Читать книгу Приключения Пиноккио / The adventures of Pinocchio. Уровень 1 - Карло Коллоди - Страница 18

The doctors left the room. The Fairy went to Pinocchio’s bed and touched him on the forehead. A fever!

She took a glass of water, put a white powder into it, and handed it to the Marionette:

“Drink this, and in a few days you’ll be well.”

Pinocchio looked at the glass, made a wry face, and asked:

“Is it sweet or bitter?”

“It is bitter, but it is good for you.”

“If it is bitter, I don’t want it.”

“Drink it!”

“I don’t like anything bitter.”

“Drink it and I’ll give you a lump of sugar.”

“Where’s the sugar?”

“Here it is,” said the Fairy, and took a lump from a golden sugar bowl.

“I want the sugar first, then I’ll drink the bitter water.”

“Do you promise?”

“Yes.”

The Fairy gave him the sugar and Pinocchio swallowed it. Then he took the glass in both hands and stuck his nose into it.

“It is too bitter, much too bitter! I can’t drink it. I want another lump of sugar, then I’ll drink it.”

The Fairy gave him more sugar.

“I can’t drink it like that,” the Marionette said.

“Why?”

“Because that feather pillow on my feet bothers me.”

The Fairy took away the pillow.

“I can’t drink it even now.”

“What’s the matter now?”

“I don’t like that door. It’s half open.”

The Fairy closed the door.

“I won’t drink it,” cried Pinocchio. “I won’t drink this awful water. I won’t. I won’t! No, no, no, no!”

“My boy, you are very sick.”

“I don’t care.”

“In a few hours you’ll die.”

“I don’t care.”

“Aren’t you afraid of death?”

“Not a bit. Better to die than drink that awful medicine.”

At that moment, the door of the room opened and four Rabbits as black as ink, brought a small black coffin on their shoulders.

“What do you want from me?” asked Pinocchio.

“We want you,” said the largest Rabbit.

“Me? But I’m not dead yet!”

“No, not dead yet; but you will be in a few moments.”

“Oh, Fairy, my Fairy,” the Marionette cried, “give me that glass! Quick, please! I don’t want to die! No, no, not yet-not yet!”

And he swallowed the medicine at one gulp. The four Rabbits turned on their heels and marched solemnly out of the room.

With one leap Pinocchio was out of bed. The Fairy said to him:

“My medicine was good for you, after all, wasn’t it?”

“Good indeed!”

“But you didn’t want to drink it.”

“I’m a boy, you see, and all boys hate medicine.”

“What a shame! Medicine can save them from much pain and even from death.”

“Next time I’ll remember those black Rabbits with the black coffin on their shoulders and I’ll take the glass easily!”

“Come here now and tell me about yourself.”

“Well, the Director gave me five gold pieces to give to my Father. On the way, I met a Fox and a Cat, who asked me, ‘Do you want the five pieces to become two thousand?’ And I said, ‘Yes.’ And they said, ‘Come with us to the Field of Wonders.’ And I said, ‘Let’s go.’ Then they said, ‘Let us stop at the Inn of the Red Lobster for dinner.’ We ate and went to sleep. When I awoke they were absent and I walked alone. On the road I met two Robbers in black coal sacks, who said to me, ‘Your money or your life!’ and I said, ‘I haven’t any money’. You see, the money was under my tongue. One of them tried to put his hand in my mouth and I bit it off. But it wasn’t a hand, it was a cat’s paw. And they ran after me and I ran and ran, till at last they caught me and tied my neck with a rope and hanged me to a tree.”

“Where are the gold pieces now?” the Fairy asked.

“I lost them,” answered Pinocchio, but he told a lie, for he had them in his pocket.

As he spoke, his nose became at least two inches longer.

“And where did you lose them?”

“In the wood.”

At this second lie, his nose grew a few more inches.

“If you lost them in the wood,” said the Fairy, “we’ll look for them and find them.”

“Ah, now I remember,” replied the Marionette. “I did not lose the gold pieces, but I swallowed them when I drank the medicine.”

At this third lie, his nose became longer than ever. The Fairy laughed.

“Why do you laugh?” the Marionette asked her.

“I laugh at your lies.”

“How do you know?”

“My boy, there are two kinds of lies, lies with short legs and lies with long noses. Your lies have long noses.”

Pinocchio tried to escape from the room, but his nose was very long.