章节正文
knee breeches, and patent leather boots, presented himself
to the public and in a loud, pompous voice made the
following announcement:
"Most honored friends, Gentlemen and Ladies!
"Your humble servant, the Manager of this theater,
presents himself before you tonight in order to introduce
to you the greatest, the most famous Donkey in the world,
a Donkey that has had the great honor in his short life of
performing before the kings and queens and emperors of
all the great courts of Europe.
"We thank you for your attention!"
This speech was greeted by much laughter and
applause. And the applause grew to a roar when Pinocchio,
the famous Donkey, appeared in the circus ring. He was
handsomely arrayed. A new bridle of shining leather with
buckles of polished brass was on his back; two white
camellias were tied to his ears; ribbons and tassels of red
silk adorned his mane, which was divided into many
curls. A great sash of gold and silver was fastened around
his waist and his tail was decorated with ribbons of many
brilliant colors. He was a handsome Donkey indeed!
The Manager, when introducing him to the public,
added these words:
"Most honored audience! I shall not take your time
tonight to tell you of the great difficulties which I have
encountered while trying to tame this animal, since I
found him in the wilds of Africa. Observe, I beg of you,
the savage look of his eye. All the means used by
centuries of civilization in subduing wild beasts failed in this
case. I had finally to resort to the gentle language of the
whip in order to bring him to my will. With all my
kindness, however, I never succeeded in gaining my Donkey's
love. He is still today as savage as the day I found
him. He still fears and hates me. But I have found in
him one great redeeming feature. Do you see this little
bump on his forehead? It is this bump which gives him
his great talent of dancing and using his feet as nimbly
as a human being. Admire him, O signori, and enjoy
yourselves. I let you, now, be the judges of my success as a
teacher of animals. Before I leave you, I wish to state
that there will be another performance tomorrow night.
If the weather threatens rain, the great spectacle will take
place at eleven o'clock in the morning."
The Manager bowed and then turned to Pinocchio and said:
"Ready, Pinocchio! Before starting your performance,
salute your audience!"
Pinocchio obediently bent his two knees to the ground
and remained kneeling until the Manager, with the crack
of the whip, cried sharply: "Walk!"
The Donkey lifted himself on his four feet and walked
around the ring. A few minutes passed and again the
voice of the Manager called:
"Quickstep!" and Pinocchio obediently changed his step.
"Gallop!" and Pinocchio galloped.
"Full speed!" and Pinocchio ran as fast as he could.
As he ran the master raised his arm and a pistol shot rang
in the air.
At the shot, the little Donkey fell to the ground as if
he were really dead.
A shower of applause greeted the Donkey as he arose to his feet.
Cries and shouts and handclappings were heard on all sides.
At all that noise, Pinocchio lifted his head and raised
his eyes. There, in front of him, in a box sat a beautiful
woman. Around her neck she wore a long gold chain,
from which hung a large medallion. On the medallion
was painted the picture of a Marionette.
"That picture is of me! That beautiful lady is my Fairy!"
said Pinocchio to himself, recognizing her. He felt so happy
that he tried his best to cry out:
"Oh, my Fairy! My own Fairy!"
But instead of words, a loud braying was heard in the theater,
so loud and so long that all the spectators--men, women,
and children, but especially the children--burst out laughing.
Then, in order to teach the Donkey that it was not
good manners to bray before the public, the Manager
hit him on the nose with the handle of the whip.
The poor little Donkey stuck out a long tongue and licked
his nose for a long time in an effort to take away the pain.
And what was his grief when on looking up toward the boxes,
he saw that the Fairy had disappeared!
He felt himself fainting, his eyes filled with tears,
and he wept bitterly. No one knew it, however,
least of all the Manager, who, cracking his whip, cried out:
"Bravo, Pinocchio! Now show us how gracefully you can
jump through the rings."
Pinocchio tried two or three times, but each time he
came near the ring, he found it more to his taste to go
under it. The fourth time, at a look from his master he
leaped through it, but as he did so his hind legs caught
in the ring and he fell to the floor in a heap.
When he got up, he was lame and could hardly limp as
far as the stable.
"Pinocchio! We want Pinocchio! We want the little Donkey!"
cried the boys from the orchestra, saddened by the accident.
