Приключения Пиноккио / The adventures of Pinocchio. Уровень 1

”

At that moment, the door of the room opened and four Rabbits as black as ink, brought a small black coffin on their shoulders.

“What do you want from me?” asked Pinocchio.

“We want you,” said the largest Rabbit.

“Me? But I’m not dead yet!”

“No, not dead yet; but you will be in a few moments.”

“Oh, Fairy, my Fairy,” the Marionette cried, “give me that glass! Quick, please! I don’t want to die! No, no, not yet-not yet!”

And he swallowed the medicine at one gulp.

The four Rabbits turned on their heels and marched solemnly out of the room.

With one leap Pinocchio was out of bed. The Fairy said to him:

“My medicine was good for you, after all, wasn’t it?”

“Good indeed!”

“But you didn’t want to drink it.”

“I’m a boy, you see, and all boys hate medicine.”

“What a shame! Medicine can save them from much pain and even from death.”

“Next time I’ll remember those black Rabbits with the black coffin on their shoulders and I’ll take the glass easily!”

“Come here now and tell me about yourself.

”

“Well, the Director gave me five gold pieces to give to my Father. On the way, I met a Fox and a Cat, who asked me, �Do you want the five pieces to become two thousand?’ And I said, �Yes.’ And they said, �Come with us to the Field of Wonders.’ And I said, �Let’s go.’ Then they said, �Let us stop at the Inn of the Red Lobster for dinner.’ We ate and went to sleep.

When I awoke they were absent and I walked alone. On the road I met two Robbers in black coal sacks, who said to me, �Your money or your life!’ and I said, �I haven’t any money’. You see, the money was under my tongue. One of them tried to put his hand in my mouth and I bit it off. But it wasn’t a hand, it was a cat’s paw. And they ran after me and I ran and ran, till at last they caught me and tied my neck with a rope and hanged me to a tree.”

“Where are the gold pieces now?” the Fairy asked.

“I lost them,” answered Pinocchio, but he told a lie, for he had them in his pocket.

As he spoke, his nose became at least two inches longer.

“And where did you lose them?”

“In the wood.”

At this second lie, his nose grew a few more inches.

“If you lost them in the wood,” said the Fairy, “we’ll look for them and find them.”

“Ah, now I remember,” replied the Marionette.