Chapter 116

　　The Manager, when introducing him to the public,added these words:

　　"Most honored audience! I shall not take your timetonight totell you of the great difficulties which I haveencountered while trying to tamethis animal, since Ifound him in the wilds of Africa. Observe, I beg ofyou,the savage19 look of his eye. All the meansused bycenturies of civilization in subduing20 wild beasts failed inthiscase. I had finally to resort to the gentle language of thewhip in order tobring him to my will. With all mykindness, however, I never succeeded ingaining my Donkey'slove. He is still today as savage as the day I foundhim. Hestill fears and hates me. But I have found inhim one great redeeming21 feature. Do you see thislittlebump on his forehead? It is this bump which gives himhis great talent ofdancing and using his feet as nimblyas a human being. Admire him, O signori,and enjoyyourselves. I let you, now, be the judges of my success as ateacher ofanimals. Before I leave you, I wish to statethat there will be anotherperformance tomorrow night.

　　If the weather threatens rain, the great spectacle will takeplace ateleven o'clock in the morning."The Manager bowed and then turned toPinocchio and said:

　　"Ready, Pinocchio! Before starting your performance,salute youraudience!"Pinocchio obediently bent22 his two knees to the groundandremained kneeling until the Manager, with the crackof the whip, cried sharply:"Walk!"The Donkey lifted himself on his four feet and walkedaround thering. A few minutes passed and again thevoice of the Manager called:

班主向观众介绍他时又说了这么一番话：
　　“我尊敬的观众们！我在这里将不对诸位吹嘘，这头哺乳动物当初在热带原野的山间曾多么自由自在地奔驰，我曾经克服了多大困难才了解他的脾气和驯服了他。我只请求诸位注意他两眼发射出来的野性之光。为了驯服他，使他成为—只文明的四脚动物，一切手段均告无效以后，我只好一再借助于鞭子、用鞭子的温柔语言来同他说话，可是我的种种仁慈并未能使他爱我，相反，他对我越来越坏了。但是我根据威尔士学理，发现他的脑袋上有个小块，连巴黎医学校也认为，它是头发和战舞之球，因为这个缘故，我就训练它跳舞，并且连带跳圈和钻纸桶。请诸位先欣赏，然后再评论吧！不过在孝敬各位之前，噢，先生们，请允许我邀请诸位来看明晚的演出，可万一有下雨的危险，那就不是明晚，而是改为明天上午，午前十一点。”
　　班主说到这里，再一次深深鞠躬，然后转身对皮诺乔说：
　　“卖点劲！皮诺乔！在表演以前，先对在座诸位尊贵的观众，骑士们，女士们，小朋友们行个礼吧！”
　　皮诺乔听话地马上把两个前膝跪在地上，一直跪到班主把鞭子一抽，对他叫道：

19 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

·The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。

·He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

20 subduing

征服( subdue的现在分词 )；克制；制服；色变暗

参考例句：

·They are the probation subduing the heart to human joys. 它们不过是抑制情欲的一种考验。

·Some believe that: is spiritual, mysterious and a very subduing colour. 有的认为：是精神，神秘色彩十分慑。

21 redeeming

补偿的，弥补的

参考例句：

·I found him thoroughly unpleasant, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. 我觉得他一点也不讨人喜欢，没有任何可取之处。

·The sole redeeming feature of this job is the salary. 这份工作唯其薪水尚可弥补一切之不足。

22 bent

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

·He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。

·We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。