Page:Collodi - The Story of a Puppet, translation Murray, 1892.djvu/119



had been sleeping heavily for about two hours when, towards midnight, he was roused by a whispering of strange voices that seemed to come from the courtyard. Putting the point of his nose out of the kennel he saw four little beasts with dark fur, that looked like cats, standing consulting together. But they were not cats; they were polecats—carnivorous little animals, especially greedy for eggs and young chickens. One of the polecats, leaving his companions, came to the opening of the kennel and said in a low voice:

'Good evening, Melampo.'

'My name is not Melampo,' answered the puppet.

'Oh! then who are you?'

'I am Pinocchio.'

'And what are you doing here?'

'I am acting as watch-dog.'