The Adventures of Pinocchio by C. Collodi - HTML preview

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Chapter 20

Freed from prison, Pinocchio sets out to return to the Fairy; but on the way he

meets a Serpent and later is caught in a trap

Fancy the happiness of Pinocchio on finding himself free! Without saying yes or

no, he fled from the city and set out on the road that was to take him back to the

house of the lovely Fairy.

It had rained for many days, and the road was so muddy that, at times, Pinocchio

sank down almost to his knees.

But he kept on bravely.

Tormented by the wish to see his father and his fairy sister with azure hair, he

raced like a greyhound. As he ran, he was splashed with mud even up to his cap.

"How unhappy I have been," he said to himself. "And yet I deserve everything, for

I am certainly very stubborn and stupid! I will always have my own way. I won't

listen to those who love me and who have more brains than I. But from now on,

I'll be different and I'll try to become a most obedient boy. I have found out,

beyond any doubt whatever, that disobedient boys are certainly far from happy,

and that, in the long run, they always lose out. I wonder if Father is waiting for

me. Will I find him at the Fairy's house? It is so long, poor man, since I have seen

him, and I do so want his love and his kisses. And will the Fairy ever forgive me

for all I have done? She who has been so good to me and to whom I owe my life!

Can there be a worse or more heartless boy than I am anywhere?"

As he spoke, he stopped suddenly, frozen with terror.

What was the matter? An immense Serpent lay stretched across the road--a

Serpent with a bright green skin, fiery eyes which glowed and burned, and a

pointed tail that smoked like a chimney.

How frightened was poor Pinocchio! He ran back wildly for half a mile, and at last

settled himself atop a heap of stones to wait for the Serpent to go on his way and

leave the road clear for him.

He waited an hour; two hours; three hours; but the Serpent was always there,

and even from afar one could see the flash of his red eyes and the column of

smoke which rose from his long, pointed tail.

Pinocchio, trying to feel very brave, walked straight up to him and said in a

sweet, soothing voice:

"I beg your pardon, Mr. Serpent, would you be so kind as to step aside to let me

pass?"

He might as well have talked to a wall. The Serpent never moved.

Once more, in the same sweet voice, he spoke:

"You must know, Mr. Serpent, that I am going home where my father is waiting

for me. It is so long since I have seen him! Would you mind very much if I

passed?"

He waited for some sign of an answer to his questions, but the answer did not

come. On the contrary, the green Serpent, who had seemed, until then, wide

awake and full of life, became suddenly very quiet and still. His eyes closed and

his tail stopped smoking.

"Is he dead, I wonder?" said Pinocchio, rubbing his hands together happily.

Without a moment's hesitation, he started to step over him, but he had just raised

one leg when the Serpent shot up like a spring and the Marionette fell head over

heels backward. He fell so awkwardly that his head stuck in the mud, and there

he stood with his legs straight up in the air.

At the sight of the Marionette kicking and squirming like a young whirlwind, the

Serpent laughed so heartily and so long that at last he burst an artery and died

on the spot.

Pinocchio freed himself from his awkward position and once more began to run

in order to reach the Fairy's house before dark. As he went, the pangs of hunger

grew so strong that, unable to withstand them, he jumped into a field to pick a

few grapes that tempted him. Woe to him!

No sooner had he reached the grapevine than--crack! went his legs.

The poor Marionette was caught in a trap set there by a Farmer for some

Weasels which came every night to steal his chickens.