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208 PINOCCHIO
horrified, " I swear that I will never touch fish.
It would be too dreadful to open a mullet, or
a fried whiting, and to find inside a donkey’s
tail!”
" I agree with you,” said the puppet, laugh¬
ing. “ However, I must tell you that when
the fish had finished eating the donkey’s hide
that covered me from head to foot, they natur¬
ally reached the bone . . . or rather the wood,
for as you see I am made of the hardest wood.
But after giving a few bites they soon discov¬
ered that I was not a morsel for their teeth,
and, disgusted with such indigestible food, they
went off, some In one direction and some in
another, without so much as saying thank you
tome. And now, at last, I have told you how
it was that when you pulled up the rope you
found a live puppet instead of a dead donkey.”
" I laugh at your story,” cried the man in a
rage. “ I know only that I spent twenty pence
to buy you, and I will have my money back.
Shall I tell you what I will do? I will take
you back to the market and I will sell you by
weight as seasoned wood for lighting fires."
“Sell me if you like; I am content,” said
Pinocchio.
But as he said it he made a spring and
plunged into the water. Swimming gaily away
from the shore he called to his poor owner: