Page:Collodi - The Story of a Puppet, translation Murray, 1892.djvu/169

 they threw a thick book bound in cardboard at his head.'

'And who threw it at him?'

'One of his schoolfellows, a certain Pinocchio. . . .'

'And who is this Pinocchio?' asked the puppet, pretending ignorance.

'They say that he is a bad boy, a vagabond, a regular good-for-nothing. . . .'

'Calumnies! all calumnies!'

'Do you know this Pinocchio?'

'By sight!' answered the puppet.

'And what is your opinion of him?' asked the little man.

'He seems to me to be a very good boy, anxious to learn, and obedient and affectionate to his father and family. . . .'

Whilst the puppet was firing off all these lies, he touched his nose and perceived that it had lengthened more than a hand. Very much alarmed he began to cry out:

'Don't believe, good man, what I have been telling you. I know Pinocchio very well, and I can assure you that he is really a very bad boy, disobedient and idle, who instead of going to school runs off with his companions to amuse himself.'

He had hardly finished speaking when his nose became shorter and returned to the same size that it was before.

'And why are you all covered with white?' asked the old man suddenly.