Page:The adventures of Pinocchio (Cramp 1904).djvu/138

 forehead with his first finger as if he said, “There is much wisdom inside.”

Now it happened, one beautiful day as he was going to school, that he met some of his companions who said to him, “Have you heard the news?”

“No.”

“There has floated on the beach not far from here a big dogfish as large as a mountain.”

“Truly? Why, it may be the same one that swallowed my papa.”

“We are going to look at it. Will you come along?”

“No. I want to go to school.”

“Oh, pshaw! What do you care for school? We can go there to-morrow. One lesson more or less does not matter at all.”

“And the teacher, what will he say?”

“Oh, let him talk. He is paid to growl at boys all day long.”

“And my mamma?”

“The mammas never know anything,” said the wicked boys.

“Do you know what I will do?” said Pinocchio. “I want to see the dogfish very much, so I will go after school.”

“Poor stupid thing!” they said. “Do you think that a dogfish of that size will wait for your slow