Carlo Collodi

The Adventures of Pinocchio

Translation and notes by Guillermo Piro

XXV
Pinocchio promises the Fairy to be good and study,
because he is tired of being a puppet
and wants to become a proper boy.

At first the good little woman started to say that she was not the
little Blue-haired Fairy; but later, seeing herself discovered and not
wanting to prolong the comedy further, he ended up revealing himself and told
Pinocchio:
—Naughty doll! How did you realize it was me?
Love for you has revealed it to me.
Do you remember? You left me as a girl and now you find me again con-
tida in a woman, so woman that she could be your mom.
I love it, because instead of little sister, I will call you mom. It makes
tanto tiempo que ansío tener una madre como todos los otros niños!... ¿Pero
How have you managed to grow so fast?
It's a secret.
Show it to me; I would also like to grow a little. Don't you see? I continue
being a dwarf.
But you cannot grow,
Why?
—Because dolls never grow. They are born as dolls, they live
they live like dolls and die like dolls.
"Oh! I'm tired of being a puppet," shouted Pinocchio, giving himself a...
punch—. It's time for me to also become a man like the
others.

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 Carlo Collodi - The Adventures of Pinocchio
And you will be, if you know how to deserve it...

Really? And what do I have to do to deserve it?

A very easy thing: to get used to being a good boy.
—And what am I, then?
—Quite the opposite! Good children are obedient, and you in
change...
I never obey.
Good children take love for study and work, and you...
—And I, on the other hand, loaf around and wander all year.
Good children always tell the truth...
And I always tell lies.
Good children willingly go to school...
And the school makes my whole body ache. But from today on
I want to change my life.

Illustration by Carlo Chiostri (1901)

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 Carlo Collodi - Las aventuras de Pinocho

Do you promise me?

I promise. I want to become a child like I should be and I want to be the
comfort of my father... Where will my poor father be at this hour?
I don't know.
Will I have the luck to see him and hug him again?
I think so; rather, I am sure.
Upon hearing this response, the happiness of Pinocchio was such that he took the hands
of the Fairy and began to kiss them with such enthusiasm that it almost seemed to be
besides herself. Then, lifting his face and looking at her fondly, he pre-
guntó:
Tell me, baby: so it's not true that you're dead?
It seems not," replied the Fairy with a smile.
If only you knew what pain and what a knot in my throat I had when I read
here lies...
I know, and that's why I have forgiven you. The sincerity of your pain...
he made it known that you had a good heart; and of the good-hearted children, although
they are a bit naughty and spoiled, you can always expect something; that is,
one can always expect them to return to the right path. That is why I have
I have come here to find you. I will be your mother.
Oh! What great news! shouted Pinocchio, jumping with joy.
You will obey me and always do what I say.
—Delighted, delighted, delighted!
Starting tomorrow,
Pinocchio soon became a little less cheerful.
Then you will choose an art or a trade as you see fit...
Pinocchio became serious.
What are you mumbling under your breath? asked the Fairy with
sore accent.
He was saying... the doll muttered under its breath, that I find it a bit
late to go to school...
No, sir. Think that it is never too late to educate yourself and learn.
I don't want to learn any art or trade...

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Why?
Because work tires me.
My child, said the Fairy, those who say that always end up in the
prison or in the hospital. The man, just so you know, whether born rich or poor, is
forced to do something in this world, to have an occupation, to work. Woe to
whoever lets themselves be caught by leisure! Leisure is a terrible disease, and there are
that we should heal it right away, from a young age; otherwise, when we grow up,
there is no cure anymore.

These words reached the soul of Pinocchio, who, lifting lively-

mind the head, said to the Fairy:
I will study, I will work, I will do everything you tell me, because, after all, already
I am bored with the life of a doll and I want to become one at all costs.
child. You promised me, didn't you?
I have promised you and now it depends on you.

Illustration by Attilio Mussino (1911)

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 Carlo Collodi - Las aventuras de Pinocho

Twenty-six
Pinocchio goes with his schoolmates
at the edge of the sea to see the terrible Shark.
The next day Pinocchio went to public school.

Imagine those mischievous children when they saw entering the school.
to a doll! It was a laughter that never seemed to end. One would joke,
and another, another; one took the little hat from his hand, another pulled on his jacket
behind; one, with ink, was trying to paint two big mustaches below the
nose, and another was trying to tie some threads to the feet and hands to make him.
to dance.

Illustration by Attilio Mussino (1911)

For a while, Pinocchio gathered his patience and managed to endure; but
finally, feeling that his patience was running out, he headed towards those who
but they besieged him and mocked him, and he said to them very seriously:
Look, guys, I haven't come here to be your clown.
I respect others and ask to be respected.
—Bravo! You spoke like a book! —shouted those scoundrels.
laughing like crazy; and one of them, more impertinent than the others, extended the ...

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I have the idea of taking the doll by the tip of the nose.
But he couldn't do it, because Pinocchio stretched his leg underneath.
from the table and kicked him in the shins.
"Oh! What tough feet!" shouted the boy, rubbing the bruise that
I had made the doll.
—And what elbows!.... They are harder than the feet! —said another one who, by his...
heavy jokes had earned him an elbow in the stomach.
The fact is that after that kick and that elbow, Pinocchio...
he won the esteem and sympathy of all the children in the school; and everyone treated him
a thousand caresses and everyone loved him very much.
The teacher was also satisfied with him because he saw him attentive.
god, smart, and because he was always the first to enter the school and
always the last to leave when classes ended.

Illustration by Carlo Chiostri (1901)

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The only flaw he had was socializing with too many companions.
rogues; and among them, there were many rascals, well-known for their lack of willingness to
study and behave well.
The teacher warned him every day, and the good Fairy didn't either.
to tell him and repeat it many times:
Watch out, Pinocchio! Sooner or later those companions of yours will...
school will eventually make you lose the love for studying, and perhaps, occasionally,
to narrate some great misfortune.
There is no danger! replied the doll, shrugging its shoulders.
and touching his forehead with his finger, as if saying: "There is a lot of judgment here"
inside!
But it happened that one day, while walking to school, he encountered
a group of these companions, who, going to meet him, said to him:
Do you know the big news?
No.
A shark as big as a mountain has arrived in the sea.
—Really?... Will it be the same Shark from when my poor one drowned?
dad?
We are going to the beach to see it. Are you coming too?
No. I have to go to school.
What does school matter? We will go to school tomorrow. With a lesson-
more or less, we will continue to be the same donkeys.
-And what will the teacher say?
Let him say whatever he wants. They pay him to be grumpy all the time.
day.
And my mother?
Mothers never know anything, replied those thugs.
Do you know what I'm going to do? said Pinocchio. I want to go to the Shark.
I will see it for several reasons... but I will go see it after school.
-Poor fool! -exclaimed one from the gang-. Do you think a fish of...
Is that size going to be there, waiting for you? As soon as it gets bored, it will go to another.
, and then if I have seen you I don't remember.

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How long does it take to get from here to the beach? asked the puppet.
In one hour we can go and come back.
"Come on, then! The last one has a dog’s tail!" shouted Pinocchio.
Given the starting signal, that gang of donkeys, with their books and
notebooks under their arms, they started to run across the fields; and Pinocchio
he always moved forward; it seemed like he had wings on his feet.
From time to time, turning to look back, he mocked his com-
companions, who had remained at a considerable distance, and upon seeing them without
, panting, full of dust and with their tongues out, laughed heartily.
he wins. The unfortunate one, at that moment, did not know how many fears and what horrible ones
misfortunes awaited them!

Illustration by Attilio Mussino (1911)

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