“Ladies and gentlemen! kind and gentle people! citizens of a great town! officers and soldiers! I wish you all peace, health, and plenty.
“Ladies and gentlemen, first of all, let me make a brief explanation. I am not here for gain. Far be it from me to think of such a thing as money. I travel the world over with my menagerie, which is made up of rare animals brought by me from the heart of Africa. I perform only in large cities. But to-day one of the monkeys in the troupe is fallen seriously ill. It is therefore necessary to make a short stop in order that we may consult with some well-known doctor in this town.
“Profit, therefore, by this chance, ladies and gentlemen, to see wonders which you have never seen before, and which you may never see again. I labor to spread learning, and I work to teach the masses, for I love the common people. Come forward, and I shall be glad to open my menagerie to you. Forward, forward, ladies and gentlemen! two small francs will admit you. Children one franc, yes, only one franc.”
Pinocchio, who stood in the front row, and who was ready to take advantage of the kind invitation, felt a sudden shock on hearing these last words. He looked at the director in a dazed fashion, as if to say to him, “What are you talking about? Did you not say that you traveled around the world for—”
Then, as he saw one of the spectators put down a two-franc piece and walk inside, he hung his head and suffered in silence.
Having passed two or three minutes in painful thinking, the forlorn marionette put his hands into his pockets, hoping to find in them a forgotten coin. He found nothing but a few buttons.
He racked his brains to think of some plan whereby he could get the money that was needed. He glanced at his clothes, which he would cheerfully have sold could he have found a buyer. Not knowing what else to do, he walked around the tent like a wolf prowling about the sheepfold.
Around and around he went till he found himself near an old wall which hid him from view. He came nearer the tent and to his joy discovered a tiny hole in the canvas. Here was his chance! He thrust in his thin wooden finger, but seized with a sudden fear lest some hungry lion should see it and bite it off, he hastily tried to pull it out again. In doing this, somehow “r-r-rip” went the canvas, and there was a tear a yard wide. Pinocchio shook with fear. But fear or no fear, there was the hole and beyond—were the wonders of Africa!
First an arm, then his head, and then his whole body went into the cage of wild animals! He could not see them, but he heard them, and he was filled with awe. The beasts had seen him. He felt himself grasped at once by the shoulders and by the end of his nose. Two or three voices shouted in his ears, “Who goes there?”
“For pity’s sake, Mr. Elephant!” said poor Pinocchio.
“There are no elephants here.”
“Pardon, Sir Lion.”
“There are no lions here.”
“Excuse me, Mr. Tiger.”
“There are no tigers.”
“Mr. Monkey?”
“No Monkeys.
“Men?”
“There are neither men nor women here; there are only Africans from Africa, who imitate wild beasts for two francs and a half a day.”
“But the elephants, where are they?”
“In Africa.”
“And the lions?”
“In Africa.”
“And the tigers and the monkeys?”
“In Africa. And you, where do you come from? What are you doing in the cage of the wild beasts? Didn’t you see what is written over the door? NO ONE ALLOWED TO ENTER.”
“I cannot read in the dark,” replied Pinocchio, trembling from head to foot; “I am no cat.”
At these words everybody began to laugh. Pinocchio felt a little encouraged and murmured to himself, “They seem to be kind people, these wild beasts.”
He wanted to say something pleasant to them, but just then the director of the company began to shout at the top of his voice.
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