CHAPTER 27

The great battle between Pinocchio and his playmates. One is wounded. Pinocchio is arrested.

Going like the wind, Pinocchio took but a very short time to reach the shore. He glanced all about him, but there was no sign of a Shark. The sea was as smooth as glass. "Hey there, boys! Where's that Shark?" he asked, turning to his playmates. — Sarà andato a far colazione, — rispose uno di loro, ridendo.
— O si sarà buttato sul letto per far un sonnellino, — soggiunse un altro, ridendo più forte che mai.
Da quelle risposte sconclusionate e da quelle risatacce grulle, Pinocchio capì che i suoi compagni gli avevano fatto una brutta celia, dandogli ad intendere una cosa che non era vera; e pigliandosela a male, disse a loro con voce di bizza:
— E ora? che sugo ci avete trovato a darmi ad intendere la storiella del Pesce-cane?

"He must have gone to breakfast," answered one of them, laughing.
"Or he must have flung himself on his bed to take a nap," added another, laughing louder than ever.
From those incoherent replies and those silly laughs, Pinocchio understood that his companions had made a bad joke of him, making him believe something that wasn't true; and taking it badly, he said to them in a tantrum:
- And now? What gravy did you find there to give me to understand the little story of the Dog-fish?

"The sauce is sure to be there!..." those urchins answered in chorus. "And would that be?… “To make you miss school and come with us. Aren't you ashamed to show yourself so precise and so diligent every day in the lessons? You're not ashamed to study so much, how do you do it? "And if I study, what does it matter to you?" — We care very much about it because you force us to make a bad impression on the master…

- Why?
“Because schoolchildren who study always make those, like us, who don't want to study disappear. And we don't want to disappear! We have our own love too!…
"Then what must I do to please you?"
- You too must get bored, the school, the lesson and the teacher, who are our three great enemies.

What if I want to continue studying?
“We will never look you in the face again, and at the first opportunity you will pay us!…
"Actually, you almost make me laugh," said the puppet with a shake of the head.
- Hey, Pinocchio! cried the eldest of those boys then, hitting his face. - Don't come here to be a braggart: don't come here to be a cockerel!... because if you're not afraid of us, we're not afraid of you! Remember that you are alone and we are seven.

You are alone, you know, and we are seven." "Like the seven sins," said Pinocchio, still laughing. "Did you hear that? He has insulted us all. He has called us sins." "Pinocchio, apologize for that, or look out!" "Cuck—oo!" said the Marionette, mocking them with his thumb to his nose.

"You'll be sorry!" "Cuck—oo!" "We'll whip you soundly!" "Cuck—oo!" "You'll go home with a broken nose!" "Cuck—oo!" "Very well, then! Take that, and keep it for your supper," called out the boldest of his tormentors. And with the words, he gave Pinocchio a terrible blow on the head.

Pinocchio answered with another blow, and that was the signal for the beginning of the fray. In a few moments, the fight raged hot and heavy on both sides.

Pinocchio, although alone, defended himself bravely. With those two wooden feet of his, he worked so fast that his opponents kept at a respectful distance. Wherever they landed, they left their painful mark.

Enraged at not being able to fight the Marionette at close quarters, they started to throw all kinds of books at him. Readers, geographies, histories, grammars flew in all directions. But Pinocchio was keen of eye and swift of movement, and the books only passed over his head, landed in the sea, and disappeared.

The fish, thinking they might be good to eat, came to the top of the water in great numbers. Some took a nibble, some took a bite, but no sooner had they tasted a page or two, than they spat them out with a wry face, as if to say: "What a horrid taste! Our own food is so much better!"

Meanwhile, the battle waxed more and more furious. At the noise, a large Crab crawled slowly out of the water and, with a voice that sounded like a trombone suffering from a cold, he cried out: "Stop fighting, you rascals! These battles between boys rarely end well. Trouble is sure to come to you!"

Poor Crab! He might as well have spoken to the wind. Instead of listening to his good advice, Pinocchio turned to him and said as roughly as he knew how: "Keep quiet, ugly Gab! It would be better for you to chew a few cough drops to get rid of that cold you have. Go to bed and sleep!

