Pinocchio is robbed of his gold pieces and,in punishment, is sentenced to four months in prisonIf the Marionette had been told to wait a day instead oftwenty minutes, the time could not have seemed longerto him. He walked impatiently to and fro and finallyturned his nose toward the Field of Wonders.
And as he walked with hurried steps, his heart beatwith an excited tic, tac, tic, tac, just as if it were a wallclock, and his busy brain kept thinking:
"What if, instead of a thousand, I should find twothousand? Or if, instead of two thousand, I should find fivethousand--or one hundred thousand? I'll build myself abeautiful palace, with a thousand stables filled with athousand wooden horses to play with, a cellar overflowingwith lemonade and ice cream soda, and a library of candiesand fruits, cakes and cookies."Thus amusing himself with fancies, he came to the field.
There he stopped to see if, by any chance, a vine filledwith gold coins was in sight. But he saw nothing! Hetook a few steps forward, and still nothing! He steppedinto the field. He went up to the place where he haddug the hole and buried the gold pieces. Again nothing!
Pinocchio became very thoughtful and, forgetting his goodmanners altogether, he pulled a hand out of his pocket andgave his head a thorough scratching.
As he did so, he heard a hearty burst of laughter closeto his head. He turned sharply, and there, just above himon the branch of a tree, sat a large Parrot, busily preeninghis feathers.
"What are you laughing at?" Pinocchio asked peevishly.
"I am laughing because, in preening my feathers, Itickled myself under the wings."The Marionette did not answer. He walked to thebrook, filled his shoe with water, and once more sprinkledthe ground which covered the gold pieces.
Another burst of laughter, even more impertinent thanthe first, was heard in the quiet field.
"Well," cried the Marionette, angrily this time,"may I know, Mr. Parrot, what amuses you so?""I am laughing at those simpletons who believeeverything they hear and who allow themselves to be caught soeasily in the traps set for them.""Do you, perhaps, mean me?""I certainly do mean you, poor Pinocchio--you whoare such a little silly as to believe that gold can be sownin a field just like beans or squash. I, too, believed thatonce and today I am very sorry for it. Today (but too late!)I have reached the conclusion that, in order to comeby money honestly, one must work and know how to earnit with hand or brain.""I don't know what you are talking about," said theMarionette, who was beginning to tremble with fear.
