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33 - The Adventures of Pinocchio - Carlo Collodi · Classic Adventure Books - Daily

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  Speaker 1: Chapter thirty three, Pinocchio, having become a donkey, is bought
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  Speaker 1: by the owner of a circus who wants to teach
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  Speaker 1: him to do tricks. The donkey becomes lame and is
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  Speaker 1: sold to a man who wants to use his skin
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  Speaker 1: for a drumhead. Very sad and downcast were the two
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  Speaker 1: poor little fellows as they stood and looked at each
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  Speaker 1: other outside the room. The little man grew more and
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  Speaker 1: more impatient, and finally gave the door such a violent
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  Speaker 1: kick that it flew open. With his usual sweet smile
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  Speaker 1: on his lips, he looked at Pinocchio and lamp Wick
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  Speaker 1: and said to them, fine work boys. You have brayed well,
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  Speaker 1: so well that I recognized your voices immediately, and here
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  Speaker 1: I am. On hearing this. The two donkeys bowed their
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  Speaker 1: heads in shame, dropped their ears, and put their tails
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  Speaker 1: between their legs. At first, the little man petted and
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  Speaker 1: caressed them, and smoothed down their hairy coats. Then he
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  Speaker 1: took out a curry comb and worked over them till
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  Speaker 1: they shone like glass. Satisfied with the looks of the
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  Speaker 1: two little animals, he bridled them and took them to
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  Speaker 1: a market place far away from the land of toys
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  Speaker 1: in the hope of selling them at a good price.
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  Speaker 1: In fact, he did not have to wait very long
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  Speaker 1: for an offer. Lamp Wick was bought by a farmer
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  Speaker 1: whose donkey had died the day before. Pinocchio went to
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  Speaker 1: the owner of a circus who wanted to teach him
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  Speaker 1: to do tricks for his audiences. And now do you
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  Speaker 1: understand what the little man's profession was. This horrid little being,
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  Speaker 1: whose face shone with kindness, went about the world looking
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  Speaker 1: for boys. Lazy boys, boys who hated books, boys who
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  Speaker 1: wanted to run away from home, boys who were tired
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  Speaker 1: of school. All these were his joy and his fortune.
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  Speaker 1: He took them with him to the land of toys
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  Speaker 1: and let them enjoy themselves to their heart's content. When
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  Speaker 1: after months of all play and no work, they became
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  Speaker 1: little donkeys, he sold them on the market place. In
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  Speaker 1: a few years he had become a millionaire. What happened
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  Speaker 1: to lamp Wick, my dear children, I do not know. Pinocchio,
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  Speaker 1: I can tell you met with great hardships even from
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  Speaker 1: the first day. After putting him in a stable, his
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  Speaker 1: new master filled his manger with straw. But Pinocchio, after
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  Speaker 1: tasting a mouthful spat it out. Then the man filled
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  Speaker 1: the manger with hay. But Pinocchio did not like that
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  Speaker 1: any better. Ah, you don't like hay either, he cried angrily. Wait,
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  Speaker 1: my pretty donkey, I'll teach you not to be so particular.
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  Speaker 1: Without more ado, he took a whip and gave the
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  Speaker 1: donkey a hearty blow across the legs. Pinocchio screamed with pain,
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  Speaker 1: and as he screamed, he brayed, Haw haw haw, I
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  Speaker 1: can't digest straw, then eat the hay, answered his master,
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  Speaker 1: who understood the donkey perfectly. Haw haw haw, hay gives
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  Speaker 1: me a headache. Do you pretend, by any chance that
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  Speaker 1: I should feed you duck or chicken? Asked the man again,
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  Speaker 1: and angrier than ever, he gave poor Pinocchio another lashing.
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  Speaker 1: At that second beating, Pinocchio became very quiet and said
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  Speaker 1: no more. After that, the door of the stable was
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  Speaker 1: closed and he was left alone. It was many hours
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  Speaker 1: since he had eaten anything, and he started to yawn
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  Speaker 1: from hunger. As he yawned, he opened a mouth as
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  Speaker 1: big as an oven. Finally, not finding anything else in
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  Speaker 1: the manger, he tasted the hay. After tasting it, He
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  Speaker 1: chewed it well, closed his eyes, and swallowed it. This
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  Speaker 1: hay is not bad, he said to himself. But how
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  Speaker 1: much happier I should be if I had studied just
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  Speaker 1: now instead of hay, I should be eating some good
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  Speaker 1: bread and butter patience. Next morning, when he awoke, Pinocchio
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  Speaker 1: looked in the manger for more hay, but it was
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  Speaker 1: all gone. He had eaten it all during the night.
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  Speaker 1: He tried the straw, but as he chewed away at it,
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  Speaker 1: he noticed, to his great disappointment, that it tasted neither
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  Speaker 1: like rice nor like macaroni. Patience, he repeated as he chewed.
