Through this crowd of paupers and beggars, a beautifulcoach passed now and again. Within it sat either a Fox,a Hawk, or a Vulture.
"Where is the Field of Wonders?" asked Pinocchio,growing tired of waiting.
"Be patient. It is only a few more steps away."They passed through the city and, just outside the walls,they stepped into a lonely field, which looked moreor less like any other field.
"Here we are," said the Fox to the Marionette.
"Dig a hole here and put the gold pieces into it."The Marionette obeyed. He dug the hole, put thefour gold pieces into it, and covered them up very carefully.
"Now," said the Fox, "go to that near-by brook, bringback a pail full of water, and sprinkle it over the spot."Pinocchio followed the directions closely, but, as hehad no pail, he pulled off his shoe, filled it with water,and sprinkled the earth which covered the gold. Thenhe asked:
"Anything else?""Nothing else," answered the Fox. "Now we can go.
Return here within twenty minutes and you will find thevine grown and the branches filled with gold pieces."Pinocchio, beside himself with joy, thanked the Foxand the Cat many times and promised them each a beautiful gift.
"We don't want any of your gifts," answered the tworogues. "It is enough for us that we have helped you tobecome rich with little or no trouble. For this we areas happy as kings."They said good-by to Pinocchio and, wishinghim goodluck, went on their way.
正像诸位可以想像到的，仙女让木偶由于鼻子长得出不了门，哭叫了整整半个钟头，不去理他。这是为了好好给他一个教训，让他改正撒谎这种极坏的毛病。这种毛病小孩子最容易有。可等她看到木偶脸也变了，绝望得眼睛都要突出来时，很可怜他，拍了拍手掌。一听到拍手掌，成千只叫啄木鸟的大鸟打窗子飞到屋里来。它们都聚在皮诺乔的鼻子上，开始笃笃笃笃，狠狠地啄他的鼻子，几分钟工夫，这个长过了头的鼻子就恢复了原状。
“您多好啊，我的仙女，”木偶擦干眼泪说，“我多么爱您啊!”
“我也爱你，”仙女回答说，“你如果想留在我这儿，你就做我的弟弟，我做你的姐姐……”
“我很想留在这儿……可我那可怜的爸爸呢?”
“我都想到了。已经派人去通知你爸爸，天黑前他就要来到这儿。”
“真的?”皮诺乔高兴得跳起来，叫着说，“那么，我的好仙女，如果您答应的话，我想去接他!我急着要拥抱这位可怜的老人家，他为我吃了那么多苦!”
“那你就去吧，可小心别走失了。你走林子里的那条路吧，我断定你会碰到他的。”
皮诺乔走了。他一走进树林子，马上就像小鹿一样跑起来。可他到了大橡树那儿，就停下了，因为好像听到树枝树叶之间有人声。他果真看见路上有人。诸位猜得出是谁吗?……就是狐狸和猫这两个伙伴。皮诺乔曾经同它们一起在红虾旅馆吃过一顿晚饭。
“是我们的好朋友皮诺乔!”狐狸叫着，把他又抱又亲，“你怎么在这儿?”
“你怎么在这儿?”猫跟着又说了一遍。
“说来话长了，”木偶说，“我趁便跟你们讲讲。可记得那个夜里，你们丢下我一个人在旅馆里吗?我走出来，在路上遇见了两个杀人强盗……”
“两个杀人强盗?……噢，可怜的朋友!他们想要什么。”
“他们想抢我的金币。”
“真该死!……”狐狸说。
“该死极了!……”猫跟着又说了一遍。
“可我撒腿就逃，”木偶往下说，“他们跟着就追。最后他们追上了我，把我吊在这棵橡树的树枝上面……”
皮诺乔说道，指指离开两步远的大橡树。
“还有比这更悲惨的事吗?”狐狸说，“我们是活在怎么一个世界上啊，我们这些正派人，在什么地方可以找到安全可靠的地方呢?”
皮诺乔正这么说着，忽然发现猫的右前腿受了伤，连爪子带指甲都没有了，就问它说：
“你的爪子怎么啦?”