Page:Collodi - The Story of a Puppet, translation Murray, 1892.djvu/113

 sprightly and full of life, became motionless and almost rigid. He shut his eyes and his tail ceased smoking.

'Can he really be dead?' said Pinocchio, rubbing his hands with delight; and he determined to jump over him and reach the other side of the road. But just as he was going to leap the Serpent raised himself suddenly on end, like a spring set in motion; and the puppet drawing back, in his terror caught his feet and fell to the ground.

And he fell so awkwardly that his head stuck in the mud and his legs went into the air.

At the sight of the puppet kicking violently with his head in the mud the Serpent went into convulsions of laughter, and he laughed, and laughed, and laughed, until from the violence of his laughter he broke a blood-vessel in his chest and died. And that time he was really dead.

Pinocchio then set off running in hopes that he should reach the Fairy's house before dark. But before long he began to suffer so dreadfully from hunger that he could not bear it, and he jumped into a field by the way-side intending to pick some bunches of muscatel grapes. Oh, that he had never done it!

He had scarcely reached the vines when crac. . . his legs were caught between