feeling sorrowful and
ashamed, began to poke fun at each other, and after much nonsense, they
ended by bursting out into hearty laughter.

They laughed and laughed, and laughed again--laughed till they
ached--laughed till they cried.

But all of a sudden Lamp-Wick stopped laughing. He tottered and almost
fell. Pale as a ghost, he turned to Pinocchio and said:

"Help, help, Pinocchio!"

"What is the matter?"

"Oh, help me! I can no longer stand up."

"I can't either," cried Pinocchio; and his laughter turned to tears as
he stumbled about helplessly.

They had hardly finished speaking, when both of them fell on all fours
and began running and jumping around the room. As they ran, their arms
turned into legs, their faces lengthened into snouts and their backs
became covered with long gray hairs.

This was humiliation enough, but the most horrible moment was the one
in which the two poor creatures felt their tails appear. Overcome with
shame and grief, they tried to cry and bemoan their fate.

But what is done can't be undone! Instead of moans and cries, they burst
forth into loud donkey brays, which sounded very much like, "Haw! Haw!
Haw!"

At that moment, a loud knocking was heard at the door and a voice called
to them:

"Open! I am the Little Man, the driver of the wagon which brought you
here. Open, I say, or beware!"

CHAPTER 33

Pinocchio, having become a Donkey, is bought by the owner of a Circus,
who wants to teach him to do tricks. The Donkey becomes lame and is sold
to a man who wants to use his skin for a drumhead.

Very sad and downcast were the two poor little fellows as they stood
and looked at each other. Outside the room, the Little Man grew more and
more impatient, and finally gave the door such a violent kick that
it flew open. With his usual sweet smile on his lips, he looked at
Pinocchio and Lamp-Wick and said to them:

"Fine work, boys! You have brayed well, so well that I recognized your
voices immediately, and here I am."

On hearing this, the two Donkeys bowed their heads in shame, dropped
their ears, and put their tails between their legs.

At first, the Little Man petted and caressed them and smoothed down
their hairy coats. Then he took out a currycomb and worked over them
till they shone like glass. Satisfied with the looks of the two little
animals, he bridled them and took them to a market place far away from
the Land of Toys, in the hope of selling them at a good