No one saw Pinocchio again that evening.
The next morning the veterinary--that is, the animal doctor--
declared that he would be lame for the rest of his life.
"What do I want with a lame donkey?" said the Manager
to the stableboy. "Take him to the market and sell him."
When they reached the square, a buyer was soon found.
"How much do you ask for that little lame Donkey?" he asked.
"Four dollars."
"I'll give you four cents. Don't think I'm buying him
for work. I want only his skin. It looks very tough and
I can use it to make myself a drumhead. I belong to a
musical band in my village and I need a drum."
I leave it to you, my dear children, to picture to
yourself the great pleasure with which Pinocchio heard that
he was to become a drumhead!
As soon as the buyer had paid the four cents, the
Donkey changed hands. His new owner took him to a high
cliff overlooking the sea, put a stone around his neck,
tied a rope to one of his hind feet, gave him a push, and
threw him into the water.
Pinocchio sank immediately. And his new master sat
on the cliff waiting for him to drown, so as to skin him
and make himself a drumhead.
CHAPTER 34
Pinocchio is thrown into the sea, eaten by fishes,
and becomes a Marionette once more. As he swims to land,
he is swallowed by the Terrible Shark
Down into the sea, deeper and deeper, sank Pinocchio, and
finally, after fifty minutes of waiting, the man on the cliff
said to himself:
"By this time my poor little lame Donkey must be
drowned. Up with him and then I can get to work on my
beautiful drum."
He pulled the rope which he had tied to Pinocchio's
leg--pulled and pulled and pulled and, at last, he saw
appear on the surface of the water--Can you guess what?
Instead of a dead donkey, he saw a very much alive
Marionette, wriggling and squirming like an eel.
Seeing that wooden Marionette, the poor man thought
he was dreaming and sat there with his mouth wide open
and his eyes popping out of his head.
Gathering his wits together, he said:
"And the Donkey I threw into the sea?"
"I am that Donkey," answered the Marionette laughing.
"You?"
"I."
"Ah, you little cheat! Are you poking fun at me?"
"Poking fun at you? Not at all, dear Master.
I am talking seriously."
"But, then, how is it that you, who a few minutes ago
were a donkey, are now standing before me a wooden Marionette?"
"It may be the effect of salt water. The sea is fond of
playing these tricks."
"Be careful, Marionette, be careful! Don't laugh at me!
Woe be to you, if I lose my patience!"
"Well, then, my Master, do you want to know my whole story?
Untie my leg and I can tell it to you better."
The old fellow, curious to know the true story of the
Marionette's life, immediately untied the rope which held his foot.
Pinocchio, feeling free as a bird of the air, began his tale:
"Know, then, that, once upon a time, I was a wooden
Marionette, just as I am today. One day I was about to
become a boy, a real boy, but on account of my laziness
and my hatred of books, and because I listened to bad
companions, I ran away from home. One beautiful morning,
I awoke to find myself changed into a donkey--long
ears, gray coat, even a tail! What a shameful day for me!
I hope you will never experience one like it, dear Master.
I was taken to the fair and sold to a Circus Owner, who
tried to make me dance and jump through the rings. One
night, during a performance, I had a bad fall and became
lame. Not knowing what to do with a lame donkey, the Circus
Owner sent me to the market place and you bought me."
"Indeed I did! And I paid four cents for you.
Now who will return my money to me?"
"But why did you buy me? You bought me to do me
harm--to kill me--to make a drumhead out of me!"
"Indeed I did! And now where shall I find another skin?"
"Never mind, dear Master. There are so many donkeys
in this world."
"Tell me, impudent little rogue, does your story end here?"
"One more word," answered the Marionette, "and I am through.
After buying me, you brought me here to kill me. But feeling
sorry for me, you tied a stone to my neck and threw me
to the bottom of the sea. That was very good and kind
of you to want me to suffer as little as possible
and I shall remember you always. And now my Fairy
will take care of me, even if you--"
"Your Fairy? Who is she?"
"She is my mother, and, like all other mothers who
love their children, she never loses sight of me, even
though I do not deserve it. And today this good Fairy
of mine, as soon as she saw me in danger of drowning,
sent a thousand fishes to the spot where I lay. They
thought I was really a dead donkey and began to eat me.
