Page:Collodi - The Story of a Puppet, translation Murray, 1892.djvu/218

 began to eat me. And what mouthfuls they took! I should never have thought that fish were greedier than boys! . . . Some ate my ears, some my muzzle, others my neck and mane, some the skin of my legs, some my coat. . . and amongst them there was a little fish so polite that he even condescended to eat my tail.'

'From this time forth,' said his purchaser, horrified, 'I swear that I will never touch fish. It would be too dreadful to open a mullet, or a fried whiting, and to find inside a donkey's tail!'

'I agree with you,' said the puppet, laughing 'However, I must tell you that when the fish had finished eating the donkey's hide that covered me from head to foot, they naturally reached the bone. . . or rather the wood, for as you see I am made of the hardest wood. But after giving a few bites they soon discovered that I was not a morsel for their teeth, and disgusted with such indigestible food they went off, some in one direction and some in another, without so much as saying thank you to me. And now at last I have told you how it was that when you pulled up the rope you found a live puppet instead of a dead donkey.'

'I laugh at your story,' cried the man in a rage. 'I know only that I spent twenty pence to buy you, and I will have my money back. Shall I tell you what I will do? I