Pinocchio, standing on a high rock,
tired out with searching, waved to him with hand and cap and even with
his nose.

It looked as if Geppetto, though far away from the shore, recognized his
son, for he took off his cap and waved also. He seemed to be trying to
make everyone understand that he would come back if he were able, but
the sea was so heavy that he could do nothing with his oars. Suddenly a
huge wave came and the boat disappeared.

They waited and waited for it, but it was gone.

"Poor man!" said the fisher folk on the shore, whispering a prayer as
they turned to go home.

Just then a desperate cry was heard. Turning around, the fisher folk saw
Pinocchio dive into the sea and heard him cry out:

"I'll save him! I'll save my father!"

The Marionette, being made of wood, floated easily along and swam like
a fish in the rough water. Now and again he disappeared only to reappear
once more. In a twinkling, he was far away from land. At last he was
completely lost to view.

"Poor boy!" cried the fisher folk on the shore, and again they mumbled a
few prayers, as they returned home.

CHAPTER 24

Pinocchio reaches the Island of the Busy Bees and finds the Fairy once
more.

Pinocchio, spurred on by the hope of finding his father and of being in
time to save him, swam all night long.

And what a horrible night it was! It poured rain, it hailed, it
thundered, and the lightning was so bright that it turned the night into
day.

At dawn, he saw, not far away from him, a long stretch of sand. It was
an island in the middle of the sea.

Pinocchio tried his best to get there, but he couldn't. The waves played
with him and tossed him about as if he were a twig or a bit of straw. At
last, and luckily for him, a tremendous wave tossed him to the very spot
where he wanted to be. The blow from the wave was so strong that, as he
fell to the ground, his joints cracked and almost broke. But, nothing
daunted, he jumped to his feet and cried:

"Once more I have escaped with my life!"

Little by little the sky cleared. The sun came out in full splendor and
the sea became as calm as a lake.

Then the Marionette took off his clothes and laid them on the sand to
dry. He looked over the waters to see whether he might catch sight of
a boat with a little man in it. He searched and he searched, but he saw
nothing except sea and sky and far away a few sails, so small that they
might have been birds.

"If only I knew