8 Adventures of a Watch-Puppet

CHAPTER 8 Adventures of a Watch-Puppet For hours, Pinocchio lay stuck in the trap. He screamed for help, but nobody heard him. Just as he was about to faint, he saw a tiny firefly flickering by. "Dear little fly," he cried, "will you set me free?" The firefly asked how he happened to get caught in the trap, and Pinocchio told her. "Were the grapes yours?" she asked. "No." "So what made you think you could take them?"

"I was hungry," Pinocchio replied. "Hunger, my boy, is no reason for taking something that doesn't belong to you." "I'll never do it again!" Just then, the farmer approached to check on his trap. Imagine his surprise when, instead of a weasel, he found he had caught a puppet! "So you are the one who has been stealing my chickens!" he accused. "No! I only wanted one or two grapes." "He who steals grapes may very easily also steal chickens," the farmer reasoned. "I'm going to teach you a lesson!" Taking Pinocchio out of the trap, he carried him up to the farm as though he were a puppy. And in a way, he was. For his new job, the farmer explained, was to be the farm's watchdog and guard the henhouse. The farmer's old watchdog, Melampo, had

recently died, so this plan worked out perfectly. "I am sorry about Melampo," Pinocchio protested, "but I am a puppet, not a puppy!" It was official, though. The farmer slipped a dog collar around Pinocchio's neck and attached a long iron chain to it. If it rained, the farmer explained, Pinocchio could take shelter in the nearby doghouse. There was plenty of straw in there to make a soft bed. "And if the thieves come by," he added, "be sure to bark! This is your life now. You must accept it." With that, the farmer went back into the house and to bed. The puppet-turned-puppy lay near the doghouse feeling very sorry for himself. At the same time, however, he felt he probably deserved his fate. Oh, if only I could start my life all over again, he thought. But what is done can't be

undone. And so, slipping into the doghouse and curling up on a pile of soft straw, Pinocchio fell asleep. Even very worried little puppets who are being held prisoner and forced to do the job of puppies can sleep soundly if they are tired, and Pinocchio was no exception. At midnight, however, strange sounds stirred him. Peeking out of the doghouse, he saw four sleek and hairy weasels. "Good evening, Melampo," one of them said sweetly. "I am not Melampo," Pinocchio replied. "He died." "Oh, no," said the same weasel. "He was such a nice watchdog. But you seem like a nice one, too."

"I am not a dog," Pinocchio said, insulted. "I'm sorry," the weasel replied. "Of course, I meant nice watch puppet. Now let me tell you how this is going to work. It will be just like it always was with Melampo. We'll come every once in a while and take a few chickens. Of course, one of them will be for you, so long as you pretend you are sleeping and do not bark." "A nice fat chicken for your breakfast," said another weasel. "Understand?" asked the first weasel.

"Oh, I understand," Pinocchio said in a strange tone. What did these silly weasels think he would want with a live chicken? Thinking themselves safe, the weasels went to the chicken coop and easily broke in. As soon as they were in, however, they heard the door close behind them with a sharp bang. "Watch puppet," one of the weasels cried from within, "what are you doing?" "I am locking you in the chicken coop," Pinocchio said. "And in a minute I will start to bark." And that is just what he did, just as if he were a proper watchdog and not a puppet after all. Hearing the barks, the farmer jumped out of bed and ran downstairs to confront the thieves. "To think," the farmer said later, after