pinocchio's ears become like those of a donkey.

in a little while he changes into a real donkey and begins to brayeveryone, at one time or another, has found some surpriseawaiting him. of the kind which pinocchio had on thateventful morning of his life, there are but few.

what was it? i will tell you, my dear little readers.

on awakening, pinocchio put his hand up to his head andthere he found--guess!

he found that, during the night, his ears had grownat least ten full inches!

you must know that the marionette, even from hisbirth, had very small ears, so small indeed that to thenaked eye they could hardly be seen. fancy how he feltwhen he noticed that overnight those two dainty organshad become as long as shoe brushes!

he went in search of a mirror, but not finding any,he just filled a basin with water and looked at himself.

there he saw what he never could have wished to see.

his manly figure was adorned and enriched by a beautifulpair of donkey's ears.

i leave you to think of the terrible grief, the shame,the despair of the poor marionette.

he began to cry, to scream, to knock his head againstthe wall, but the more he shrieked, the longer and themore hairy grew his ears.

at those piercing shrieks, a dormouse came into theroom, a fat little dormouse, who lived upstairs. seeingpinocchio so grief-stricken, she asked him anxiously:

"what is the matter, dear little neighbor?""i am sick, my little dormouse, very, very sick--andfrom an illness which frightens me! do you understandhow to feel the pulse?""a little.""feel mine then and tell me if i have a fever."the dormouse took pinocchio's wrist between her paws and,after a few minutes, looked up at him sorrowfully and said:

"my friend, i am sorry, but i must give you some very sad news.""what is it?""you have a very bad fever.""but what fever is it?""the donkey fever.""i don't know anything about that fever," answered the marionette,beginning to understand even too well what was happening to him.

"then i will tell you all about it," said the dormouse.

"know then that, within two or three hours, you will nolonger be a marionette, nor a boy.""what shall i be?""within two or three hours you will become a real donkey,just like the ones that pull the fruit carts to market.""oh, what have i done? what have i done?" cried pinocchio,grasping his two long ears in his hands and pulling and tuggingat them angrily, just as if they belonged to another.

"my dear boy," answered the dormouse to cheer him up a bit,"why worry now? what is done cannot be undone, you know.

fate has decreed that all lazy boys who come to hate booksand schools and teachers and spend all their days with toysand games must sooner or later turn into donkeys.""but is it really so?" asked the marionette, sobbing bitterly.

"i am sorry to say it is. and tears now are useless.

you should have thought of all this before.""but the fault is not mine. believe me, little dormouse,the fault is all lamp-wick's.""and who is this lamp-wick?""a classmate of mine. i wanted to return home. i wantedto be obedient. i wanted to study and to succeedin school, but lamp-wick said to me, `why do you wantto waste your time studying? why do you want to goto school? come with me to the land of toys.

there we'll never study again. there we can enjoyourselves and be happy from morn till night.'""and why did you follow the advice of that false friend?""why? because, my dear little dormouse, i am a heedlessmarionette--heedless and heartless. oh! if i had onlyhad a bit of heart, i should never have abandonedthat good fairy, who loved me so well and who has beenso kind to me! and by this time, i should no longer be amarionette. i should have become a real boy, like all thesefriends of mine! oh, if i meet lamp-wick i am goingto tell him what i think of him--and more, too!"after this long speech, pinocchio walked to the doorof the room. but when he reached it, remembering hisdonkey ears, he felt ashamed to show them to the publicand turned back. he took a large cotton bag from a shelf,put it on his head, and pulled it far down to his very nose.

thus adorned, he went out. he looked for lamp-wick everywhere,along the streets, in the squares, inside the theatres,everywhere; but he was not to be found. he asked everyonewhom he met about him, but no one had seen him. in desperation,he returned home and knocked at the door.

"who is it?" asked lamp-wick from within.

"it is i!" answered the marionette.

"wait a minute."after a full half hour the door opened. another surpriseawaited pinocchio! there in the room stood his friend,with a large cotton bag on his head, pulled far down to his very nose.

at the sight of that bag, pinocchio felt slightly happierand thought to himself:

"my friend must be suffering from the same sicknessthat i am! i wonder if he, too, has donkey fever?"but pretending he had seen nothing, he asked with a smile:

"how are you, my dear lamp-wick?""very well. like a mouse in a parmesan cheese.""is that really true?""why should i lie to you?""i beg your pardon, my friend, but why then are youwearing that cotton bag over your ears?""the doctor has ordered it because one of my knees hurts.

and you, dear marionette, why are you wearing that cotton bagdown to your nose?""the doctor has ordered it because i have bruised my foot.""oh, my poor pinocchio!""oh, my poor lamp-wick!"an embarrassingly long silence followed these words,during which time the two friends looked at each otherin a mocking way.

finally the marionette, in a voice sweet as honey andsoft as a flute, said to his companion:

