Page:The adventures of Pinocchio (Cramp 1904).djvu/112



After he had slept two hours he was awakened at midnight by a whispering which sounded like ''pist! pist!'' It appeared to come from the barnyard. He put his nose out of the hole in the dog house and saw four little beasts that looked like cats. But they were not cats; they were Polecats,—carnivorous animals who eat eggs and young chickens. One of the Polecats, leaving his companions, went to the hole in the dog house and said in a low voice, “Good evening, Bruno.”

“I am not called Bruno.”

“Oh, then, who are you?”

“I am Pinocchio.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I am playing watchdog.”

“Oh, where is Bruno? Where is the old dog that lived in this house?”

“He died this morning.”