Page:The adventures of Pinocchio (Cramp 1904).djvu/201

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PINOCCHIO
189

After a little time he turned around and shouted: “Good-by, dear sir! If you want a piece of kindling wood, don’t forget me.”

Almost in the twinkling of an eye he was so far away that he could hardly be seen; that is, one could see only a little black point on the water, splashing around just like a jolly dolphin.

Meanwhile, as Pinocchio swam around, he saw not very far away a rock which looked like white marble. On the top of the rock there was a beautiful Goat that bleated and made a sign to him to come nearer. The most singular thing about this goat was the color of its wool. It was not white or black or any color that other goats have. It was blue, just like the hair of the beautiful Baby.

I will leave you to imagine how the heart of Pinocchio began to beat. He redoubled his efforts to reach the rock. Already he was halfway there when he saw coming out of the water the horrible head of a sea monster, with mouth opened wide like an abyss and three rows of teeth that would frighten you, even to see them painted in a picture book.

Can you guess who that monster was? It was no other than the huge Dogfish described several times in this story. On account of his destructive and bloodthirsty nature he was called “The Attila of fishes and fishermen.”