Chapter 41

　　Then he solemnly pronounced the following words:

　　"To my mind this Marionette is dead and gone; but if,by anyevil chance, he were not, then that would be asure sign that he is stillalive!""I am sorry," said the Owl, "to have to contradictthe Crow, my famous friend and colleague. To my mindthis Marionette is alive;but if, by any evil chance, hewere not, then that would be a sure sign that heis wholly dead!""And do you hold any opinion?" the Fairy askedthe Talking Cricket.

　　"I say that a wise doctor, when he does not know what heistalking about, should know enough to keep his mouth shut.

　　However, that Marionette is not a stranger to me.

　　I have known him a long time!"Pinocchio, who until then hadbeen very quiet,shuddered so hard that the bed shook.

　　"That Marionette," continued the Talking Cricket,"isa rascal of the worst kind."Pinocchio opened his eyes and closed themagain.

　　"He is rude, lazy, a runaway."Pinocchio hid his face underthe sheets.

　　"That Marionette is a disobedient son who is breakinghisfather's heart!"Long shuddering sobs were heard, cries, and deep sighs.

　　Think how surprised everyone was when, on raising the sheets,theydiscovered Pinocchio half melted in tears!

　　"When the dead weep, they are beginning to recover,"saidthe Crow solemnly.

　　"I am sorry to contradict my famous friend and colleague,"said the Owl, "but as far as I'm concerned, I think thatwhen the deadweep, it means they do not want to die."

等到都摸过了，它极其严肃地说了这一番话：
　　“我认为木偶完全死了，但万一他没有死，那就有可靠的迹像表明，他完全活着！”
　　“我很抱歉，”猫头鹰说，“我必须表示，我的看法跟我这位有名的朋友和同行乌鸦大夫正好相反。我认为，木偶完全活着，但万一他不幸没有活着，那就有可靠的迹像表明，他的确死了！”
　　“您说哩，”仙女问会说话的蟋蟀。
　　“我要说的是，一位小心谨慎的大夫在不知道他所要说的事情时，最好是不开口。再说，这位木偶对我来说不是陌生面孔，我认识他有好些日子了！……”
　　皮诺乔本来一直躺着不动，像段真正的木头，可这会儿一下子猛烈颤抖，弄得整张床都摇动起来。
　　“这个木偶，”会说话的蟋蟀往下说，“是个大坏蛋……”
　　皮诺乔张开眼睛看看，马上又闭上。
　　“是个无赖，是个二流子，是个流氓……”
　　皮诺乔把脸缩到被单底下。
　　“这木偶是个不听话的坏孩子，他要把他可怜的爸爸气死！……”
　　它说到这里，只听见屋子里有压抑着的哭声和哽咽声。诸位想象一下大伙儿有多么惊奇吧，因为他们把被单掀起一点，就看到是皮诺乔在哭，在哽咽。
　　“死人会哭，就表明他正在好起来，”乌鸦严肃地说。
　　“我只好表示我的看法跟我这位有名的朋友和同行正好相反，”猫头鹰跟着说，“依我看，死人会哭，就表明他不想死。”

Chapter 40

　　Breeches of crimson velvet, silk stockings, and low,silver-buckledslippers completed his costume. His tailwas encased in a blue silk covering,which was to protectit from the rain.

　　"Come, Medoro," said the Fairy to him. "Get mybestcoach ready and set out toward the forest. Onreaching the oak tree, you willfind a poor, half-deadMarionette stretched out on the grass. Lift himuptenderly, place him on the silken cushions of the coach,and bring him here tome."The Poodle, to show that he understood, wagged his silk-covered tailtwo or three times and set off at a quick pace.

　　In a few minutes, a lovely little coach, made of glass,with liningas soft as whipped cream and chocolate pudding,and stuffed with canaryfeathers, pulled out of thestable. It was drawn by one hundred pairs of white mice,andthe Poodle sat on the coachman's seat and snappedhis whip gayly in the air, asif he were a real coachmanin a hurry to get to his destination.

　　In a quarter of an hour the coach was back. TheFairy, who waswaiting at the door of the house, liftedthe poor little Marionette in her arms,took him to a dainty room with mother-of-pearl walls, put him to bed,and sentimmediately for the most famous doctors of theneighborhood to come to her.

