Page:Collodi - The Story of a Puppet, translation Murray, 1892.djvu/227

 the poultry-yard, and acknowledging my innocence let me go, and the Serpent with the smoking tail began to laugh and broke a blood-vessel in his chest, and so I returned to the house of the beautiful Child who was dead, and the Pigeon, seeing that I was crying, said to me, "I have seen your father who was building a little boat to go in search of you," and I said to him, "Oh! if I had also wings," and he said to me, "Do you want to go to your father?" and I said, "Without doubt! but who will take me to him?" and he said to me, "I will take you," and I said to him "How," and he said to me, "Get on my back," and so we flew all night, and then in the morning all the fishermen who were looking out to sea said to me, "There is a poor man in a boat who is on the point of being drowned," and I recognised you at once, even at that distance, for my heart told me, and I made signs to you to return to land. . . .'

'I also recognised you,' said Geppetto, 'and I would willingly have returned to the shore: but what was I to do? The sea was tremendous, and a great wave upset my boat. Then a horrible Dog-fish who was near, as soon as he saw me in the water came towards me, and putting out his tongue took hold of me, and swallowed me as if I had been a little Bologna tart.'