"tell me, lamp-wick, dear friend, have you eversuffered from an earache?""never! and you?""never! still, since this morning my ear has been torturing me.""so has mine.""yours, too? and which ear is it?""both of them. and yours?""both of them, too. i wonder if it could be the same sickness.""i'm afraid it is.""will you do me a favor, lamp-wick?""gladly! with my whole heart.""will you let me see your ears?""why not? but before i show you mine, i want to see yours,dear pinocchio.""no. you must show yours first.""no, my dear! yours first, then mine.""well, then," said the marionette, "let us make a contract.""let's hear the contract!""let us take off our caps together. all right?""all right.""ready then!"pinocchio began to count, "one! two! three!"at the word "three!" the two boys pulled off theircaps and threw them high in air.

and then a scene took place which is hard to believe,but it is all too true. the marionette and his friend,lamp-wick, when they saw each other both stricken by thesame misfortune, instead of feeling sorrowful and ashamed,began to poke fun at each other, and after much nonsense,they ended by bursting out into hearty laughter.

they laughed and laughed, and laughed again--laughedtill they ached--laughed till they cried.

but all of a sudden lamp-wick stopped laughing. he totteredand almost fell. pale as a ghost, he turned to pinocchio and said:

"help, help, pinocchio!""what is the matter?""oh, help me! i can no longer stand up.""i can't either," cried pinocchio; and his laughterturned to tears as he stumbled about helplessly.

they had hardly finished speaking, when both of them fellon all fours and began running and jumping around the room.

as they ran, their arms turned into legs, their faces lengthenedinto snouts and their backs became covered with long gray hairs.

this was humiliation enough, but the most horriblemoment was the one in which the two poor creatures felttheir tails appear. overcome with shame and grief,they tried to cry and bemoan their fate.

but what is done can't be undone! instead of moansand cries, they burst forth into loud donkey brays, whichsounded very much like, "haw! haw! haw!"at that moment, a loud knocking was heard at the doorand a voice called to them:

"open! i am the little man, the driver of the wagonwhich brought you here. open, i say, or beware!"

这是一个什么晴天霹雳呢？

我亲爱的小读者，我这就来告诉大家，这个晴天霹雳就是：皮诺乔早晨醒来，自然而然地伸手去抓头，他一抓头就发现……

诸位猜他发现了什么？

他大吃一惊，竟发现他的两只耳朵变得比手掌还大。

诸位知道，木偶有生以来，两只耳朵是很小很小的，小得连看也看不见！诸位想象一下，当他发现两只耳朵一夜工夫变得那么长，长得像两把地板刷子的时候，他是多么吃惊啊。

他马上去找镜子照，可是镜子没找到，就在洗脸架上的洗脸盆里倒上水，往水里一看，就看见了他永远不想看见的事情，也就是说，他看见他的影子在头上添了一对妙不可言的驴耳朵。

请诸位想想，可怜的皮诺乔这一来是多么苦恼、害臊和绝望啊！

他开始又哭又叫，用脑袋去撞墙。可他越是绝望，耳朵长得越长，直到耳朵尖都长出毛来。

听到这哇哇叫声，住楼上的一只漂亮土拨鼠走进木偶的屋子，看见他像发了疯似的，就关心地问他：

“你怎么啦，我的好邻居？”

“我病了，我的小土拨鼠，病得很厉害……害的这种病可真叫我害怕！你会把脉吗？”

“会一点。”

“那就看看我有没有发烧吧。”

土拨鼠举起右前爪，把过皮诺乔的脉以后，叹着气说：

“我的朋友，我真抱歉，可也只好告诉你一个不好的消息！……”

“什么消息？”

“你在发高烧！……”

“发什么样的高烧，”

“发驴子的高烧。”

“什么驴子的高烧，我不明白！”木偶嘴里这么回答，其实他心里太明白了。

“那我来给你解释。”土拨鼠说下去，“你要知道，在两三个钟头之内，你就不再是一个木偶，也不是一个孩子……”

“那是什么呢？”

“在两三个钟头之内，你就要变成一头真正的驴子，跟拉车和驮白菜生菜到菜市去的驴子一模一样。”

“噢！我真苦命啊！我真苦命啊！”皮诺乔哭叫着，用手抓住两只耳朵，拼命地又拉又拔，好像这是别人的耳朵，

“我亲爱的，”土拨鼠为了安慰他，对他说，“你想怎么办呢？这是注定了的。圣人早就在书上写着，懒孩子不爱书本，不爱学校，不爱老师，整天玩乐，早晚都要变成这种小驴子。”

“这是真的吗？”木偶哭着问。

“不幸得很，这是真的！如今哭也没用。早就该想到！”

“可错的不是我。小土拨鼠，请你相信我，错的全是小灯芯！……”

“这个小灯芯是谁？”

“是我的一个同学。我想回家，我想听话，我想继续学习，我想有出息……可小灯芯对我说：‘你干吗要学习，自讨苦吃呢？你干吗想上学呢？还是跟我走吧，上“玩儿国”去。到了那里，咱们就再不用学习了，可以从早玩到晚，老是快快活活的。’”