　　One after another the doctors came, a Crow, and Owl,and a TalkingCricket.

　　"I should like to know, signori," said the Fairy,turningto the three doctors gathered about Pinocchio's bed,"I should liketo know if this poor Marionette is dead or alive."At this invitation, theCrow stepped out and feltPinocchio's pulse, his nose, his little toe.

下身穿一条大红天鹅绒裤子、一双丝袜、一双开口软鞋。后面还有一样东西，很像雨伞稍，蓝绸子做的。下雨的时候用来藏它的尾巴。
　　“做件好事，梅多罗！”仙女对卷毛狗说，“马上到我的厩房里，赶一辆最好的车子上树林子去。你到了大橡树底下，就会找到已经半死的可怜木偶直挺挺地躺在草地上。你把他抱起来，很小心很小心地放在车子坐垫上，把他送到这儿来。明白了吗，”
　　卷毛狗把后面那个蓝绸子尾巴套摇了三四次，表示它明白了，然后像闪电似地跑掉了。
　　一转眼工夫，只见厩房里出来了一辆天蓝色的漂亮小轿车，外面装饰着金丝雀羽毛，里面裱糊得象掼奶油和奶油蛋糕那样。车子用一百对白老鼠来拉，卷毛狗坐在驾车台上，左右地抽着鞭子，车夫赶路的时候都是这样的。
　　一刻钟不到，这辆小轿车就回来了。等在门口的仙女抱起可怜的木偶，把他抱进一间墙上镶嵌着珍珠的小卧室，马上请来附近最有名的大夫。
　　三位大夫马上接连来了，一位是乌鸦，一位是猫头鹰，一位是会说话的蟋蟀。
　　“我想请诸位先生看看，”仙女对围在皮诺乔床边的三位大夫说，“我想请诸位先生看看，这不幸的木偶是死了还是活着……”
　　听了仙女的请求，乌鸦第一位给皮诺乔摸脉，接着摸鼻子，接着摸小脚趾。

Chapter 39

TheLovely Maiden with Azure Hair sends for the poor Marionette,puts him to bed,and calls three Doctors to tell her if Pinocchiois dead or aliveIf the poorMarionette had dangled there much longer,all hope would have been lost. Luckilyfor him, theLovely Maiden with Azure Hair once again looked out ofher window.Filled with pity at the sight of the poor littlefellow being knocked helplesslyabout by the wind, sheclapped her hands sharply together three times.

　　At the signal, a loud whirr of wings in quick flight washeard and alarge Falcon came and settled itself on thewindow ledge.

　　"What do you command, my charming Fairy?" asked theFalcon,bending his beak in deep reverence (for it mustbe known that, after all,the Lovely Maiden with AzureHair was none other than a very kind Fairy who hadlived,for more than a thousand years, in the vicinity of the forest).

　　"Do you see that Marionette hanging from the limbof that giantoak tree?""I see him.""Very well. Fly immediately to him.With yourstrong beak, break the knot which holds him tied, take him down, andlay him softly on the grassat the foot of the oak."The Falcon flew awayand after two minutes returned,saying, "I have done what you havecommanded.""How did you find him? Alive or dead?""At firstglance, I thought he was dead. But I foundI was wrong, for as soon as Iloosened the knot aroundhis neck, he gave a long sigh and mumbled with afaintvoice, `Now I feel better!'"The Fairy clapped her hands twice. AmagnificentPoodle appeared, walking on his hind legs just like aman. He wasdressed in court livery. A tricorn trimmedwith gold lace was set at a rakishangle over a wig of whitecurls that dropped down to his waist. He wore ajauntycoat of chocolate-colored velvet, with diamond buttons,and with two hugepockets which were always filled withbones, dropped there at dinner by hisloving mistress.

