Latest / Adventure Books Library / 25 - The Adventures of Pinocchio - Carlo Collodi
Transcript
- 0:00Chapter twenty five, Pinocchio promises the fairy to be good and to study,
- 0:05as he is growing tired of being a marionette and wishes to become a real
- 0:10boy. If Pinocchio cried much longer, the little woman thought he would melt
- 0:15away, so she finally admitted that she was the little fairy with azure hair.
- 0:21You are a rascal of a marionette. How did you know it was
- 0:24I? She asked, laughing my love, for you told me who you
- 0:28were. Do you remember you left me when I was a little girl,
- 0:32and now you find me a grown woman. I am so old I could
- 0:36almost be your mother. I am very glad of that, for then I
- 0:40can call you mother instead of sister. For a long time I have wanted
- 0:44a mother, just like other boys. But how did you grow so quickly?
- 0:48That is a secret. Tell it to me. I want to grow
- 0:51a little. Look at me. I have never grown higher than a penny's
- 0:54worth of cheese. But you cannot grow, answered the fairy. Why not,
- 1:00cause marionettes never grow. They are born marionettes, they live marionettes,
- 1:04and they die marionettes. Oh, I am tired of always being a marionette,
- 1:10cried Pinocchio disgustedly. It's about time for me to grow into a man
- 1:14as everyone else does, and you will if you deserve it. Really,
- 1:19what can I do to deserve it? It's a very simple matter. Try
- 1:23to act like a well behaved child. Don't you think I do? Far
- 1:26from it. Good boys are obedient, and you on the contrary, and
- 1:30I never obey. Good boys love study and work, but you, I,
- 1:36on the contrary, am a lazy fellow and tramp all year round.
- 1:40Good boys always tell the truth, and I always tell lies. Good boys
- 1:45go gladly to school, and I get sick. If I go to school
- 1:48from now on, I will be different. Do you promise? I promise.
- 1:53I want to become a good boy and be a comfort to my father.
- 1:57Where is my poor father? Now? I do not know. Will
- 2:00I ever be lucky enough to find him and embrace him once more? I
- 2:04think so? Indeed, I am sure of it. At this answer,
- 2:07Pinocchio's happiness was very great. He grasped the fairy's hands and kissed them so
- 2:13hard that it looked as if he had lost his head. Then, lifting
- 2:16his face, he looked at her lovingly and asked, tell me, little
- 2:21mother, It isn't true that you are dead, is it. It doesn't
- 2:24seem so, answered the fairy, smiling. If you only knew how I
- 2:29suffered, and how I wept when I read here lies I know, and
- 2:34for that I have forgiven you. The depth of your sorrow made me see
- 2:38that you have a kind heart. There is always hope for boys with hearts
- 2:43such as yours, though they may often be very mischievous. This is the
- 2:46reason why I have come so far to look for you. From now on,
- 2:52I'll be your own little mother. Oh how lovely, cried Pinocchio,
- 2:55jumping with joy. You will obey me always and do as I wish,
- 3:00gladly, very gladly, more than gladly, beginning tomorrow, said the fairy.
- 3:06You'll go to school every day. Pinocchio's face fell a little. Then
- 3:10you will choose the trade you like best. Pinocchio became more serious. What
- 3:16are you mumbling to yourself, asked the fairy. I was just saying,
- 3:21whined the marionette in a whisper, that it seems too late for me to
- 3:23go to school now. No, indeed, remember it is never too late
- 3:29to learn. But I don't want either trade or profession. Why because work
- 3:34wearies me, my dear boy, said the fairy. People who speak as
- 3:38you do usually in their days, either in a prison or in a hospital.
- 3:44A man remember, whether rich or poor, should do something. In
- 3:47this world, no one can find happiness without work. Woe betide the lazy
- 3:53fellow. Laziness is a serious illness, and one must cure it immediately,
- 4:00yes, even from early childhood. If not, it will kill you in
- 4:03the end. These words touched Pinocchio's heart. He lifted his eyes to his
- 4:09fairy and said, seriously, I'll work, I'll study, I'll do all
- 4:13you tell me. After all, the life of a marionette has grown very
- 4:17tiresome to me, and I want to become a boy, no matter how
- 4:20hard it is. You promise that, do you not, Yes, I
- 4:26promise, and now it is up to you. End of Chapter twenty five.