PINOCCHIO BEGINS TO BRAY LIKE A DONKEY

When Pinocchio came to the house where Candlewick lived, he knocked at the door.

“Who’s there?” asked Romeo.

“Me, Pinocchio!” answered the puppet.

“Wait a minute and I’ll open the door.”

At last Candlewick opened the door.

And do you know what Pinocchio saw? He saw
his friend Candlewick with a cap on his head. The
cap came down over his nose.

“Is my friend ill like I am?” thought Pinocchio.

“What’s the matter with you, my dear Candlewick?” he asked. “Why have you that cap on your
head? Why does it come down to your nose?”

“Well, you see,” answered Candlewick, “I fell
down and broke my leg, so the doctor told me to
put on the cap as medicine. And you, dear Pinocchio, why did you pull your cap down over your
nose?”

“I fell down and broke my arm, so the doctor
told me to put on this cap as medicine.”

“Oh, poor Pinocchio!”

“Oh, poor Candlewick!”

Then they said nothing for a long time. They
only looked at each other.

At last the puppet said to his friend:

“Can you show me your ears?”

“Why not?” answered Candlewick. “But first,
my dear Pinocchio, please, show me your ears.”

“No! First you and then me!”

“Well,” said the puppet. “Let us take off our
caps at the same time.”

“All right!” answered Candlewick.
“Listen!” said Pinocchio. “I’ll count!"
And Pinocchio began to count quickly:
"One! Two! Three!”

At the word ‘three’ the two boys took off their
caps and threw them into the air. When Pinocchio
and Candlewick looked at each other, they began.
to laugh.

And they laughed and laughed.

Suddenly Candlewick stopped and said to his
friend:

“Help me, help me, Pinocchio!”

“What’s the matter with you?”

“I can’t stand on my feet.”

“And I can’t stand on my feet. I can only stand
on my feet and on my hands,” said Pinocchio and
began to cry.

He and Candlewick began to run round the
room on their hands and feet.

And after that? What must a donkey have? Do
you know? Yes, a tail. Soon Pinocchio had a tail,
and Romeo had a tail. Their tails grew and grew,
and the two boys became real donkeys. They
couldn’t talk now, they could only bray like real
donkeys:

“Hee-haw! Hee-haw!”

Suddenly they heard a voice:

“Open the door! I’m the old man who brought
you to this country. Open the door at once, I tell
you!”

They opened the door, and the old man came in
to the room and said to the little donkeys:

“Good, boys! You bray very well! Come with
me now, I’ll sell you for good money!”

The poor donkeys stood there with their heads
down and their tails between their legs. What
could they do? Nothing! Nothing! Nothing!