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  Speaker 1: If only my misfortune might serve as a lesson to
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  Speaker 1: disobedient boys who refused to study, patience, have patience. Patience indeed,
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  Speaker 1: shouted his master just then as he came into the stable.
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  Speaker 1: Do you think, perhaps, my little donkey, that I have
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  Speaker 1: brought you here only to give you food and drink? Oh? No,
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  Speaker 1: you are to help me earn some fine gold pieces,
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  Speaker 1: do you hear? Come along now, I am going to
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  Speaker 1: teach you to jump and bow, to dance a waltz
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  Speaker 1: at a poker, and even to stand on your head.
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  Speaker 1: Poor Pinocchio, whether he liked it or not, had to
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  Speaker 1: learn all these wonderful things. But it took him three
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  Speaker 1: long months and cost him many many lashings before he
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  Speaker 1: was pronounced perfect. The day came at last when Pinocchio's
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  Speaker 1: master was able to announce an extraordinary performance. The announcements,
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  Speaker 1: posted all around the town and written in large letters,
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  Speaker 1: read thus, great spectacle, tonight, leaps and exercises by the
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  Speaker 1: great artists and the famous horses of the company, first
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  Speaker 1: public appearance of the famous donkey called Pinocchio, the Star
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  Speaker 1: of the Dance. The theater will be as light as
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  Speaker 1: day that night. As you can well imagine, the theater
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  Speaker 1: was filled to overflowing one hour before the show was
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  Speaker 1: scheduled to start. Not an orchestra chair could be had,
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  Speaker 1: not a balcony seat, nor a gallery seat, not even
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  Speaker 1: for their weight in gold. The place swarmed with boys
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  Speaker 1: and girls of all ages and sizes, wriggling and dancing
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  Speaker 1: about in a fever of impatience to see the famous
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  Speaker 1: donkey dance. When the first part of the performance was over,
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  Speaker 1: the owner and manager of the circus, in a black coat,
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  Speaker 1: white knee breeches, and patent leather boots, presented himself to
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  Speaker 1: the public, and in a loud, pompous voice, made the
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  Speaker 1: following announcement, Most honored friends, gentlemen and ladies, your humble servant,
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  Speaker 1: the manager of this theater, presents himself before you tonight,
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  Speaker 1: in order to introduce to you the greatest, the most
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  Speaker 1: famous donkey in the world, a donkey that has had
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  Speaker 1: the great honor in his short life of performing before
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  Speaker 1: the kings and queens and emperors of all the great
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  Speaker 1: courts of Europe. We thank you for your attention. This
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  Speaker 1: speech was greeted by much laughter and applause, and laws
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  Speaker 1: grew to a roar. When Pinocchio, the famous donkey appeared
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  Speaker 1: in the circus ring, he was handsomely arrayed. A new
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  Speaker 1: bridle of shining leather with buckles of polished brass, was
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  Speaker 1: on his back. Two white camellias were tied to his ears.
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  Speaker 1: Ribbons and tassels of red silk adorned his mane, which
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  Speaker 1: was divided into many curls. A great sash of gold
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  Speaker 1: and silver was fastened around his waist, and his tail
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  Speaker 1: was decorated with ribbons of many brilliant colors. He was
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  Speaker 1: a handsome donkey. Indeed, the manager, when introducing him to
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  Speaker 1: the public, added these words, most honored audience, I shall
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  Speaker 1: not take your time tonight to tell you of the
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  Speaker 1: great difficulties which I have encountered while trying to tame
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  Speaker 1: this animal. Since I found him in the wilds of Africa.
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  Speaker 1: Observe I beg of you the savage look of his eye.
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  Speaker 1: All the means used by centuries of civilization in subduing
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  Speaker 1: way wild beasts failed in this case. I had finally
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  Speaker 1: to resort to the gentle language of the whip in
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  Speaker 1: order to bring him to my will with all my kindness. However,
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  Speaker 1: I never succeeded in gaining my donkey's love. He is
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  Speaker 1: still to day as savage as the day I found him.
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  Speaker 1: He still fears and hates me. But I have found
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  Speaker 1: in him one great redeeming feature. Do you see this
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  Speaker 1: little bump on his forehead. It is this bump which
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  Speaker 1: gives him the great talent of dancing and using his
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  Speaker 1: feet as nimbly as a human being. Admire him, O signory,
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  Speaker 1: and enjoy yourselves. I let you now be the judges
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  Speaker 1: of my success as a teacher of animals. Before I
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  Speaker 1: leave you, I wish to state that there will be
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  Speaker 1: another performance to morrow night. If the weather threatens rain,
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  Speaker 1: the great spectacle will take place at eleven o'clock in
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  Speaker 1: the morning. The manager bowed and then to Pinocchio and said, ready, Pinocchio,
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  Speaker 1: before starting a performance, salute your audience. Pinocchio obediently bent
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  Speaker 1: his two knees to the ground and remained kneeling until
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  Speaker 1: the manager, with the crack of the whip, cried, sharply walk.
