o yourself the great
pleasure with which Pinocchio heard that he was to become a drumhead!

As soon as the buyer had paid the four cents, the Donkey changed hands.
His new owner took him to a high cliff overlooking the sea, put a stone
around his neck, tied a rope to one of his hind feet, gave him a push,
and threw him into the water.

Pinocchio sank immediately. And his new master sat on the cliff waiting
for him to drown, so as to skin him and make himself a drumhead.

CHAPTER 34

Pinocchio is thrown into the sea, eaten by fishes, and becomes a
Marionette once more. As he swims to land, he is swallowed by the
Terrible Shark.

Down into the sea, deeper and deeper, sank Pinocchio, and finally, after
fifty minutes of waiting, the man on the cliff said to himself:

"By this time my poor little lame Donkey must be drowned. Up with him
and then I can get to work on my beautiful drum."

He pulled the rope which he had tied to Pinocchio's leg--pulled and
pulled and pulled and, at last, he saw appear on the surface of the
water--Can you guess what? Instead of a dead donkey, he saw a very much
alive Marionette, wriggling and squirming like an eel.

Seeing that wooden Marionette, the poor man thought he was dreaming and
sat there with his mouth wide open and his eyes popping out of his head.

Gathering his wits together, he said:

"And the Donkey I threw into the sea?"

"I am that Donkey," answered the Marionette laughing.

"You?"

"I."

"Ah, you little cheat! Are you poking fun at me?"

"Poking fun at you? Not at all, dear Master. I am talking seriously."

"But, then, how is it that you, who a few minutes ago were a donkey, are
now standing before me a wooden Marionette?"

"It may be the effect of salt water. The sea is fond of playing these
tricks."

"Be careful, Marionette, be careful! Don't laugh at me! Woe be to you,
if I lose my patience!"

"Well, then, my Master, do you want to know my whole story? Untie my leg
and I can tell it to you better."

The old fellow, curious to know the true story of the Marionette's life,
immediately untied the rope which held his foot. Pinocchio, feeling free
as a bird of the air, began his tale:

"Know, then, that, once upon a time, I was a wooden Marionette, just
as I am today. One day I was about to become a boy, a real boy, but on
account of my laziness and my hatred of books, and because I listened to
bad companions, I ran away from home. One beautiful mo