Page:The adventures of Pinocchio (Cramp 1904).djvu/74

 ground. Imagine his surprise when, instead of a hand, he found that he had bitten off a cat’s paw!

Encouraged by this first victory he liberated himself from the hands of the assassins and, jumping a hedge that bordered the road, began to run across the fields with the assassins after him, like two dogs after a rabbit. The one who had lost a paw ran with only one forefoot, but it was wonderful how he could get along.

After a run of fifteen miles Pinocchio could go no farther. Seeing himself lost, he climbed to the top of a large pine tree and sat on the branches. The assassins also tried to climb; but when they got halfway up they slipped and fell to the ground, rubbing the skin off their legs and hands as they dropped.

However, they did not consider themselves conquered. On the contrary, they collected a bundle of sticks, and placing them around the tree, set fire to them. In less time than it takes to tell it, the pine tree took fire and blazed like a candle blown by the wind. Pinocchio, seeing that the flames mounted higher and higher, and not wishing to be roasted, jumped down from the top of the tree. Away he ran, just as before, with the assassins always behind and never getting tired.