　　正当可怜的皮诺乔给两个杀人强盗吊在大橡树枝头上，觉得这会儿死多活少的时候，天蓝色头发的美丽小女孩重新在窗口出现了，她看见木偶给套着脖子吊着，让北风吹得摇来摇去，太不幸了，不由得很可怜他，于是轻轻拍了三下手掌。
　　这三下手掌一拍，就听到很响的拍翅膀声，一只大老鹰风驰电掣地飞来，停在窗台上，
　　“有什么吩咐啊，我仁慈的仙女？”老鹰说着，垂下鸟嘴致敬（因为要知道，这天蓝色头发的小女孩不是别人，正是最善良的仙女，她在这树林附近已住了一千多年了）。
　　“你看见那木偶吗，给吊在大橡树树枝上的？”
　　“看见了。”
　　“那好。马上飞到那里，用你那有力的尖嘴解开那个吊着他的绳套，把他轻轻放在橡树下的草地。”
　　老鹰飞走了，两分钟就回来了，说：
　　“吩咐我做的都给做好了。”
　　“你觉得他怎么样？活着还是死了？”
　　“我看他好像死了，可还没全死，因为我一松开套在他喉咙的绳套，他叹了一口气，嘟囔了一声：‘这会儿我觉得好多了！’”
　　仙女于是又轻轻拍了两下手掌，来了一只很漂亮的卷毛狗。它像人那样用后腿直立走道。
　　这只卷毛狗身穿车夫的礼服，头戴金边小三角帽，白色假卷发垂到脖子上。巧克力色的上衣上钉着宝石钮扣，两边有两个大口袋，放主人吃饭时赏它的肉骨头。

Chapter 38

　　Tired of waiting, the Assassins called to him mockingly:

　　"Good-by till tomorrow. When we return in the morning,we hopeyou'll be polite enough to let us find youdead and gone and with your mouthwide open."With these words they went.

　　A few minutes went by and then a wild wind startedto blow. As itshrieked and moaned, the poor littlesufferer was blown to and fro like thehammer of a bell.

　　The rocking made him seasick and the noose, becomingtighter andtighter, choked him. Little by little a filmcovered his eyes.

　　Death was creeping nearer and nearer, and the Marionettestill hopedfor some good soul to come to his rescue,but no one appeared. As he was aboutto die, he thoughtof his poor old father, and hardly conscious of what hewassaying, murmured to himself:

　　"Oh, Father, dear Father! If you were only here!"Thesewere his last words. He closed his eyes, openedhis mouth, stretched out hislegs, and hung there, as ifhe were dead.

　　他们最后等得不耐烦了，就向木偶转过脸，冷笑着对他说：“明儿见，等我们明天回到这儿，希望你帮个大忙，已经死掉了，把嘴张得大大的。”
　　他们说着，走了。
　　这时候猛乱起一阵北风，呼呼地怒号，把吊在那里的可怜木偶吹过来吹过去，狠狠地摇得他像过节时丁当丁当摇着的大钟，这样摇啊摇啊，摇得他痛苦万分。喉咙上的活结越收越紧，叫他气也透不出来。
　　他的两眼一点一点发黑。可他虽然感到死期已近，依然希望随时会有人经过，把他救下来，可他等啊等啊，看见还是没人来，一个人也没有，于是就想到他的可怜的爸爸……他半死不活地结结巴巴说：
　　“噢，我的爸爸，要是你在这儿就好了！……”
　　他再也说不出话来。他闭上眼睛，张开嘴巴，伸长两腿，一阵猛烈颤动，吊在那里像是僵硬了。

Chapter 37

　　"Oh, Lovely Maiden with Azure Hair," criedPinocchio,"open, I beg of you. Take pity on a poor boy whois being chased by twoAssass--"He did not finish, for two powerful hands grasped himby the neckand the same two horrible voices growled threateningly: "Now we haveyou!"The Marionette, seeing death dancing before him,trembled so hard thatthe joints of his legs rattled andthe coins tinkled under his tongue.

　　"Well," the Assassins asked, "will you open your mouthnow or not? Ah! You do not answer? Very well, this time you shall openit." Taking out two long, sharp knives, they struck two heavy blows on theMarionette's back.

　　Happily for him, Pinocchio was made of very hardwood and the knivesbroke into a thousand pieces. The Assassins looked at each other in dismay,holding the handles of the knives in their hands.

　　"I understand," said one of them to the other, "thereis nothing left to do now but to hang him." "To hang him,"repeated the other.

　　They tied Pinocchio's hands behind his shoulders and slipped thenoose around his neck. Throwing the rope the poor Marionette hung far up inspace.

　　Satisfied with their work, they sat on the grass waiting forPinocchio to give his last gasp. But after three hours the Marionette's eyeswere still open, his mouth still shut and his legs kicked harder than ever.

