The Adventures Of Pinocchio Part 8

Good evening,

Beautiful souls,

And welcome to tonight's installment of Pinocchio.

As always,

Finding yourself comfortable in your bed,

Taking a few moments to fully arrive here,

In this space,

In this moment,

Stretching your arms up above,

Reaching through your fingers and stretching out your legs,

Pointing and flexing the toes,

Allowing your muscles to stretch so that they are fully able to relax,

And taking a big,

Big yawn,

And stretching as wide and as tall and as far as you can,

And releasing everything back down,

Finding yourself sinking into your bed,

Into your mattress,

Making any last-minute adjustments that you need so that you are comfortable as we continue our adventures with Pinocchio.

Chapter 21.

Pinocchio is caught by a farmer who uses him as a watchdog for his chicken coop.

Pinocchio,

As you may well imagine,

Began to scream and weep and beg,

But all was of no use,

For no houses were to be seen,

And not a soul passed by on the road.

Night came on,

A little because of the sharp pain in his legs,

A little because of fright at finding himself alone in the darkness of the field.

The marionette was about to faint when he saw a tiny glowworm flickering by.

He called to her and said,

Dear little glowworm,

Will you set me free?

Poor little fellow,

Replied the glowworm,

Stopping to look at him with pity.

How came you to be caught in this trap?

I stepped into this lonely field to take a few grapes,

And are the grapes yours?

No,

Who has taught you to take things that do not belong to you?

I was hungry.

Hunger,

My boy,

Is no reason for taking something which belongs to another.

It's true,

It's true,

Cried Pinocchio in tears.

I won't do it again.

Just then,

The conversation was interrupted by approaching footsteps.

It was the owner of the field who was coming on tiptoes to see if,

By chance,

He had caught the weasels which had been eating his chickens.

Great was his surprise when,

On holding up his lantern,

He saw that,

Instead of a weasel.

He had caught a boy.

Oh,

You little thief,

Said the farmer in an angry voice.

So you are the one who steals my chickens?

No,

No,

Not I,

Cried Pinocchio,

Sobbing bitterly.

I came here only to take a very,

Very few grapes.

He who steals grapes may very easily steal chickens also.

Take my word for it.

I'll give you a lesson that you'll remember for a long while.

He opened the trap,

Grabbed the marionette by the collar,

And carried him to the house as if he were a puppy.

When he reached the yard in front of the house,

He flung him to the ground,

Put a foot on his neck,

And said to him roughly,

It is late now and it is time for bed.

Tomorrow we'll settle the matter.

In the meantime,

Since my watchdog died today,

You may take his place and guard my henhouse.

No sooner said than done.

He slipped a dog collar around Pinocchio's neck and tightened it so that it would not come off.

A long iron chain was tied to the collar.

The other end of the chain was nailed to the wall.

If tonight it should happen to rain,

Said the farmer,

You can sleep in that little dog house nearby where you will find plenty of straw for a soft bed.

It has been Melampo's bed for three years and it will be good enough for you.

And if by any chance any thieves should come,

Be sure to bark at this last warning.

The farmer went into the house and closed the door and barred it.

Poor Pinocchio huddled close to the dog house,

More dead than alive from cold,

Hunger,

And fright.

Now and again,

He pulled and tugged at the collar,

Which nearly choked him and cried out in a weak voice,

I deserve it.

Yes,

I deserve it.

I have been nothing but a truant and a vagabond.

I have never obeyed anyone.

And I have always done as I pleased.

If I were only like so many others and had studied and worked and stayed with my poor old father,

I should not find myself here now in this field and in the darkness,

Taking the place of a farmer's watchdog.

Oh,

If I could start all over again,

But what is done can't be undone.

And I must be patient.

After this little sermon to himself,

Which came from the very depths of his heart,

Pinocchio went into the dog house and fell asleep.

Chapter 22.

Pinocchio discovers the thieves and,

As a reward for his faithfulness,

He regains his liberty.

Even though a boy may be very unhappy,

He very seldom loses sleep over his worries.