You will feel better in the morning." In the meantime, the boys, having used all their books, looked around for new ammunition. Seeing Pinocchio's bundle lying idle near-by, they somehow managed to get hold of it. One of the books was a very large volume, an arithmetic text, heavily bound in leather. It was Pinocchio's pride.

Among all his books, he liked that one the best. Thinking it would make a fine missile, one of the boys took hold of it and threw it with all his strength at Pinocchio's head. But instead of hitting the Marionette, the book struck one of the other boys, who, as pale as a ghost, cried out faintly: "Oh, Mother, help! I'm dying!"

and fell senseless to the ground. At the sight of that pale little corpse, the boys were so frightened that they turned tail and ran. In a few moments, all had disappeared. All except Pinocchio. Although scared to death by the horror of what had been done, he ran to the sea and soaked his handkerchief in the cool water and with it bathed the head of his poor little schoolmate. Sobbing bitterly, he called to him, saying:

"Eugene! My poor Eugene! Open your eyes and look at me! Why don't you answer? I was not the one who hit you, you know. Believe me, I didn't do it. Open your eyes, Eugene? If you keep them shut, I'll die, too. Oh, dear me, how shall I ever go home now? How shall I ever look at my little mother again? What will happen to me? Where shall I go? Where shall I hide? Oh, how much better it would have been, a thousand times better, if only I had gone to school! Why did I listen to those boys? They always were a bad influence!

And to think that the teacher had told me—and my mother, too!—'Beware of bad company!' That's what she said. But I'm stubborn and proud. I listen, but always I do as I wish. And then I pay. I've never had a moment's peace since I've been born! Oh, dear! What will become of me? What will become of me?"

Pinocchio went on crying and moaning and beating his head. Again and again he called to his little friend, when suddenly he heard heavy steps approaching. He looked up and saw two tall Carabineers near him. "What are you doing stretched out on the ground?" they asked Pinocchio. "I'm helping this schoolfellow of mine." "Has he fainted?"

"I should say so," said one of the Carabineers, bending to look at Eugene. "This boy has been wounded on the temple. Who has hurt him?" "Not I," stammered the Marionette, who had hardly a breath left in his whole body. "If it wasn't you, who was it, then?" "Not I," repeated Pinocchio. "And with what was he wounded?" "With this book," and the Marionette picked up the arithmetic text to show it to the officer. "And whose book is this?" "Mine."

"Enough." "Not another word! Get up as quickly as you can and come along with us." "But I—" "Come with us!" "But I am innocent." "Come with us!" Before starting out, the officers called out to several fishermen passing by in a boat and said to them:

"Take care of this little fellow who has been hurt. Take him home and bind his wounds. Tomorrow we'll come after him." They then took hold of Pinocchio and, putting him between them, said to him in a rough voice: "March! And go quickly, or it will be the worse for you!"

They did not have to repeat their words. The Marionette walked swiftly along the road to the village. But the poor fellow hardly knew what he was about. He thought he had a nightmare. He felt ill. His eyes saw everything double, his legs trembled, his tongue was dry, and, try as he might, he could not utter a single word.

Yet, in spite of this numbness of feeling, he suffered keenly at the thought of passing under the windows of his good little Fairy's house. What would she say on seeing him between two Carabineers? They had just reached the village, when a sudden gust of wind blew off Pinocchio's cap and made it go sailing far down the street.

"Would you allow me," the Marionette asked the Carabineers, "to run after my cap?" "Very well, go; but hurry." The Marionette went, picked up his cap—but instead of putting it on his head, he stuck it between his teeth and then raced toward the sea. He went like a bullet out of a gun.

The Carabineers, judging that it would be very difficult to catch him, sent a large Mastiff after him, one that had won first prize in all the dog races. Pinocchio ran fast and the Dog ran faster. At so much noise, the people hung out of the windows or gathered in the street, anxious to see the end of the contest. But they were disappointed, for the Dog and Pinocchio raised so much dust on the road that, after a few moments, it was impossible to see them.