pinocchio reaches the island of the busy beesand finds the fairy once morepinocchio, spurred on by the hope of finding his fatherand of being in time to save him, swam all night long.
and what a horrible night it was! it poured rain, ithailed, it thundered, and the lightning was so bright that itturned the night into day.
at dawn, he saw, not far away from him, a long stretchof sand. it was an island in the middle of the sea.
pinocchio tried his best to get there, but he couldn't.
the waves played with him and tossed him about as if hewere a twig or a bit of straw. at last, and luckily for him,a tremendous wave tossed him to the very spot where hewanted to be. the blow from the wave was so strong that,as he fell to the ground, his joints cracked and almost broke.
but, nothing daunted, he jumped to his feet and cried:
"once more i have escaped with my life!"little by little the sky cleared. the sun came out in fullsplendor and the sea became as calm as a lake.
then the marionette took off his clothes and laid themon the sand to dry. he looked over the waters to seewhether he might catch sight of a boat with a little man init. he searched and he searched, but he saw nothing exceptsea and sky and far away a few sails, so small that theymight have been birds.
"if only i knew the name of this island!" he said to himself.
"if i even knew what kind of people i would find here!
but whom shall i ask? there is no one here."the idea of finding himself in so lonesome a spot made himso sad that he was about to cry, but just then he saw a bigfish swimming near-by, with his head far out of the water.
not knowing what to call him, the marionette said to him:
"hey there, mr. fish, may i have a word with you?""even two, if you want," answered the fish,who happened to be a very polite dolphin.
"will you please tell me if, on this island, there areplaces where one may eat without necessarily being eaten?""surely, there are," answered the dolphin. "in factyou'll find one not far from this spot.""and how shall i get there?""take that path on your left and follow your nose. youcan't go wrong.""tell me another thing. you who travel day and nightthrough the sea, did you not perhaps meet a little boat withmy father in it?""and who is you father?""he is the best father in the world, even as i am theworst son that can be found.""in the storm of last night," answered the dolphin, "thelittle boat must have been swamped.""and my father?""by this time, he must have been swallowed by theterrible shark, which, for the last few days, has beenbringing terror to these waters.""is this shark very big?" asked pinocchio, who wasbeginning to tremble with fright.
"is he big?" replied the dolphin. "just to give you an ideaof his size, let me tell you that he is larger than a fivestory building and that he has a mouth so big and so deep,that a whole train and engine could easily get into it.""mother mine!" cried the marionette, scared to death;and dressing himself as fast as he could, he turned to thedolphin and said:
"farewell, mr. fish. pardon the bother, and many thanksfor your kindness."this said, he took the path at so swift a gait that heseemed to fly, and at every small sound he heard,he turned in fear to see whether the terrible shark,five stories high and with a train in his mouth,was following him.
after walking a half hour, he came to a small countrycalled the land of the busy bees. the streets were filledwith people running to and fro about their tasks. everyoneworked, everyone had something to do. even if one wereto search with a lantern, not one idle man or one trampcould have been found.
"i understand," said pinocchio at once wearily,"this is no place for me! i was not born for work."but in the meantime, he began to feel hungry, for itwas twenty-four hours since he had eaten.
what was to be done?
there were only two means left to him in order to get abite to eat. he had either to work or to beg.
he was ashamed to beg, because his father had alwayspreached to him that begging should be done only by thesick or the old. he had said that the real poor in this world,deserving of our pity and help, were only those who, eitherthrough age or sickness, had lost the means of earning theirbread with their own hands. all others should work, andif they didn't, and went hungry, so much the worse for them.
just then a man passed by, worn out and wet with perspiration,pulling, with difficulty, two heavy carts filled with coal.
pinocchio looked at him and, judging him by his looksto be a kind man, said to him with eyes downcast in shame:
"will you be so good as to give me a penny,for i am faint with hunger?""not only one penny," answered the coal man. "i'll giveyou four if you will help me pull these two wagons.""i am surprised!" answered the marionette, very much offended.
"i wish you to know that i never have been a donkey,nor have i ever pulled a wagon.""so much the better for you!" answered the coal man.
"then, my boy, if you are really faint with hunger,eat two slices of your pride; and i hope they don'tgive you indigestion."a few minutes after, a bricklayer passed by, carryinga pail full of plaster on his shoulder.
"good man, will you be kind enough to give a penny toa poor boy who is yawning from hunger?""gladly," answered the bricklayer. "come with me and carrysome plaster, and instead of one penny, i'll give you five.""but the plaster is heavy," answered pinocchio, "and thework too hard for me.""if the work is too hard for you, my boy, enjoy your yawnsand may they bring you luck!"in less than a half hour, at least twenty people passedand pinocchio begged of each one, but they all answered:
"aren't you ashamed? instead of being a beggar in the streets,why don't you look for work and earn your own bread?"finally a little woman went by carrying two water jugs.