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  Speaker 1: The donkey lifted himself on his fore feet and walked
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  Speaker 1: around the ring. A few minutes passed, and again the
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  Speaker 1: voice of the manager called quickstep, and Pinocchio obediently changed
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  Speaker 1: his step gallop, and Pinocchio galloped full speed, and Pinocchio
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  Speaker 1: ran as fast as he could. As he ran, the
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  Speaker 1: master raised his arm and a pistol shot rang in
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  Speaker 1: the air. At the shot, the little donkey fell to
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  Speaker 1: the ground as if he were really dead. A shower
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  Speaker 1: of applause greeted the donkey as he arose to his feet.
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  Speaker 1: Cries and shouts and handclappings were heard on all sides.
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  Speaker 1: At all that noise, Pinocchio lifted his head and raised
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  Speaker 1: his eyes. There in front of him in a box
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  Speaker 1: sat a beautiful woman. Around her neck. She wore a
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  Speaker 1: long gold chain from which hung a large medallion. On
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  Speaker 1: the medallion was painted the picture of a marionette that
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  Speaker 1: pictures of me. That beautiful lady is my fairy, said
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  Speaker 1: Pinocchio to himself, recognizing her. He felt so happy that
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  Speaker 1: he tried his best to cry out, oh my fairy,
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  Speaker 1: my own fairy. But instead of words, a loud braying
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  Speaker 1: was heard in the theater, so loud and so long
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  Speaker 1: that all the spectators, men, women and children, but especially
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  Speaker 1: the children, burst out laughing. Then, in order to teach
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  Speaker 1: the donkey that it was not good manners to bray
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  Speaker 1: before the public, the manager hit him on the nose
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  Speaker 1: with the handle of the whip. The poor little donkey
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  Speaker 1: stuck out a long tongue and licked his nose for
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  Speaker 1: a long time in an effort to take away the
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  Speaker 1: pain and what was his grief? When, on looking up
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  Speaker 1: toward the boxes, he saw that the fairy had disappeared,
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  Speaker 1: he felt himself fainting, his eyes filled with tears, and
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  Speaker 1: he wept bitterly. No one knew it, however, least of
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  Speaker 1: all the manager, who, cracking his whip, cried out, Bravo, Pinocchio,
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  Speaker 1: Now show us how gracefully, you can jump through the rings.
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  Speaker 1: Pinocchio tried two or three times, but each time he
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  Speaker 1: came near the ring, he found it more to his
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  Speaker 1: taste to go under it. The fourth time, at a
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  Speaker 1: look from his master, he leaped through it, but as
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  Speaker 1: he did so, his hind legs caught in the ring,
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  Speaker 1: and he fell to the floor in a heap. When
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  Speaker 1: he got up, he was lame and could hardly limp
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  Speaker 1: as far as the stable Pinocchio, we want Pinocchio, we
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  Speaker 1: want the little donkey, cried the boys from the orchestra.
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  Speaker 1: Saddened by the accident. No one saw Pinocchio again that evening.
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  Speaker 1: The next morning, the veterinary, that is, the animal doctor
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  Speaker 1: declared that he would be lame for the rest of
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  Speaker 1: his life. What do I want with a lame donkey,
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  Speaker 1: said the manager to the stable boy. Take him to
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  Speaker 1: the market and sell him. When they reached the square,
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  Speaker 1: a buyer was soon found. How much do you ask
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  Speaker 1: for that little lame donkey? He asked, four dollars. I'll
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  Speaker 1: give you four cents. Don't think I'm buying him for work.
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  Speaker 1: I want only his skin. It looks very tough, and
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  Speaker 1: I can use it to make myself a drumhead. I
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  Speaker 1: belonged to a musical band in my village, and I
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  Speaker 1: need a drum. I leave it to you, my dear children,
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  Speaker 1: to picture to yourself the great pleasure with which Pinocchio
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  Speaker 1: heard he was to become a drumhead as soon as
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  Speaker 1: the buyer had paid the force. Thence the donkey changed hands.
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  Speaker 1: His new owner took him to a high cliff overlooking
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  Speaker 1: the sea, put a stone around his neck, tied a
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  Speaker 1: rope to one of his hind feet, gave him a push,
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  Speaker 1: and threw him into the water. Pinocchio sank immediately, and
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  Speaker 1: his new master sat on the cliff, waiting for him
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  Speaker 1: to drown, so as to skin him and make himself
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  Speaker 1: a drumhead. End of Chapter thirty three.