　　“噢，天蓝色头发的美丽小姑娘，”皮诺乔大叫，“帮帮忙，给我开开门吧！请你同情一个可怜的孩子，他后面追着杀人的……”
　　他这句话没能说完，因为他觉得脖子给掐住了，还听到那两个声音在咆哮着威胁说：
　　“现在你再逃不掉啦！”。
　　木偶看到死在眼前，不由得一阵哆嗦，哆嗦得两条木头腿的关节卡嗒卡嗒响，藏在舌头底下的四个金币也丁丁当当响起来了。
　　“怎么样，”两个杀人强盗问他说。“你开口吗，开还是不开，怎么！不回答？……那我们就动手了，这一回定要把你的嘴弄开！……”
　　他们说着，拔出两把很长很长的刀子，锋利得像剃刀，嚓嚓！……给他背上来了两下。
　　幸亏木偶是用很硬很硬的木头做的，因此他没受伤，刀倒断成了好多片。两个杀人强盗手里光剩下刀柄，你看着我，我看着你。
　　“我明白了，”其中一个说，“咱们得吊死他！吊死他吧！”
　　“吊死他吧！”另一个跟着又说了一退。
　　说干就干，他们把他双手反绑，用活结套住他的喉咙，把他吊在一棵大橡树的树枝上。
　　然后他们坐在树下，就等着木偶蹬最后一次腿。可木偶过了三个钟头依然张开两只眼睛，闭着嘴巴，两腿越蹬越有劲。

Chapter 36

TheAssassins chase Pinocchio, catch him, and hang him to the branch of a giant oaktree. As he ran, the Marionette felt more and more certain that he would haveto give himself up into the hands of his pursuers. Suddenly he saw a littlecottage gleaming white as the snow among the trees of the forest.

　　"If I have enough breath left with which to reach thatlittlehouse, I may be saved," he said to himself.

　　Not waiting another moment, he darted swiftly throughthe woods, theAssassins still after him.

　　After a hard race of almost an hour, tired and out ofbreath,Pinocchio finally reached the door of the cottageand knocked. No one answered.

　　He knocked again, harder than before, for behind himhe heard thesteps and the labored breathing of his persecutors. The same silence followed.

　　As knocking was of no use, Pinocchio, in despair,began to kick andbang against the door, as if he wantedto break it. At the noise, a windowopened and a lovelymaiden looked out. She had azure hair and a face whiteaswax. Her eyes were closed and her hands crossed onher breast. With a voice soweak that it hardly could beheard, she whispered:

　　"No one lives in this house. Everyone is dead.""Won'tyou, at least, open the door for me?"cried Pinocchio in a beseechingvoice.

"Ialso am dead." "Dead? What are you doing at the window, then?" "Iam waiting for the coffin to take me away." After these words, the littlegirl disappeared and the window closed without a sound.

　　这时木偶已经完全泄气，到了要扑倒在地向两个强盗告饶的地步，可一下子看见深绿的树林子里，远远有一座雪白的小房子在耀眼。
　　“我要是有口气跑到那房子，就有救了，”他心里说。
　　他一分钟也不耽搁，重新一个劲跑起来，穿过林子。两个杀入强盗依然在后面追。
　　他拼命跑了近两个钟头，终于上气不接下气地跑到那座小房子门口，连忙嘭嘭嘭敲门。
　　可没人答应。
　　他使劲把门敲得震天价响，因为他听见追来的脚步声、又响又急的呼吸声越来越近了。
　　可还是静悄悄的。
　　他看见敲门毫无用处，就开始在门上用脚拼命地踢，用头拼命地撞。这时窗口探出个头来，这是个美丽的小女孩，天蓝色的头发，脸白得跟蜡像似的，眼睛闭着，双手交叉在胸前。她说话时嘴唇也不动，声音很轻很轻，像是从另一个改界来的：
　　“这座房子里没人，所有的人都死了。”
　　“至少你给我开开门！”皮诺乔哭叫着求她，
　　“我也死了。”
　　“死了，那你现在在窗口干吗？”
　　“我在等棺材，它要来把我给装走。”
　　小女孩子一说完这句话，就不见了。窗子也悄没声儿地重新关上了。

　　Encouraged by this first victory, he freed himself fromthe claws ofhis assailers and, leaping over the bushesalong the road, ran swiftly acrossthe fields. His pursuerswere after him at once, like two dogs chasing a hare.

