him right upon the shore. The force with which he struck the ground was so great that it nearly broke his bones; but he said, “I have been very lucky to escape this time.”
In the meantime the weather cleared. The sun appeared in all its splendor and the sea became as smooth as oil. Then the marionette laid his clothes out on the sand and sat in the sun to dry himself. He looked all around, but he saw nothing of the little boat that contained his papa.
“I should like to know the name of this island,” he said to himself. “I should like to know, at least, if it is inhabited by kind people who do not hang boys to trees; but whom can I ask if there is no one here?”
The idea of finding himself alone on an island in the sea made him very sad and he began to cry. Suddenly he saw, passing by not very far from shore, a large Fish, who went about his business quietly with his head above the water. The marionette called in a loud voice, so as to make himself heard, “Hello, Mr. Fish! Will you allow me one word?”
“Two,” replied the Fish, who was so polite a dolphin that it would be hard to find his equal in the sea.
“Will you please tell me if in this island I can find something to eat without being eaten?”