What great bites they took! One ate my ears, another my
nose, a third my neck and my mane. Some went at my
legs and some at my back, and among the others, there
was one tiny fish so gentle and polite that he did me
the great favor of eating even my tail."
"From now on," said the man, horrified, "I swear I shall
never again taste fish. How I should enjoy opening a mullet
or a whitefish just to find there the tail of a dead donkey!"
"I think as you do," answered the Marionette,
laughing. "Still, you must know that when the fish finished
eating my donkey coat, which covered me from head to
foot, they naturally came to the bones--or rather, in my
to the public and in a loud, pompous voice made the
following announcement:
"Most honored friends, Gentlemen and Ladies!
"Your humble servant, the Manager of this theater,
presents himself before you tonight in order to introduce
to you the greatest, the most famous Donkey in the world,
a Donkey that has had the great honor in his short life of
performing before the kings and queens and emperors of
all the great courts of Europe.
"We thank you for your attention!"
This speech was greeted by much laughter and
applause. And the applause grew to a roar when Pinocchio,
the famous Donkey, appeared in the circus ring. He was
handsomely arrayed. A new bridle of shining leather with
buckles of polished brass was on his back; two white
camellias were tied to his ears; ribbons and tassels of red
silk adorned his mane, which was divided into many
curls. A great sash of gold and silver was fastened around
his waist and his tail was decorated with ribbons of many
brilliant colors. He was a handsome Donkey indeed!
The Manager, when introducing him to the public,
added these words:
"Most honored audience! I shall not take your time
tonight to tell you of the great difficulties which I have
encountered while trying to tame this animal, since I
found him in the wilds of Africa. Observe, I beg of you,
the savage look of his eye. All the means used by
centuries of civilization in subduing wild beasts failed in this
case. I had finally to resort to the gentle language of the
whip in order to bring him to my will. With all my
kindness, however, I never succeeded in gaining my Donkey's
love. He is still today as savage as the day I found
him. He still fears and hates me. But I have found in
him one great redeeming feature. Do you see this little
bump on his forehead? It is this bump which gives him
his great talent of dancing and using his feet as nimbly
as a human being. Admire him, O signori, and enjoy
yourselves. I let you, now, be the judges of my success as a
teacher of animals. Before I leave you, I wish to state
that there will be another performance tomorrow night.
If the weather threatens rain, the great spectacle will take
place at eleven o'clock in the morning."
The Manager bowed and then turned to Pinocchio and said:
"Ready, Pinocchio! Before starting your performance,
salute your audience!"
Pinocchio obediently bent his two knees to the ground
and remained kneeling until the Manager, with the crack
of the whip, cried sharply: "Walk!"
The Donkey lifted himself on his four feet and walked
around the ring. A few minutes passed and again the
voice of the Manager called:
"Quickstep!" and Pinocchio obediently changed his step.
"Gallop!" and Pinocchio galloped.
"Full speed!" and Pinocchio ran as fast as he could.
As he ran the master raised his arm and a pistol shot rang
in the air.
At the shot, the little Donkey fell to the ground as if
he were really dead.
A shower of applause greeted the Donkey as he arose to his feet.
Cries and shouts and handclappings were heard on all sides.
At all that noise, Pinocchio lifted his head and raised
his eyes. There, in front of him, in a box sat a beautiful
woman. Around her neck she wore a long gold chain,
from which hung a large medallion. On the medallion
was painted the picture of a Marionette.
"That picture is of me! That beautiful lady is my Fairy!"
said Pinocchio to himself, recognizing her. He felt so happy
that he tried his best to cry out:
"Oh, my Fairy! My own Fairy!"
But instead of words, a loud braying was heard in the theater,
so loud and so long that all the spectators--men, women,
and children, but especially the children--burst out laughing.
Then, in order to teach the Donkey that it was not
good manners to bray before the public, the Manager
hit him on the nose with the handle of the whip.
The poor little Donkey stuck out a long tongue and licked
his nose for a long time in an effort to take away the pain.
And what was his grief when on looking up toward the boxes,
he saw that the Fairy had disappeared!
