“Here it is,” said the Fairy, taking out a ball of sugar.
“First I want the ball of sugar; then I will drink the bitter water.”
“You promise me?”
“Yes.”
The Fairy gave him the sugar, and Pinocchio, after having crushed it to atoms, said, licking his lips, “How nice! If sugar could only be medicine, I would take it all day long.”
“Now keep your promise and drink these few bitter drops. They will cure you.”
Pinocchio unwillingly took the glass in his hand and put it under his nose; then he put it to his lips; then he put it under his nose again. Finally he said: “It is too bitter! It is too bitter! I cannot drink it.”
“How can you say that when you have not tasted it?”
“I know. I smell it. I want another ball of sugar first; then I will drink it.”
So the Fairy, with the patience of an indulgent mamma, placed in his mouth another ball of sugar and then gave him the glass again. “I cannot drink it,” said the marionette, making numerous grimaces.
“Why?”
“Because that pillow on my feet annoys me.”
