Pinocchio in Africa Part 10

HIS ostrich was no longer alone. There stood another. The new arrival, somewhat smaller, but uglier and even more ferocious than the first, moved cautiously, ready for fight. Suddenly Pinocchio saw the gleam of a knife, and an instant later the ostrich that had carried him thus far fell to the ground, wounded to death. The marionette could not understand how it was possible for a bird to carry a knife hidden beneath its wings and to make use of it. Yet the thing had happened right before his eyes; there was no doubt about it.

While seeking an explanation for his very strange incident, he saw the victorious ostrich draw first one arm, then the other, from beneath its feathers, and finally take off its beak and place it upon the ground. The second ostrich was a man.

Pinocchio now began to understand what had happened, and to hate the trickster who had put on the feathers of an ostrich, in order to attack and kill the poor creature that lay there breathing its last.

The man approached the dying ostrich and tried to lift the huge bird to his shoulders, but in spite of his great strength he failed. Then looking about in search of help, he saw the marionette, whose head was out of the water, and signaled to him to come ash.o.r.e. Pinocchio would have refused, but there was the knife lying on the ground, and there was the man. He decided to obey.

He came out of the pond as best he could, and the ugly black man began to laugh. He laughed and laughed until he was able to stand no longer, and could only throw himself upon the ground, where he lay, breathless and weak. The marionette, seeing this, said to himself: "If I do not escape now, it will be my own fault. My dear legs, it is no dishonor to run when you must!" and he went on at a gallop toward a hill which could be seen a short distance away.

"May you die of laughing, you villain!" he cried as he ran.

Presently he was somewhat alarmed to discover that the man was running after him. Feeling sure, however, that he could easily outrun his pursuer, he halted a moment, as if waiting for him. The man was hurrying on, thinking that the boy could go no farther, when the saucy marionette, putting his hand to his mouth, shouted "Cuckoo!" Then at a pace swifter than the wind he set off once more, pausing now and again to call out, "Cuckoo! Cuckoo!"

Pinocchio had nearly reached the top of the hill, and the man was halfway up, when a loud roar made them both stop. Turning around, they saw that a lion was carrying off the dead ostrich. At that, the hunter thrust his fingers into his curly hair, and without paying further attention to the marionette, started off to regain the knife, which was still lying where it had fallen.

"t.i.t for tat," Pinocchio shouted after him, and went on up the hill.

30. Pinocchio Is Swallowed By A Crocodile

WHEN Pinocchio reached the top of the hill he looked around for a place where he could rest. He thought of the lion that had carried off the ostrich, and he did not like the idea of meeting him. Fortunately there were no signs of life, but neither was there any place where he could sit down in comfort. Sand and rocks, rocks and sand were everywhere. In the distance he saw water.

"At any rate," he said, "I shall at least be able to wash myself;"

and he turned his footsteps toward the water.

He arrived before long at the water's edge. How fresh and clean it was! He was so dusty and tired that there was only one thing to do, take a bath! When Pinocchio decided upon a course of action he did not hesitate. In an instant he was undressed.

As he started toward the water a voice cried, "Pinocchio!

Pinocchio!"

"Oh, let Pinocchio alone!" the marionette said, and leaped into the air.

Horrors! As he came flying down, a green ma.s.s rose to the surface of the river. It was a crocodile! Pinocchio saw it and shuddered, but there was no time to cry out. Down, down he went into that open mouth!

But wooden marionettes are always fortunate. The crocodile's throat was so wide that Pinocchio slipped into the stomach of the creature with great ease. Not even a scratch! As he was accustomed to being under water and inside the bodies of animals, he was not at all frightened.

In fact, when he noticed that he was being carried down to the bottom of the river, where it was cool and refres.h.i.+ng, he uttered no word of complaint, but rather enjoyed the experience.The crocodile crawled in to a cave, and prepared to digest the marionette at its leisure.

Pinocchio was naturally annoyed at this and began to kick and squirm about.

At first this did not seem to cause any ill effects, but Pinocchio kicked and struggled until the poor reptile could not help wondering what the trouble was, and began to twist and shake its whole body.

Pinocchio did not stop. Presently the crocodile decided to return to the surface and deposit the marionette upon the bank. Pinocchio desired nothing better. As soon as he saw a ray of light he became very quiet.

The crocodile, now that the trouble seemed over, was about to return to its cave, but it had made this plan without consulting our wooden marionette.

"Suppose I let the beast carry me a short distance! I can make it throw me upon the bank later as well as now! It may carry me to some place where - enough, I am going to try it! A green s.h.i.+p, without sails, without engines, and without a crew, is not to be found every day. Boo! boo! boo!" muttered the marionette.