He felt himself fainting, his eyes filled with tears,
and he wept bitterly. No one knew it, however,
least of all the Manager, who, cracking his whip, cried out:
"Bravo, Pinocchio! Now show us how gracefully you can
jump through the rings."
Pinocchio tried two or three times, but each time he
came near the ring, he found it more to his taste to go
under it. The fourth time, at a look from his master he
leaped through it, but as he did so his hind legs caught
in the ring and he fell to the floor in a heap.
When he got up, he was lame and could hardly limp as
far as the stable.
"Pinocchio! We want Pinocchio! We want the little Donkey!"
cried the boys from the orchestra, saddened by the accident.
No one saw Pinocchio again that evening.
The next morning the veterinary--that is, the animal doctor--
declared that he would be lame for the rest of his life.
"What do I want with a lame donkey?" said the Manager
to the stableboy. "Take him to the market and sell him."
When they reached the square, a buyer was soon found.
"How much do you ask for that little lame Donkey?" he asked.
"Four dollars."
"I'll give you four cents. Don't think I'm buying him
for work. I want only his skin. It looks very tough and
I can use it to make myself a drumhead. I belong to a
musical band in my village and I need a drum."
I leave it to you, my dear children, to picture to
yourself the great pleasure with which Pinocchio heard that
he was to become a drumhead!
As soon as the buyer had paid the four cents, the
Donkey changed hands. His new owner took him to a high
cliff overlooking the sea, put a stone around his neck,
tied a rope to one of his hind feet, gave him a push, and
threw him into the water.
Pinocchio sank immediately. And his new master sat
on the cliff waiting for him to drown, so as to skin him
and make himself a drumhead.
CHAPTER 34
Pinocchio is thrown into the sea, eaten by fishes,
and becomes a Marionette once more. As he swims to land,
he is swallowed by the Terrible Shark
Down into the sea, deeper and deeper, sank Pinocchio, and
finally, after fifty minutes of waiting, the man on the cliff
said to himself:
"By this time my poor little lame Donkey must be
drowned. Up with him and then I can get to work on my
beautiful drum."
He pulled the rope which he had tied to Pinocchio's
leg--pulled and pulled and pulled and, at last, he saw
appear on the surface of the water--Can you guess what?
Instead of a dead donkey, he saw a very much alive
Marionette, wriggling and squirming like an eel.
Seeing that wooden Marionette, the poor man thought
he was dreaming and sat there with his mouth wide open
and his eyes popping out of his head.
Gathering his wits together, he said:
"And the Donkey I threw into the sea?"
"I am that Donkey," answered the Marionette laughing.
"You?"
"I."
"Ah, you little cheat! Are you poking fun at me?"
"Poking fun at you? Not at all, dear Master.
I am talking seriously."
"But, then, how is it that you, who a few minutes ago
were a donkey, are now standing before me a wooden Marionette?"
"It may be the effect of salt water. The sea is fond of
playing these tricks."
"Be careful, Marionette, be careful! Don't laugh at me!
Woe be to you, if I lose my patience!"
"Well, then, my Master, do you want to know my whole story?
Untie my leg and I can tell it to you better."
The old fellow, curious to know the true story of the
Marionette's life, immediately untied the rope which held his foot.
Pinocchio, feeling free as a bird of the air, began his tale:
"Know, then, that, once upon a time, I was a wooden
Marionette, just as I am today. One day I was about to
become a boy, a real boy, but on account of my laziness
and my hatred of books, and because I listened to bad
companions, I ran away from home. One beautiful morning,
I awoke to find myself changed into a donkey--long
ears, gray coat, even a tail! What a shameful day for me!
I hope you will never experience one like it, dear Master.
I was taken to the fair and sold to a Circus Owner, who
tried to make me dance and jump through the rings. One
night, during a performance, I had a bad fall and became
lame. Not knowing what to do with a lame donkey, the Circus
Owner sent me to the market place and you bought me."
"Indeed I did! And I paid four cents for you.
Now who will return my money to me?"
"But why did you buy me? You bought me to do me
harm--to kill me--to make a drumhead out of me!"
"Indeed I did! And now where shall I find another skin?"
