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PINOCCHIO | 165
9)
‘ Beg the Fairy from me! .
" The Fairy is asleep and must not be
wakened.”’
" But what do you suppose that I can do
all day nailed to this door? ”
" Amuse yourself by counting the ants that
pass down the street.”
" Bring me at least something to eat, for
I am quite exhausted.”
‘* At once,” said the Snail.
In fact, after three hours and a half she
returned to Pinocchio carrying a silver tray
on her head. The tray contained a loaf of
bread, a roast chicken, and four ripe apricots.
" Here is the breakfast that the Fairy has
sent you,” said the Snail.
The puppet felt very much comforted at
the sight of these good things. But when he
began to eat them, what was his disgust at
making the discovery that the bread was
plaster, the chicken cardboard, and the four
apricots painted alabaster.
He wanted to cry. In his desperation he
tried to throw away the tray and all that was
on it; but instead, either from grief or exhaus¬
tion, he fainted away.
When he came to himself he found that he
was lying on a sofa, and the Fairy was beside
him.