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"What is it?"
"An A-B-C book."

"To be sure! But how shall we get it?"
"That's easy. We'll go to a bookstore and buy it."

"And the money?"
"I have none."

"Neither have I," said the old man sadly.
Pinocchio, although a happy boy always, became sad

and downcast at these words. When poverty shows itself,
even mischievous boys understand what it means.

"What does it matter, after all?" cried Geppetto all at
once, as he jumped up from his chair. Putting on his old

coat, full of darns and patches, he ran out of the house
without another word.

After a while he returned. In his hands he had the
A-B-C book for his son, but the old coat was gone. The

poor fellow was in his shirt sleeves and the day was cold.
"Where's your coat, Father?"

"I have sold it."
"Why did you sell your coat?"

"It was too warm."
Pinocchio understood the answer in a twinkling, and,

unable to restrain his tears, he jumped on his father's neck
and kissed him over and over.

CHAPTER 9
Pinocchio sells his A-B-C book to

pay his way into the Marionette Theater
See Pinocchio hurrying off to school with his new A-B-C

book under his arm! As he walked along, his brain was busy
planning hundreds of wonderful things, building hundreds

of castles in the air. Talking to himself, he said:
"In school today, I'll learn to read, tomorrow to write,

and the day after tomorrow I'll do arithmetic. Then, clever
as I am, I can earn a lot of money. With the very first

pennies I make, I'll buy Father a new cloth coat. Cloth,
did I say? No, it shall be of gold and silver with diamond

buttons. That poor man certainly deserves it; for, after all,
isn't he in his shirt sleeves because he was good enough to

buy a book for me? On this cold day, too! Fathers are
indeed good to their children!"

As he talked to himself, he thought he heard sounds of
pipes and drums coming from a distance: pi-pi-pi,

pi-pi-pi. . .zum, zum, zum, zum.
He stopped to listen. Those sounds came from a little

street that led to a small village along the shore.
"What can that noise be? What a nuisance that I have

to go to school! Otherwise. . ."
There he stopped, very much puzzled. He felt he had

to make up his mind for either one thing or another.
Should he go to school, or should he follow the pipes?

"Today I'll follow the pipes, and tomorrow I'll go to
school. There's always plenty of time to go to school,"

decided the little rascal at last, shrugging his shoulders.
No sooner said than done. He started down the street,

going like the wind. On he ran, and louder grew the
sounds of pipe and drum: pi-pi-pi, pi-pi-pi, pi-pi-pi

. . .zum, zum, zum, zum.
Suddenly, he found himself in a large square, full of

people standing in front of a little wooden building painted
in brilliant colors.

"What is that house?" Pinocchio asked a little boy near him.
"Read the sign and you'll know."

"I'd like to read, but somehow I can't today."
"Oh, really? Then I'll read it to you. Know, then,

that written in letters of fire I see the words:
GREAT MARIONETTE THEATER.

"When did the show start?"
"It is starting now."

"And how much does one pay to get in?"
"Four pennies."

Pinocchio, who was wild with curiosity to know what
was going on inside, lost all his pride and said to the boy

shamelessly:
"Will you give me four pennies until tomorrow?"

"I'd give them to you gladly," answered the other,
poking fun at him, "but just now I can't give them to you."

"For the price of four pennies, I'll sell you my coat."
"If it rains, what shall I do with a coat of flowered

paper? I could not take it off again."
"Do you want to buy my shoes?"

"They are only good enough to light a fire with."
"What about my hat?"

"Fine bargain, indeed! A cap of dough! The mice might
come and eat it from my head!"

Pinocchio was almost in tears. He was just about to
make one last offer, but he lacked the courage to do so.

He hesitated, he wondered, he could not make up his mind.
At last he said:

"Will you give me four pennies for the book?"
"I am a boy and I buy nothing from boys," said the

little fellow with far more common sense than the Marionette.
"I'll give you four pennies for your A-B-C book," said

a ragpicker who stood by.
Then and there, the book changed hands. And to think

that poor old Geppetto sat at home in his shirt sleeves,
shivering with cold, having sold his coat to buy that little

book for his son!
CHAPTER 10

The Marionettes recognize their brother Pinocchio,
and greet him with loud cheers; but the Director, Fire Eater,

happens along and poor Pinocchio almost loses his life
Quick as a flash, Pinocchio disappeared into the

Marionette Theater. And then something happened which
almost caused a riot.

