PINOCCHIO TRAVELS WITH THE CARAVAN
The camels, refreshed by the large amount of water they had taken,
stood up, proud of their loads. Even the donkey brayed. Yes, there was
a donkey! And this fact displeased Pinocchio. He had for a long time
felt a great dislike for these animals. In fact, he had once been a
donkey, and his dislike was a natural one.
The donkey did not carry any load, and for that reason the marionette
was asked to ride on its back. He hesitated. It was stupid to ride a
donkey, and he would have preferred to walk, but he did not like to
seem rude to the good people, and up he mounted.
They traveled all day along the narrow road which gradually wound
around the slope of a mountain. The old man rode by the side of
Pinocchio, asking him many questions about the studies he had taken up
to prepare himself for this trip to Africa.
The marionette talked a great deal, and as might have been expected,
made many blunders. He began to think that his companions were very
simple, and that in Africa one could tell any kind of lie without being
discovered. He even went so far as to assure the old man that he knew
the very spot where they could find gold and diamonds, and ended by
saying that within a week they should all be men of great wealth.
You must walk straight ahead, the saucy marionette was saying, then
to the right, and you will arrive at the bottom of a valley, through
which flows a beautiful brook of yellow water. By the side of this
brook is a tree, and beneath the tree there is gold in plenty.
The old man was amazed to hear the tales he told. Pinocchio himself
felt ashamed of all these lies. He was afraid his nose would grow as it
had done one day at home. But no, it was still its natural size!
Well! he thought, if it has not grown longer this time, it will
never grow again, no matter how many lies I tell.