"Never mind, dear Master. There are so many donkeys
in this world."
"Tell me, impudent little rogue, does your story end here?"
"One more word," answered the Marionette, "and I am through.
After buying me, you brought me here to kill me. But feeling
sorry for me, you tied a stone to my neck and threw me
to the bottom of the sea. That was very good and kind
of you to want me to suffer as little as possible
and I shall remember you always. And now my Fairy
will take care of me, even if you--"
"Your Fairy? Who is she?"
"She is my mother, and, like all other mothers who
love their children, she never loses sight of me, even
though I do not deserve it. And today this good Fairy
of mine, as soon as she saw me in danger of drowning,
sent a thousand fishes to the spot where I lay. They
thought I was really a dead donkey and began to eat me.
What great bites they took! One ate my ears, another my
nose, a third my neck and my mane. Some went at my
legs and some at my back, and among the others, there
was one tiny fish so gentle and polite that he did me
the great favor of eating even my tail."
"From now on," said the man, horrified, "I swear I shall
never again taste fish. How I should enjoy opening a mullet
or a whitefish just to find there the tail of a dead donkey!"
"I think as you do," answered the Marionette,
laughing. "Still, you must know that when the fish finished
eating my donkey coat, which covered me from head to
foot, they naturally came to the bones--or rather, in my
- patent [´peitənt, ´pæ-]
a.专利的 n.专利品 (初中英语单词) - humble [´hʌmbəl] a.谦卑的 vt.贬抑 (初中英语单词)
- manager [´mænidʒə] n.经理；管理人；干事 (初中英语单词)
- laughter [´lɑ:ftə] n.笑，笑声 (初中英语单词)
- savage [´sævidʒ] a.野蛮的 n.蛮人 (初中英语单词)
- civilization [,sivilai´zeiʃən] n.文明，文化 (初中英语单词)
- resort [ri´zɔ:t] vi.求助；乞灵；诉诸 (初中英语单词)
- forehead [´fɔrid] n.额，前部 (初中英语单词)
- talent [´tælənt] n.天才；才干；天资 (初中英语单词)
- performance [pə´fɔ:məns] n.履行；行为；工作 (初中英语单词)
- spectacle [´spektəkəl] n.展览；表演；景象 (初中英语单词)
- sharply [´ʃɑ:pli] ad.锋利地；剧烈地 (初中英语单词)
- pistol [´pistl] n.手枪 vt.用手枪射击 (初中英语单词)
- shower [´ʃauə] n.展出者；阵雨；淋浴 (初中英语单词)
- bitterly [´bitəli] ad.悲痛地；憎恨地 (初中英语单词)
- waiting [´weitiŋ] n.等候；伺候 (初中英语单词)
- wooden [´wudn] a.木制的；呆板的 (初中英语单词)
- standing [´stændiŋ] n.持续 a.直立的 (初中英语单词)
- account [ə´kaunt] vi.说明 vt.认为 n.帐目 (初中英语单词)
- hatred [´heitrid] n.憎恨，敌意 (初中英语单词)
- knowing [´nəuiŋ] a.会意的，心照不宣的 (初中英语单词)
- deserve [di´zə:v] v.应受；值得 (初中英语单词)
- polite [pə´lait] a.有礼貌的；温和的 (初中英语单词)
- opening [´əupəniŋ] n.开放；开端 a.开始的 (初中英语单词)
- donkey [´dɔŋki] n.驴子；蠢人；顽固的人 (高中英语单词)
- applause [ə´plɔ:z] n.鼓掌；欢呼；称赞 (高中英语单词)
- circus [´sə:kəs] n.马戏(团)；圆形广场 (高中英语单词)
- bridle [´braidl] n.(马)笼头；束缚 (高中英语单词)
- orchestra [´ɔ:kistrə] n.管弦乐队 (高中英语单词)
- breeches [´britʃiz] n.裤子；马裤 (英语四级单词)
- trying [´traiiŋ] a.难堪的；费劲的 (英语四级单词)
- gracefully [´greisfuli] ad.优美地，斯文地 (英语四级单词)
- shameful [´ʃeimfəl] a.可耻的；猥亵的 (英语四级单词)
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章节正文
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