly finished speaking when his
nose became shorter and returned to the same
size that it was before.
“* And why are you all covered with white? "
asked the old man suddenly.