And poor Pinocchio began to cry and bellow so loudly that he could be heard for miles.
Geppetto, who, through all the sad story, thought of only one thing, and that was that the marionette was dying of hunger, suddenly pulled out of his pocket three pears and handing them to the marionette said: “These three pears were to have been my breakfast, but I give them to you willingly. Eat them, and may they do you good.”
“If you want me to eat them, be so kind as to peel them.”
“Peel them?” replied Geppetto, greatly surprised. “I would never have believed that you could be so hard to please. Bad boy! In this world little boys must eat what is given them.”
“That is all right,” said Pinocchio, “but I never eat fruit unless it is peeled. I cannot eat the skins.”
And that good man Geppetto took out of his pocket a small knife and with much patience peeled the three pears and placed all the skins on the corner of the table.
After Pinocchio had eaten the first pear in two mouthfuls, he was in the act of throwing away the core, when Geppetto took him by the arms and said to him: “Do not throw the core away. Everything in this world has its use.”
