Page:The adventures of Pinocchio (Cramp 1904).djvu/224

 one after another he did not know whether it was all real or whether it was a dream.

“Where is my papa?” he cried suddenly. Then, entering the next room, he found Geppetto well and as young as when he first began his profession of carving.

“What does it all mean, dear Papa?” asked Pinocchio.

“It means that you deserve all this beautiful house,” said Geppetto.

“I deserve it? Why?”

“Because when bad boys become good, they make everything change for the better and make the whole family happy.”

“And the old wooden Pinocchio—where is it hidden?”

“There it is,” replied Geppetto, pointing to a wooden marionette leaning on a chair with its head limp, its arms hanging down, and its legs crossed, so that it was a wonder that it could stand at all.

Pinocchio turned to look at his old self; and after he had regarded it a little, he said to himself with great satisfaction: “How funny I was when I was a marionette! and how happy I am now that I have become a real live boy!”