　　After running seven miles or so, Pinocchio was well-nigh exhausted.Seeing himself lost, he climbed up agiant pine tree and sat there to see whathe could see.

　　The Assassins tried to climb also, but they slipped and fell.

　　Far from giving up the chase, this only spurred them on.

　　They gathered a bundle of wood, piled it up at thefoot of the pine,and set fire to it. In a twinkling thetree began to sputter and burn like acandle blown bythe wind. Pinocchio saw the flames climb higher andhigher. Notwishing to end his days as a roasted Marionette, he jumped quickly to theground and off he went,the Assassins close to him, as before.

　　Dawn was breaking when, without any warning whatsoever,Pinocchiofound his path barred by a deep pool fullof water the color of muddy coffee.

　　What was there to do? With a "One, two, three!"he jumpedclear across it. The Assassins jumped also,but not having measured theirdistance well--splash!!!--they fell right into the middle of the pool. Pinocchiowhoheard the splash and felt it, too, cried out, laughing,but never stopping inhis race:

　　"A pleasant bath to you, signori!"He thought they mustsurely be drowned and turnedhis head to see. But there were the two somberfiguresstill following him, though their black sacks were drenchedand drippingwith water.

　　皮诺乔旗开得胜，胆子大了。他挣脱杀人强盗的爪子，跳过路旁的树丛，开始在田野上逃走。那两名杀人强盗紧紧追来，像两条猫追一只野兔。其中一名杀人强盗因为失去了一只爪子，就用独脚追，天知道他是怎么跑的。
　　跑了十五公里左右，皮诺乔跑不动了。这时他眼看自己没救了，就顺着最高的一棵松树的树干爬上去，坐在一个枝头上。两个杀人强盗也打算跟着爬上树，可是爬到一半，叭哒就掉在地上，手脚的皮都擦破了。
　　可它们还不死心，捡来一小捆干柴，堆在松树脚下，点着了。说时迟那时快，松树开始熊熊烧起来，像风吹着的蜡烛。皮诺乔看见火焰越烧越高，不想最后变成一只烤鸽子，于是猛地一跳，打枝头上跳下来，重新又跑，穿过田野和葡萄园。两个杀入强盗在后面紧追，一步也不拉下。
　　这时天已经开始亮，他们还是追个不停。皮诺乔一下子给一条沟挡住了去路。这条沟又宽又深，满是脏水，颜色像牛奶咖啡。怎么办？“一，二，三！”木偶叫着，猛跑两步，一跳就跳到了沟那一边。两个杀人强盗跟着也跳，可是没算准距离，卜龙通！……落到沟里去了。皮诺乔听到他们落水和水溅起来的声音，哈哈大笑，一面跑一面叫：
　　“祝你们痛痛快快洗个澡，杀人的先生们！”
　　他料想他们一准淹死了，可回头一看，只见他们两个依然在他后面追，身上还是套着他们的麻袋，哗哗地淌着水，活像两个漏了底的筐子。

　　He tried to run away, but hardly had he taken a step,when he felthis arms grasped and heard two horrible,deep voices say to him: "Yourmoney or your life!"On account of the gold pieces in his mouth,Pinocchiocould not say a word, so he tried with head and handsand body to show,as best he could, that he was only apoor Marionette without a penny in hispocket.

　　"Come, come, less nonsense, and out with your money!"criedthe two thieves in threatening voices.

　　Once more, Pinocchio's head and hands said, "I haven'tapenny.""Out with that money or you're a dead man," saidthetaller of the two Assassins.

　　"Dead man," repeated the other.

　　"And after having killed you, we will kill your fatheralso.""Your father also!""No, no, no, not my Father!"cried Pinocchio, wild with terror;but as he screamed, the gold pieces tinkledtogether in his mouth.

　　"Ah, you rascal! So that's the game! You have themoney hiddenunder your tongue. Out with it!"But Pinocchio was as stubborn as ever.

　　"Are you deaf? Wait, young man, we'll get it fromyou in atwinkling!"One of them grabbed the Marionette by the nose andthe other bythe chin, and they pulled him unmercifully from side to side in order to makehim open his mouth.

