Chapter 97

　　Where could he be? Pinocchio searched here and there andeverywhere,and finally discovered him hiding near a farmer's wagon4.

　　"What are you doing there?" asked Pinocchio, running up tohim.

　　"I am waiting for midnight to strike to go--""Where?""Far,far away!""And I have gone to your house three times to look foryou!""What did you want from me?""Haven't you heard thenews? Don't you know what good luck is mine?""What isit?""Tomorrow I end my days as a Marionette and become a boy,like youand all my other friends.""May it bring you luck!""Shall Isee you at my party tomorrow?""But I'm telling you that I gotonight.""At what time?""At midnight.""And whereare you going?""To a real country--the best in the world--a wonderfulplace!""What is it called?""It is called the Land of Toys.Why don't you come, too?""I? Oh, no!""You are making a bigmistake, Pinocchio. Believe me,if you don't come, you'll be sorry. Where canyou finda place that will agree better with you and me? No schools,no teachers,no books! In that blessed place there is nosuch thing as study. Here, it isonly on Saturdays thatwe have no school. In the Land of Toys, every day,exceptSunday, is a Saturday. Vacation begins on the firstof January and ends onthe last day of December. Thatis the place for me! All countries should be likeit!

　　How happy we should all be!""But how does one spend theday in the Land of Toys?""Days are spent in play and enjoyment5from morn tillnight. At night onegoes to bed, and next morning, thegood times begin all over again. What do youthink of it?""H'm--!" said Pinocchio, nodding his wooden head,as if to say,"It's the kind of life which would agree with me perfectly6.""Do you want to go withme, then? Yes or no? Youmust make up your mind.""No, no, and againno! I have promised my kind Fairyto become a good boy, and I want to keep myword. Justsee: The sun is setting7 and I must leave you and run.

哪儿能找到他呢？这里找，那里找，最后总算看见他躲在一间农舍的门廊里。
　　“你在这儿干吗？”皮诺乔走过去问他。
　　“等半夜好离开这里……”
　　“上哪儿去？”
　　“上很远很远的地方去！”
　　“我可是上你家找你三次了！……”
　　“你找我干吗？”
　　“你不知道这个重要消息吗？你不知道我交的好运吗？”
　　“什么好运？”
　　“赶明儿我就不再是木偶，要变成一个真孩子，像你，像大家一样了。”
　　“恭喜恭喜。”
　　“就为了这件事，希望你明天上我家赴早宴。”
　　“可我跟你说了，我今天夜里就得离开这里！”
　　“几点钟？”
　　“半夜十二点。”
　　“上哪儿？”
　　“上一个国家……这是全世界最美的国家，一个真正的快乐的国家！……”
　　“这国家叫什么名字？”
　　“叫‘玩儿国’。你干吗不跟我一起去呢？”
　　“我，我可不去！”
　　“那你就大错特错了，皮诺乔！你相信我的话，不去你要后悔的。对我们孩子来说，哪儿还能找到一个更好的国家呢？那儿没有学校，那儿没有老师，那儿没有书本。在这幸福国家里永远不要学习。星期四不用上学，一个星期有六个星期四和一个星期日。你想象一下吧，秋假从一月一号放到十二月最后一天。这个国家真配我胃口！一切文明国家都该像它这样才好！……”
　　“在‘玩儿国’里日子是怎么过的？”
　　“就玩着过，从早玩到晚。晚上睡一觉，第二天早晨又重新开始玩。你觉得怎么样？”
　　“嗯！……”皮诺乔嗯了一声，轻轻点点头，像是说：“这种日子我也真想过。”
　　“那么，我想跟我一起去吗？去还是不去？你拿主意吧。”
　　“不去，不去，不去，我不去。如今我已经答应过我的好心仙女，说我要做个好孩子，说了就要算数。再说，我看太阳正在落下去，我得马上离开你，赶紧走了。好，再见，祝我一路平安。”

4 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

·We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。

·The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

5 enjoyment

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

·Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。

·After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。

6 perfectly

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

·The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。

·Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

7 setting

n.背景

参考例句：

·The play has its setting in Vienna.该剧以维也纳为背景。

·Where and when a story takes place is called the setting.故事发生的地点和时间称为故事背景。