Page:Collodi - The Story of a Puppet, translation Murray, 1892.djvu/49

 indeed! It shall be all made of gold and silver, and it shall have diamond buttons. That poor man really deserves it; for to buy me books and have me taught he has remained in his shirt sleeves. . . . And in this cold! It is only fathers who are capable of such sacrifices! . . .'

Whilst he was saying this with great emotion he thought that he heard music in the distance that sounded like fifes and the beating of a big drum: fi-fi-fi, fi-fi-fi, zum, zum, zum, zum.

He stopped and listened. The sounds came from the end of a cross street that took to a little village on the seashore.

'What can that music be? What a pity that I have to go to school, or else. . .'

And he remained irresolute. It was, however, necessary to come to a decision. Should he go to school? or should he go after the fifes?

'To-day I will go and hear the fifes, and to-morrow I will go to school,' finally decided the young scapegrace, shrugging his shoulders.

The more he ran the nearer came the sounds of the fifes and the beating of the big drum: fi-fi-fi, zum, zum, zum, zum.

At last he found himself in the middle of a square quite full of people, who were all crowding round a building made of wood and canvas, and painted a thousand colours.