　　All was of no use. The Marionette's lips might havebeen nailedtogether. They would not open.

　　In desperation the smaller of the two Assassins pulledout a longknife from his pocket, and tried to pry Pinocchio's mouth open with it.

Quick as a flash, the Marionette sank his teeth deep into theAssassin's hand, bit it off and spat it out. Fancy his surprise when he sawthat it was not a hand, but a cat's paw.

　　接着他想逃走。可是刚迈腿，就觉得胳膊给抓住，听到两个瓮声瓮气的可怕声音对他说：
　　“要钱还是要命！”
　　皮诺乔没法回答，因为嘴里塞着金币。他做了成千个怪脸、成千个手势，要让对方——他们从口袋上眼睛的地方那两个小窟窿里望出来——明白，他是个穷木偶，口袋里连一个铜子儿也没有。
　　“拿出来拿出来！别装傻了，把钱拿出来！”两个强盗且威吓的口气大叫。
　　木偶用头和手表示：“没钱。”
　　“不把钱拿出来就要你的命，”高的那个杀人强盗说。
　　“要你的命！”另一个跟着又说了一遍。
　　“要了你的命，还要你父亲的命！”
　　“还要你父亲的命！”
　　“别别别，别要我可怜爸爸的命！”皮诺乔发急地大叫，可他这么一叫，嘴里的金币就丁丁当当响起来了。
　　“哈哈，骗子！原来你把钱藏在舌头底下？马上吐出来！”
　　皮诺乔硬挺住！
　　“哈哈，你装聋子？你等着吧，我们这就想办法让你吐出来！”
　　真的，他们一个抓住他的鼻子尖，一个揿他的下巴，动手粗暴地又扳又弄，一个扳这里，一个弄那里，要逼他把嘴张开。可是没用。木偶的嘴像黏在一块，钉在一起。
　　于是矮的那个拔出一把很大的刀子，想用它做杠杆或者凿子，插到他的上下嘴唇之间，可皮诺乔快得像闪电，一口把它的手咬断了，接着把咬下来的手吐出来。诸位想象一下他有多么惊奇吧，因为他吐在地上的不是人的手，而是一只猫的爪子。

Pinocchio,not having listened to the good adviceof the Talking Cricket, falls into thehands of the Assassins "Dear, oh, dear! When I come to think of it,"said theMarionette to himself, as he once more set out on hisjourney, "weboys are really very unlucky. Everybodyscolds us, everybody gives us advice,everybody warns us.

　　If we were to allow it, everyone would try to be fatherand mother tous; everyone, even the Talking Cricket.

　　Take me, for example. Just because I would not listen tothatbothersome Cricket, who knows how many misfortunesmay be awaiting me! Assassinsindeed! At leastI have never believed in them, nor ever will. To speaksensibly,I think assassins have been invented by fathersand mothers to frighten childrenwho want to run awayat night. And then, even if I were to meet them onthe road,what matter? I'll just run up to them, and say,`Well, signori, what do youwant? Remember that youcan't fool with me! Run along and mind your business.'

　　At such a speech, I can almost see those poor fellowsrunning likethe wind. But in case they don't run away,I can always run myself. .."Pinocchio was not given time to argue any longer, for he thought heheard a slight rustle among the leaves behind him.

　　He turned to look and behold, there in the darknessstood two bigblack shadows, wrapped from head to footin black sacks. The two figures leapedtoward him assoftly as if they were ghosts.

　　"Here they come!" Pinocchio said to himself, and,notknowing where to hide the gold pieces, he stuck allfour of them under histongue.