"good woman, will you allow me to have a drink fromone of your jugs?" asked pinocchio, who was burning upwith thirst.
"with pleasure, my boy!" she answered, setting thetwo jugs on the ground before him.
when pinocchio had had his fill, he grumbled,as he wiped his mouth:
"my thirst is gone. if i could only as easily get rid of my hunger!"on hearing these words, the good little woman immediately said:
"if you help me to carry these jugs home, i'll give you aslice of bread."pinocchio looked at the jug and said neither yes nor no.
"and with the bread, i'll give you a nice dish ofcauliflower with white sauce on it."pinocchio gave the jug another look and said neither yes nor no.
"and after the cauliflower, some cake and jam."at this last bribery, pinocchio could no longer resist and said firmly:
"very well. i'll take the jug home for you."the jug was very heavy, and the marionette, not beingstrong enough to carry it with his hands, had to put iton his head.
when they arrived home, the little woman made pinocchiosit down at a small table and placed before him thebread, the cauliflower, and the cake. pinocchio did not eat;he devoured. his stomach seemed a bottomless pit.
his hunger finally appeased, he raised his head to thankhis kind benefactress. but he had not looked at her longwhen he gave a cry of surprise and sat there with his eyeswide open, his fork in the air, and his mouth filled withbread and cauliflower.
"why all this surprise?" asked the good woman, laughing.
"because--" answered pinocchio, stammering and stuttering,"because--you look like--you remind me of--yes, yes,the same voice, the same eyes, the same hair--yes, yes,yes, you also have the same azure hair she had--oh, mylittle fairy, my little fairy! tell me that it is you!
don't make me cry any longer! if you only knew! i havecried so much, i have suffered so!"and pinocchio threw himself on the floor and claspedthe knees of the mysterious little woman.
皮诺乔一心想要及时赶到，把他可怜的爸爸救出来，于是游了整整一夜。
这一夜真是恐怖极了！天上下着瓢泼大雨，下着冰雹，打着可怕的响雷，电光闪闪如同白昼。
天亮时候，他终于看见不远的地方有一条长长的地平线。这是海当中的一个孤岛，
他于是拼了命要游到岸上，可是没成功。波浪翻腾追逐，把他像根小树枝或者稻草似地抛来抛去，最后也亏他运气好，一个凶猛的巨浪滚来，把他给扔到沙滩上。
这一下可真重，他给摔到地上，肋骨和全身的关节都咔拉咔拉地响。可他马上庆幸说：
“这一回我总算又侥幸得了救！”
这时天一点一点大亮，太阳出来，光芒四射。海面平静无浪。
木偶脱下衣服，把它铺在地上晒干。接着他望来望去，想在茫茫的水面上看到小船，看到船上那个小小的人。可他看了又看，看见的只有天空、大海和几张船帆。船帆很远很远，像苍蝇似的，
