Chapter 31

After five months of play, Pinocchio wakes up one fine morningand finds a great surprise awaiting himFinally the wagon arrived. It made no noise, for itswheels were bound with straw and rags.

It was drawn by twelve pair of donkeys, all of the samesize, but all of different color. Some were gray, otherswhite, and still others a mixture of brown and black.

Here and there were a few with large yellow and blue stripes.

The strangest thing of all was that those twenty-fourdonkeys, instead of being iron-shod like any other beastof burden, had on their feet laced shoes made of leather,just like the ones boys wear.

And the driver of the wagon?

Imagine to yourselves a little, fat man, much widerthan he was long, round and shiny as a ball of butter, witha face beaming like an apple, a little mouth that alwayssmiled, and a voice small and wheedling like that of a catbegging for food.

No sooner did any boy see him than he fell in love withhim, and nothing satisfied him but to be allowed to ridein his wagon to that lovely place called the Land of Toys.

In fact the wagon was so closely packed with boys ofall ages that it looked like a box of sardines. They wereuncomfortable, they were piled one on top of the other,they could hardly breathe; yet not one word of complaintwas heard. The thought that in a few hours they wouldreach a country where there were no schools, no books,no teachers, made these boys so happy that they feltneither hunger, nor thirst, nor sleep, nor discomfort.

No sooner had the wagon stopped than the little fatman turned to Lamp-Wick. With bows and smiles, heasked in a wheedling tone:

"Tell me, my fine boy, do you also want to come tomy wonderful country?""Indeed I do.""But I warn you, my little dear, there's no more roomin the wagon. It is full.""Never mind," answered Lamp-Wick. "If there's noroom inside, I can sit on the top of the coach."And with one leap, he perched himself there.

"What about you, my love?" asked the Little Man,turning politely to Pinocchio. "What are you going to do?

Will you come with us, or do you stay here?""I stay here," answered Pinocchio. "I want to returnhome, as I prefer to study and to succeed in life.""May that bring you luck!""Pinocchio!" Lamp-Wick called out. "Listen to me.

Come with us and we'll always be happy.""No, no, no!""Come with us and we'll always be happy," cried fourother voices from the wagon.

"Come with us and we'll always be happy," shouted theone hundred and more boys in the wagon, all together.

"And if I go with you, what will my good Fairy say?"asked the Marionette, who was beginning to waver andweaken in his good resolutions.

"Don't worry so much. Only think that we are goingto a land where we shall be allowed to make all the racketwe like from morning till night."Pinocchio did not answer, but sighed deeply once--twice--a third time. Finally, he said:

"Make room for me. I want to go, too!""The seats are all filled," answered the Little Man,"but to show you how much I think of you, take my placeas coachman.""And you?""I'll walk.""No, indeed. I could not permit such a thing. I muchprefer riding one of these donkeys," cried Pinocchio.

No sooner said than done. He approached the firstdonkey and tried to mount it. But the little animal turnedsuddenly and gave him such a terrible kick in the stomachthat Pinocchio was thrown to the ground and fell withhis legs in the air.

At this unlooked-for entertainment, the whole companyof runaways laughed uproariously.

The little fat man did not laugh. He went up to therebellious animal, and, still smiling, bent over him lovinglyand bit off half of his right ear.

In the meantime, Pinocchio lifted himself up from theground, and with one leap landed on the donkey's back.

The leap was so well taken that all the boys shouted,"Hurrah for Pinocchio!" and clapped their hands in hearty applause.

Suddenly the little donkey gave a kick with his twohind feet and, at this unexpected move, the poor Marionettefound himself once again sprawling right in themiddle of the road.

Again the boys shouted with laughter. But the LittleMan, instead of laughing, became so loving toward thelittle animal that, with another kiss, he bit off half ofhis left ear.

"You can mount now, my boy," he then said to Pinocchio.

"Have no fear. That donkey was worried about something,but I have spoken to him and now he seems quiet and reasonable."Pinocchio mounted and the wagon started on its way.