　　“说真个的，”木偶一面重新上路，一面自言自语说，“我们这种可怜孩子多倒霉！人人都骂我们，人人都教训我们，人人都要我们这样做那样做。人人都一开口就自以为是我们的爸爸，自以为是我们的老师。人人都这样，连那样会说话的蟋蟀也这样。看这会儿，就因为我没听这只讨厌蟋蟀的啰哩啰嗦，它就说我不知道要遇到多少灾难！我还要遇到杀人的强盗呢！还好我不相信有什么杀人强盗，从来就不相信。依我看，杀人强盗全是那些做爸爸的想出来，吓唬吓唬夜里想出去的孩子的，就算我真在路上碰到他们，难道我会害怕他们吗，我根本不怕，我要走到他们面前，对他们叫着说：‘杀人强盗先生，你们要把我怎么样？记住吧，可别跟我开玩笑！去你们的吧，别开口了！’我这番话说得那么绝，那些倒霉的杀人强盗啊，我好像已经看见他们了，他们像阵风似地逃走啦。万一他们凶神恶煞，偏不逃走呢？那有什么，我逃走就是了，事情不就结了吗……”
　　可皮诺乔没能把他那套大道理说完，因为就在这时候，他好像听见后面树叶子沙沙响，很轻很轻的，
　　他回头一看，就看见黑地里有两个难看的黑影，这是两个人，全身用装炭的口袋套着，踮起脚尖一跳一跳地紧紧追来，活像两个鬼怪。
　　“他们真在这里！”皮诺乔心里说了一声。他不知把四个金币藏到哪儿好，一下子把它们藏到了嘴里，正好塞在舌头底下。

　　He walked on, not knowing where he was going, forit was dark, sodark that not a thing was visible. Roundabout him, not a leaf stirred. A fewbats skimmed hisnose now and again and scared him half to death. Onceor twicehe shouted, "Who goes there?" and the far-awayhills echoed back tohim, "Who goes there? Who goesthere? Who goes. . . ?"As he walked,Pinocchio noticed a tiny insect glimmering on the trunk of a tree, a smallbeing that glowedwith a pale, soft light.

　　"Who are you?" he asked.

　　"I am the ghost of the Talking Cricket," answeredthelittle being in a faint voice that sounded as if it came froma far-awayworld.

　　"What do you want?" asked the Marionette.

　　"I want to give you a few words of good advice.

　　Return home and give the four gold pieces you haveleft to your poorold father who is weeping because hehas not seen you for many aday.""Tomorrow my father will be a rich man, for thesefour goldpieces will become two thousand.""Don't listen to those who promiseyou wealth overnight,my boy. As a rule they are either fools or swindlers!

　　Listen to me and go home.""But I want to goon!""The hour is late!""I want to go on.""Thenight is very dark.""I want to go on.""The road isdangerous.""I want to go on.""Remember that boys who insiston having their own way,sooner or later come to grief.""The samenonsense. Good-by, Cricket.""Good night, Pinocchio, and may Heavenpreserve youfrom the Assassins."There was silence for a minute and thelight of theTalking Cricket disappeared suddenly, just as if someonehad snuffedit out. Once again the road was plungedin darkness.

　　他可以说是摸索着走的，因为旅馆外面一片漆黑，黑得伸手不见五指。四周田野上连一点叶子沙沙声也听不见。只有一些夜鸟不时打一丛树上飞到另一丛树上，在路上穿过，用翅膀碰到了他的鼻子，他吓得向后直跳，大叫起来：“什么人？”周围的小土岗发出回声，拉长声音反复说着：“什么人？什么人？什么人？”
　　他正走间，看见一棵树干上有一样小生物发出一点光，苍白昏暗，像夜里从透明瓷灯罩里发出来的灯光。
　　“你是谁？”皮诺乔问它，
　　“我是会说话的蟋蟀的影子，”那小生物回答，声音很微弱很微弱，像是从另一个世界来的。
　　“你找我干吗，”
　　“我想给你一个忠告，你往回走吧，把剩下的四个金币带回去给你可怜的爸爸，他正在哭呢，以为再见不到你了。”
　　“我爸爸明天就要变成一位体面的先生，因为这四个金币要变成两千个。”
　　“人家说什么一夜之间就可以发财财富，我的孩子，你可别相信。他们那种人通常不是疯子就是骗子，听我的话，往回走吧。”
　　“可我不往回走，我偏要向前走。”
　　“时间很晚了！……”
　　“我偏要向前走。”
　　“夜那么黑……”
　　“我偏要向前走。”
　　“路上有危险……”
　　“我偏要向前走。”
　　“你要记住，任性的孩子早晚要后悔的。”
　　“又是老一套。明天见，蟋蟀。”
　　“明天见，皮诺乔，愿天老爷保佑你不沾露水，不遇杀人的强盗！”
　　会说话的蟋蟀一说完这句话，光忽然熄灭了，就像一些灯给一阵风吹灭了似的。路上比先前更黑了。