“那你为什么听这个假朋友的话，听这个坏同学的话呢？”

“为什么……我的小土拨鼠，因为我是个木偶，没头脑……没心肝。噢，我有一点儿心肝就好了，我就不会抛弃好仙女了。她像妈妈一样爱我，为我做了那么多的事！……而且我这会儿也不再是个木偶了……我已经是个真正的孩子，跟所有的孩子一样！噢……我要是碰到小灯芯，我要叫他倒霉！我要骂他一通，骂他个狗血喷头！……”

他说着就要出去。可他一到门口，就想起那对驴耳朵，真不好意思让人看到。他发明了一个什么办法呢？他拿起一顶棉的大尖帽戴在头上，一直拉到鼻尖那儿。

他这才出去，到处找小灯芯。他在街上找，在广场上找，在小戏棚里找。到处都找遍了，就是找不到小灯芯。他在街上见人就问，可谁也不知道。

于是他上小灯芯家去找，到了他家就敲门。

“谁呀，”小灯芯在里面问。

“是我！”木偶回答说。

“等一等，我这就给你开门。”

过了半个钟头门才打开。诸位想象一下皮诺乔有多么奇怪，因为他走进屋子，看见他的朋友小灯芯也戴着一顶棉的大尖帽，也一直拉到鼻子底下。

皮诺乔一看见帽子，就觉得心宽一些，马上想：

“我这位朋友说不定也是跟我害一样的病吧？他也在发驴子的高烧？……”

他装作什么也没看见，微笑着问他说：

“你好吗？我亲爱的小灯芯？”

“很好，就像一只耗子住在一块干酪里。”

“你这是真话吗？”

“我干吗要说谎？”

“对不起，朋友，你头上干吗戴那么一顶棉的大尖帽，把你的耳朵都盖住了？”

大夫吩咐我这么办，因为我这个膝盖不舒服。亲爱的木偶，那你呢？干吗也戴这么一顶棉的大尖帽，一直拉到鼻子底下呀？”

“也是大夫吩咐的，因为我一只脚擦伤了。”

“噢，可怜的皮诺乔！……”

“噢，可怜的小灯芯！……”

讲完这番话以后，两个朋友老半天不说话，只是用讥笑的眼光你看着我，我看着你。

最后木偶用很甜很细的声音对他的同学说：

“我很想知道，请你告诉我，我亲爱的小灯芯，你从来没害过耳病吗？”

“没有！……你呢？”

“没有！不过从今天早上起，有一只耳朵叫我很不痛快。”

“我也是的。”

“你也是？……你哪只耳朵不舒服？”

“两只都不舒服。你呢？”

“也是两只。害同样的病吗？”

“我怕是的。”

“你肯答应我一件事吗？小灯芯？”

“很乐意！打心底里高兴。”

“你让我看看你的耳朵好吗？”

“有什么不好？可我想先看看你的，亲爱的皮诺乔。”

“不行、先看你的。”

“不，不，亲爱的！先看你的，再看我的！”

“那么，”木偶说，“咱俩订个君子协定。”

“先听听协定的内容。”

“咱俩同时摘帽子，同意吗？”

“同意。”

“好，准备！”

皮诺乔开始大声数：

“一！二！三！”

“一说到三，两个孩子同时摘下帽子，扔到半空。

这时候出现的场面要不是千真万确的，就会叫人觉得不可相信，这个场面就是：皮诺乔和小灯芯—看见两个人遭到的都是同样的不幸，就不但不觉得害臊和伤心，反而拼命盯着对方长得老长的耳朵看，大开玩笑，最后哈哈大笑起来。

他们笑啊，笑啊，笑啊，只要还能站住，就一个劲儿地笑个不停。可小灯芯正笑得起劲，忽然住了笑，摇摇摆摆，脸色大变，对他的朋友说：

“救命啊，救命啊，皮诺乔！”

“你怎么啦？”

“唉哟！我再也站不住了。”

“我也站不住了，”皮诺乔也哭着摇摇晃晃地叫起来。

他们正叫嚷间，两个都在地上趴了下来，用两手两脚爬着走，开始在屋子里团团转地跑了起来。他们跑着跑着，胳膊变成了腿，脸也拉长，变成了驴子脸，背上长满了亮灰色的毛，还夹着黑斑点。

诸位知道，这两个倒霉家伙最糟糕的是哪一个时刻吗？最糟糕最丢脸的时刻就是觉得屁股后面长出了尾巴。他们又害臊又伤心，开始哇哇大哭，抱怨命苦。

可是到头来连抱怨叫苦也办不到了！他们发出来的不是叫苦抱怨的话，而是驴子的叫声。他们同声大叫：伊—呀，伊—呀，伊—呀。

这时候外面有人敲门，说：

“开门！是我，带你们上这儿来的赶车人。马上开门，要不你们就倒霉了！”