While the donkeys galloped along the stony road, theMarionette fancied he heard a very quiet voice whispering to him:

"Poor silly! You have done as you wished. But youare going to be a sorry boy before very long."Pinocchio, greatly frightened, looked about him to seewhence the words had come, but he saw no one. Thedonkeys galloped, the wagon rolled on smoothly, theboys slept (Lamp-Wick snored like a dormouse) and thelittle, fat driver sang sleepily between his teeth.

After a mile or so, Pinocchio again heard the samefaint voice whispering: "Remember, little simpleton!

Boys who stop studying and turn their backs upon booksand schools and teachers in order to give all their timeto nonsense and pleasure, sooner or later come to grief.

Oh, how well I know this! How well I can prove it to you!

A day will come when you will weep bitterly, even as Iam weeping now--but it will be too late!"At these whispered words, the Marionette grew moreand more frightened. He jumped to the ground, ran upto the donkey on whose back he had been riding, andtaking his nose in his hands, looked at him. Think howgreat was his surprise when he saw that the donkey wasweeping--weeping just like a boy!

"Hey, Mr. Driver!" cried the Marionette. "Do you know whatstrange thing is happening here! This donkey weeps.""Let him weep. When he gets married, he will have time to laugh.""Have you perhaps taught him to speak?""No, he learned to mumble a few words when he livedfor three years with a band of trained dogs.""Poor beast!""Come, come," said the Little Man, "do not lose time overa donkey that can weep. Mount quickly and let us go.

The night is cool and the road is long."Pinocchio obeyed without another word. The wagonstarted again. Toward dawn the next morning they finallyreached that much-longed-for country, the Land of Toys.

This great land was entirely different from any otherplace in the world. Its population, large though it was,was composed wholly of boys. The oldest were aboutfourteen years of age, the youngest, eight. In the street,there was such a racket, such shouting, such blowing oftrumpets, that it was deafening. Everywhere groups ofboys were gathered together. Some played at marbles, athopscotch, at ball. Others rode on bicycles or on woodenhorses. Some played at blindman's buff, others at tag.

Here a group played circus, there another sang and recited.

A few turned somersaults, others walked on their handswith their feet in the air. Generals in full uniform leadingregiments of cardboard soldiers passed by. Laughter,shrieks, howls, catcalls, hand-clapping followed thisparade. One boy made a noise like a hen, another likea rooster, and a third imitated a lion in his den. Alltogether they created such a pandemonium that it wouldhave been necessary for you to put cotton in your ears.

The squares were filled with small wooden theaters,overflowing with boys from morning till night, and on thewalls of the houses, written with charcoal, were wordslike these: HURRAH FOR THE LAND OF TOYS! DOWN WITHARITHMETIC! NO MORE SCHOOL!

As soon as they had set foot in that land, Pinocchio,Lamp-Wick, and all the other boys who had traveled withthem started out on a tour of investigation. Theywandered everywhere, they looked into every nook andcorner, house and theater. They became everybody's friend.

Who could be happier than they?

What with entertainments and parties, the hours, the days,the weeks passed like lightning.

"Oh, what a beautiful life this is!" said Pinocchio eachtime that, by chance, he met his friend Lamp-Wick.

"Was I right or wrong?" answered Lamp-Wick. "Andto think you did not want to come! To think that evenyesterday the idea came into your head to return hometo see your Fairy and to start studying again! If todayyou are free from pencils and books and school, you oweit to me, to my advice, to my care. Do you admit it? Onlytrue friends count, after all.""It's true, Lamp-Wick, it's true. If today I am a reallyhappy boy, it is all because of you. And to think that theteacher, when speaking of you, used to say, `Do not gowith that Lamp-Wick! He is a bad companion and someday he will lead you astray.'""Poor teacher!" answered the other, nodding his head.

"Indeed I know how much he disliked me and how heenjoyed speaking ill of me. But I am of a generous nature,and I gladly forgive him.""Great soul!" said Pinocchio, fondly embracing his friend.

Five months passed and the boys continued playing andenjoying themselves from morn till night, without everseeing a book, or a desk, or a school. But, my children,there came a morning when Pinocchio awoke and founda great surprise awaiting him, a surprise which made himfeel very unhappy, as you shall see.