12 In Search of the Terrible Shark

CHAPTER 12 In Search of the Terrible Shark Pinocchio reached the shore before any of his friends. When he got there, however, he saw no sign of the shark. Finally his friends arrived. "Hey, where's that shark?" Pinocchio asked. "Maybe he's at breakfast, or taking a nap," one boy said, winking. Pinocchio realized that the boys had played a trick on him, lying to him to get him to skip school. "We had to," they exclaimed. "You're a

goodygoody. You make us look bad." "And don't think of kicking us again," one of the boys warned. "You may have dangerous wooden feet, but there are seven of us and only one of you." "One of me is still better than all of you," Pinocchio replied. "Oh really?" the boldest boy said, reaching out and hitting Pinocchio in the head. Pinocchio hit him back, and within a few minutes, a furious battle was raging. Although he was only one against seven, Pinocchio's wooden feet held their own and caused plenty of howls. Backing off, the boys decided to try another approach. Instead of throwing punches at Pinocchio, they began to throw books. Pinocchio ducked, first to the left and then to the right. The books flew right over his

head and into the sea, where the fish tried to eat them then spat them out. After a few minutes, only one of Pinocchio's books was left. It was his favorite —a big, heavy math book. The boys surrounded Pinocchio until they stood in a circle around him. Then the boy holding the math book threw it at Pinocchio with all of his strength. But instead of hitting Pinocchio, the book hit one of the other boys in the head. The injured boy turned pale as a ghost and fainted. "Uh-oh," all of the boys cried. Thinking they had committed murder, they turned and ran. Only Pinocchio stayed behind. Running to the sea, he took his handkerchief, soaked it in the cool water, and bathed the injured boy's head. "Please wake up, Eugene," he cried. "Please

don't die. Oh, why did I skip school? What will become of me now?" Suddenly Pinocchio heard heavy steps approaching. Looking up, he saw two police officers standing near him. "What's your name?" one of them asked. "Pinocchio." "Did you hurt this boy?" "N-No," stammered the puppet. "Well then, who did?" Pinocchio wouldn't say. He was no tattletale. One of the officers picked up the math book and then looked at Eugene's bruise. "This is the book that injured him," he concluded. "Whose book is this?" the other officer asked. "Mine," Pinocchio admitted.

That was all the officers needed to hear. They arranged for some fishermen to take care of Eugene, and then grabbed a hold of Pinocchio and began walking him to jail. Halfway there, a sudden gust of wind picked up Pinocchio's cap and blew it down the street. "Please," he begged the officers, "can I go get my hat? If I am to sit in some drafty prison, I am going to need my hat." "All right," the officers said. "But hurry up and get it, and then come right back." And hurry Pinocchio did. When he had retrieved his hat, he continued to hurry as fast as he could in the other direction, away from the officers and back to the sea. After all, he had a father to find! Pinocchio thought he was home free— until, that is, he heard a terrible panting behind him. The police officers had set their

police dog after him! Alidoro (for that was the dog's name) was very fast and fierce. He came so close at times that Pinocchio could feel his hot breath behind him. Lucky for Pinocchio, he was near the ocean. A few more steps, and Pinocchio leaped up and into the water. Running too fast to stop, Alidoro fell into the water, too. Unfortunately for him, he could not swim. Alidoro tried and tried to do the doggie paddle, but it was no use. He was sinking like a stone. "Help," he gurgled. Pinocchio hesitated. After all, the dog had been trying to hurt him. Seconds later, however, the poor dog's cries broke Pinocchio's heart. "If I help you," he said, "will you promise to stop chasing me?"