The crocodile, frightened at the strange noises inside its body, began to swim with all its strength. It swam and swam and swam! When it slowed up the marionette continued, "Boo! boo! boo!" and the crocodile went on faster than ever.

The poor creature became thoroughly exhausted, and fairly wept with anger and fright, but the strange voice went on without ceasing.

At last, growing desperate, the crocodile stopped, opened its huge jaws, and with a great effort sent the marionette flying through the air to the bank of the river; then it disappeared in the deep water.

"Pleasant trip home! Remember me to everybody!" cried Pinocchio as he leaped about joyously.

31. Pinocchio Is Made Emperor

FINDING himself without any clothes, the marionette began to think of his condition. To go back and search for his suit was out of the question. To go about in that state did not seem proper, although he knew that the Africans in general were dressed in the same fas.h.i.+on.

Finally he decided to make himself a suit of leaves. There were some beautiful ones near by that were just suited to the purpose. He knew how to go to work, for at home he had often made clothes out of shavings and twigs. He set about his task at once and in a short time had made a garment that reached from his waist down to his knees. He was busy selecting the leaves for a coat when he happened to raise his eyes, and saw a crowd of men and women rus.h.i.+ng about as if either very happy or frantic with terror.

"Lunatics!" he murmured, and went on with his work, for he disliked to be seen half-dressed. All at once the marionette heard a hissing, humming sound. A cloud of arrows fell around him. He was amazed and terrified, not by the arrows, for what harm could arrows do to him? - but by the idea that this meant more trouble for Pinocchio.

"So long as they shoot, I fear nothing; but if they try to capture me, I may have to jump into the river and take to my green s.h.i.+p."

The arrows continued to fall like hailstones on his shoulders, on his breast, on his arms and legs; but of course they dropped to the ground without doing any harm. The natives were astonished. They looked at one another in blank surprise.

Pinocchio, weary of the game, turned in anger toward them and shouted: "Give up shooting, stupid ones! Do you not see that you are wasting your time?"They had already perceived that this was true, and they stopped shooting. A group braver than the rest now approached the marionette and surrounded him. One of them shouted, "Hoa! Hoi! Hoi!"

"Pinocchio!" answered the marionette.

"Yah! Yah! Yah!"

"Pinocchio!" the boy repeated. "Are you deaf?"

Then they began to shout in chorus: "Yah! Yah! Hoi! Hoi! Uff! Uff!

Uff!"

And Pinocchio replied: "Yah! Yah! Hoi! Hoi! Uff! Uff! Uff!

This conversation soon began to be wearisome, and Pinocchio tried to escape. It was too late. The Africans, quick as a flash, closed in about him and, seizing him by the legs, raised him from the ground, shouting: "Long live our emperor, Pinocchio the First! Long live our emperor, Pinocchio!"

Pinocchio had never dreamed of such a welcome.

"Long live Pinocchio!"

"Ah! at last! I knew that in Africa my greatness would be recognized. Now I shall be revenged on you, my dear restaurant-keeper, and on you, dear policemen, who wanted to arrest me. Old man, you who wanted to sell me for a rhinoceros horn, now it is my turn!" Thus thought Pinocchio.

This was his first triumph. Flocking like ravens, his African subjects came to render homage to the new emperor, who was carried aloft on willing shoulders. As he pa.s.sed, all bowed to the ground and then followed in his train. Such a mult.i.tude joined the procession that it looked, from a distance, like a vast blot of ink. They went along singing the praises of Pinocchio the First, Emperor and King of all the African kings, sent from heaven to earth to replace the late emperor, who had died the preceding day.

As they marched a great chorus chanted: "He was to come forth from the mouth of a crocodile! He was to remain unharmed by poisoned arrows!

He was to have a wooden head! Long live our emperor, Pinocchio the First! Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah!"

"They shot poisoned arrows at me!" thought the marionette. "That is the way they treated their future king. Lucky for me that I am made of wood, very hard wood too! How fortunate that I came to Africa as a marionette! If I had been a real boy, there would be little to say about Pinocchio now."

32. His First Night As Emperor

PINOCCHIO, his heart filled with joy, entered the capital of his new empire amid the shouts of the people who crowded the streets. The children, rolling on the ground in glee, raised such a dust that one could hardly see.

Forward, forward, they marched through the streets until the main square was reached. The city was not a large city. Pinocchio was a little disappointed. The houses were only huts plastered with mud. The streets and even the main square were dirty.