The curtain was up and the performance had started.
Harlequin and Pulcinella were reciting on the stage and,

as usual, they were threatening each other with sticks and blows.
The theater was full of people, enjoying the spectacle

and laughing till they cried at the antics of the two Marionettes.
The play continued for a few minutes, and then suddenly,

without any warning, Harlequin stopped talking.
Turning toward the audience, he pointed to the rear of

the orchestra, yelling wildly at the same time:
"Look, look! Am I asleep or awake? Or do I really see

Pinocchio there?"
"Yes, yes! It is Pinocchio!" screamed Pulcinella.

"It is! It is!" shrieked Signora Rosaura, peeking in from
the side of the stage.

"It is Pinocchio! It is Pinocchio!" yelled all the Marionettes,
pouring out of the wings. "It is Pinocchio. It is our brother

Pinocchio! Hurrah for Pinocchio!"
"Pinocchio, come up to me!" shouted Harlequin. "Come

to the arms of your wooden brothers!"
At such a lovinginvitation, Pinocchio, with one leap

from the back of the orchestra, found himself in the front
rows. With another leap, he was on the orchestra leader's

head. With a third, he landed on the stage.
It is impossible to describe the shrieks of joy, the warm

embraces, the knocks, and the friendly greetings with
which that strange company of dramatic actors and

actresses received Pinocchio.
It was a heart-rending spectacle, but the audience,

seeing that the play had stopped, became angry and began
to yell:

"The play, the play, we want the play!"
The yelling was of no use, for the Marionettes, instead

of going on with their act, made twice as much racket as
before, and, lifting up Pinocchio on their shoulders, carried

him around the stage in triumph.
At that very moment, the Director came out of his

room. He had such a fearful appearance that one look
at him would fill you with horror. His beard was as

black as pitch, and so long that it reached from his chin
down to his feet. His mouth was as wide as an oven, his

teeth like yellow fangs, and his eyes, two glowing red
coals. In his huge, hairy hands, a long whip, made of

green snakes and black cats' tails twisted together, swished
through the air in a dangerous way.

At the unexpectedapparition, no one dared even to
breathe. One could almost hear a fly go by. Those poor

Marionettes, one and all, trembled like leaves in a storm.
"Why have you brought such excitement into my

theater;" the huge fellow asked Pinocchio with the voice
of an ogre suffering with a cold.

"Believe me, your Honor, the fault was not mine."
"Enough! Be quiet! I'll take care of you later."

As soon as the play was over, the Director went to
the kitchen, where a fine big lamb was slowly turning

on the spit. More wood was needed to finish cooking it.
He called Harlequin and Pulcinella and said to them:

"Bring that Marionette to me! He looks as if he were
made of well-seasoned wood. He'll make a fine fire for

this spit."
Harlequin and Pulcinella hesitated a bit. Then,

frightened by a look from their master, they left the
kitchen to obey him. A few minutes later they returned,

carrying poor Pinocchio, who was wriggling and squirming
like an eel and crying pitifully:

"Father, save me! I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"
CHAPTER 11

Fire Eater sneezes and forgives Pinocchio,
who saves his friend, Harlequin, from death

In the theater, great excitement reigned.
Fire Eater (this was really his name) was very ugly,

but he was far from being as bad as he looked. Proof of
this is that, when he saw the poor Marionette being

brought in to him, struggling with fear and crying, "I
don't want to die! I don't want to die!" he felt sorry for

him and began first to waver and then to weaken. Finally,
he could control himself no longer and gave a loud sneeze.

At that sneeze, Harlequin, who until then had been
as sad as a weepingwillow, smiled happily and leaning

toward the Marionette, whispered to him:
"Good news, brother mine! Fire Eater has sneezed

and this is a sign that he feels sorry for you.
You are saved!"

For be it known, that, while other people, when sad
and sorrowful, weep and wipe their eyes, Fire Eater, on

the other hand, had the strange habit of sneezing each
time he felt unhappy. The way was just as good as any

other to show the kindness of his heart.
After sneezing, Fire Eater, ugly as ever, cried to Pinocchio:

"Stop crying! Your wails give me a funny feeling
down here in my stomach and--E--tchee!--E--tchee!"

Two loud sneezes finished his speech.
"God bless you!" said Pinocchio.

"Thanks! Are your father and mother still living?"
demanded Fire Eater.

"My father, yes. My mother I have never known."
"Your poor father would suffer terribly if I were to

use you as firewood. Poor old man! I feel sorry for


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