The proprietor, Fire Eater (for that was his name), looked fearful with his black beard covering his chest and legs like an apron; but he really was not a bad man. When he saw Pinocchio carried before him and crying, “I do not want to die! I do not want to die!” he began to pity him. He resisted the feeling for a little while, but when he could do so no longer he gave a terrible sneeze.
At that sound Harlequin, who until then had been afflicted and doubled up like a weeping willow, began to look more lively, and leaning toward Pinocchio, whispered to him softly, “Good news, brother! Our master has sneezed. That is a sign that he pities you, and now you are saved.”
For you must know that while most men either cry or at least pretend to wipe their eyes when they
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