The marionette,

Being no exception to this rule,

Slept on peacefully for a few hours till well along toward midnight,

When he was awakened by strange whisperings and stealthy sounds coming from the yard.

He stuck his nose out of the dog house and saw four slender,

Hairy animals.

They were weasels,

Small animals,

Very fond of both eggs and chickens.

One of them left her companions and,

Going to the door of the dog house,

Said in a sweet voice,

Good evening,

Milampo.

My name is not Milampo,

Answered Pinocchio.

Well,

Who are you then?

I am Pinocchio.

What are you doing here?

I'm the watchdog.

But where is Milampo?

Where is the old dog who used to live in this house?

He died this morning.

Died?

The poor beast.

He was so good.

Still,

Judging by your face,

I think you,

Too,

Are a good-natured dog.

I beg your pardon,

But I am not a dog.

What are you then?

I am a marionette.

Are you taking the place of the watchdog?

I'm sorry to say that I am.

I'm being punished.

Well,

I shall make the same terms with you that we had with the dead Milampo.

I am sure you will be glad to hear them.

And what are the terms?

This is our plan.

We'll come once in a while,

As in the past,

To pay a visit to this henhouse and we'll take away eight chickens.

Of these,

Seven are for us and one for you,

Provided,

Of course,

That you will make believe you are sleeping and will not bark for the farmer.

Did Milampo really do that?

Asked Pinocchio.

Indeed,

He did.

And because of that,

We were the best of friends.

Sleep away peacefully and remember that before we go,

We shall leave you a nice fat chicken,

All ready for your breakfast in the morning.

Is that understood?

Even too well,

Answered Pinocchio.

And shaking his head in a threatening manner,

He seemed to say,

We'll talk this over in a few minutes,

My friends.

As soon as the four weasels had talked things over,

They went straight to the chicken coop,

Which stood close to the doghouse.

Digging busily with teeth and claws,

They opened the little door and slipped in.

But they were no sooner in than they heard the door close with a sharp bang.

The one who had done the trick was Pinocchio,

Who,

Not satisfied with that,

Dragged a heavy stone in front of it.

That done,

Pinocchio started to bark.

And he barked as if he were a real watchdog.

The farmer heard the loud barks and jumped out of bed,

Taking his gun.

He leaped to the window and shouted,

What's the matter?

The thieves are here,

Answered Pinocchio.

Where are they?

They're in the chicken coop.

I'll come down in a second.

And in fact,

He was down in the yard in a twinkling and running toward the chicken coop.

He opened the door,

Pulled out the weasel,

One by one.

And after tying them in a bag,

Said to them in a happy voice,

You are in my hands at last.

I could punish you now,

But I'll wait.

In the morning,

You may come with me to the inn.

And there you'll make a fine dinner for some hungry mortal.

It is really too great an honor for you.

One you do not deserve.

But as you see,

I am really a very kind and generous man.

And I am going to do this for you.

Then he went up to Pinocchio and began to pet and caress him.

How did you ever find them so quickly?

And to think that Malampo,

My faithful Malampo,

Never saw them in all these years.

The marionette could have told,

Then and there,

All he knew about the shameful contract between the dog and the weasels.

But thinking of the dead dog,

He said to himself,

Malampo is dead.

What is the use of accusing him?

The dead are gone,

And they cannot defend themselves.

The best thing to do is to leave them in peace.

Were you awake or asleep when they came?

Continued the farmer.

I was asleep,

Answered Pinocchio.

But they awakened me with their whisperings.

One of them even came to the door of the doghouse and said to me,

If you promise not to bark,

We will make you a present of one of the chickens for your breakfast.

Did you hear that?

They had the audacity to make such a proposition as that to me.

For you must know that,

Though I am a very wicked marionette,

Full of faults,

Still,

I never have been,

Nor ever shall be,

Bribed.

Fine boy,

Cried the farmer,

Slapping him on the shoulder in a friendly way.

You ought to be proud of yourself,

And to show you what I think of you.

You are free from this instant.

And he slipped the dog collar from Pinocchio's neck.