Page:The adventures of Pinocchio (Cramp 1904).djvu/24

 life; and turning to Pinocchio, said: “Bad little boy! You are not yet finished and already lack respect to your father. Bad, bad boy!” And he dried a tear.

There were now only the legs and feet to make. When Geppetto had finished them he felt a kick on the end of his nose. “I deserve it,” he said to himself; “I ought to have thought of this at first! Now it is too late!” Then he took the marionette in his arms and placed him on the ground to make him walk. Pinocchio behaved at first as if his legs were asleep and he could not move them. Geppetto led him around the room for some time, showing him how to put one foot in front of the other. When his legs were stretched Pinocchio began to walk and then to run around the room. When he saw the door open he jumped into the street and ran away.

Poor Geppetto ran as fast as he could, but he was not able to catch him; Pinocchio jumped like a rabbit. He made a noise with his wooden feet on the hard road like twenty pairs of little wooden shoes.

“Stop him! stop him!” cried Geppetto; but the people in the street, seeing the wooden marionette running as fast as a rabbit, stopped to look at it, and laughed, and laughed, and laughed, so that it is really hard to describe how they enjoyed it all.