“至少得知道这个岛叫什么名字！”他一面说一面走。“至少得知道这岛上是不是住着什么好人！我想找个好人谈谈，他不会把孩子吊在树枝上的。可我能跟谁打听呢？这儿一个人也没有，我能跟谁打听呢？……”
一想到这空无一人的广阔土地上只有他一个，孤零零，孤零零，孤零零的，他就发愁得要哭了。正在这时候，他忽然看见离岸不远游过一条大鱼。这条鱼自管静静地游，整个头露在水面上。
木偶不知道这条鱼叫什么名字。他高声大叫，让它听见：
“喂——，大鱼先生，我跟您讲一句话行吗？”
“讲两句也行。”那条鱼回答说。它是世界上所有大海中很客气很少有的海豚。
“请问，在这岛上有没有地方可以吃点东西，却不会被吃掉呢？”
“当然有，”海豚回答说，“而且离这儿不远就有。”
“该走哪条道上那儿走？”
“走左边那条小道，对着鼻子笔直走。准错不了。”
“再请问一下。您白天黑夜都在海上游，没见过一只小船，里面坐着我的爸爸吗？”
“你爸爸是谁？”
“他是天底下最好的爸爸，就像我是天底下最坏的儿子一样。”
“昨夜刮暴风”，海豚回答说，“那小船准沉了。”
“那我爸爸呢？”
“当时一定给可怕的鲨鱼吃下去了。好几天来，这条鲨鱼净在我们这个海里破坏和横扫一切。”
“这条鲨鱼很大很大吗？”皮诺乔问道。这时他吓得打起哆嗦来了。
“大极啦！……”海豚回答说，“为了让你得到一个概念，我给你打个比方吧。它比一座五层大楼还高，嘴巴又大又深，一下子可以开进去整整一列火车，再加上冒烟的火车头。”
“我的妈呀！”木偶惊叫起来。他赶紧穿上衣服，转脸对海豚说：“再见，大鱼先生。请原谅我打扰了您。万分感谢您的好意。”
说时迟那时快，他马上踏上小道，加快步子走了起来，快得就像跑。每次一听到有点声音，他就回头去看，生怕那条五层大楼高、嘴巴容得下一列火车的鲨鱼在他后面追。
走了半小时，他来到一个小国，名字叫做“勤劳蜜蜂国”。街上都是有事情跑来跑去的人。他们全都干活，全都有事做。打起灯笼也找不到一个懒汉和二流子。
“我明白了，”这个不想干活的皮诺乔马上说，“这不是我呆的地方！我生下来可不是干活的！”
这时候他饿得要命，因为他已经二十四小时没吃东西了，连一碟野豌豆也没吃过。
怎么办？
他只有两个办法可以吃到东西：或者是找点活儿干干，或者是讨个子儿或者讨块面包。
乞讨是羞耻的事，因为他爸爸总是对他说，只有年老和残废的人才可以乞讨。在这个世界上，值得我们帮助和同情的真正穷人，只有由于年老和生病，没有办法再用自己的手劳动去挣得面包的人。其他的人都应当劳动，不劳动而挨饿，就是自讨苦吃。
正在这时候，街上来了一个人。他满头大汗，气也喘不过来，一个人费劲地拉着两车煤。
皮诺乔看看他的脸，断定他是个好人，就走过去，很不好意思地垂下眼睛，低声对他说：
“行行好，给我一个子儿吧，我饿得要死了！”
“不是给你一个，”拉煤的回答说，“而是给你四个，只要你帮我拉这两车煤回家。”
“叫我听了奇怪！”木偶几乎生气了说，“告诉您，我从来不当驴子，我从来不拉车！”
“那你最好这么办！”拉煤的人说，“我的孩子，如果你真觉得太饿了，你就切两大片你的骄傲来吃吧，可留神别吃撑了肚子。”
过了几分钟，街上又走过一个砌墙的，肩上扛着一桶灰泥。
“好心的人，行行好，给我这可怜孩子一个子儿吧，我饿得打哈欠了！”
“很高兴。来跟我一起搬这桶灰泥吧，”砌砖的回答说，“我不是给你一个子儿，而是给你五个。”
“可灰泥太重了，”皮诺乔回答说，“我不想花这力气，弄得筋疲力尽。”
“要是你不想花力气，那么，我的孩子，你就舒舒服服打你的哈欠吧，会给你带来好处的。”
不到半小时，至少走过了二十个人。皮诺乔向他们一个个讨钱，可他们都回答说：
“你不害臊吗？你不要当街乞讨了，还是找点活儿干干，学着自己挣面包吃吧！”
最后走过一位和善的小妇人，她提着两瓦罐水。
“好太太，让我在您的瓦罐里喝一口水好吗？”皮诺乔说，他渴得喉咙发烧，
“你就喝吧，我的孩子！”小妇人说着，把两瓦罐水放在地上，
皮诺乔像块海绵似地吸饱了水，然后擦着嘴，低声咕噜说：
“嘴是不渴了！肚子也不饿就好了！……”
好心的小妇人听了这两句话，马上接下去说：
“这里是两瓦罐水，你帮我拿一瓦罐，送到我家里，我就给一大块面包。”
皮诺乔看着瓦罐，不说好也不说不好。
“除了面包，还给你一大盆花椰莱，上面浇上油和辣酱油，”好心的小妇人又说。
皮诺乔又看了瓦罐一眼，还是不说好也不说不好。
“吃完花椰菜，我给你一块好吃的酒心糖。”
皮诺乔给最后一样好吃的东西吸引住，再也没法抗拒，下定决心说：
“没办法！就给您把这瓦罐水送到家去吧！”
瓦罐很重，木偶用两只手拿不动，就用头来顶。
到了家里，好心的小妇人让皮诺乔坐在一张铺好台布的小桌子旁边，在他面前放上面包、调好味的花椰菜和酒心糖。
皮诺乔不是吃而是吞。他的肚子像一间五个月没住人的空屋。
肚子本来饿得像咬一样痛，这时一点一点不痛了，他就抬起头来，想要谢谢给他吃饭的小妇人。可是才看第一眼，他就惊奇得拖长声音大叫：“噢——！”他坐在那里呆呆的一动不动，眼睛瞪圆，叉子高高举着，嘴巴里塞满了面包和花椰菜。
你为什么这样惊奇呀？”好心的小妇人笑着说。
“您是……”皮诺乔结结巴巴地回答，“您是……您是……您好像是……您让我想起了……对，对，对，同样的声音……同样的眼睛……同样的头发……对，对，对……您也有天蓝色的头发……像她一样！……唤，我的好仙女！……唤，我的好仙女！……跟我说一声就是您吧，的的确确就是您吧！……别叫我再哭了！你要是知道就好了！……我已经哭够了，我已经受够苦了！……”
皮诺乔这么说着，哭得泪如泉涌，跪倒在地，抱住这神秘小妇人的膝盖。
