  “Come forward, come forward, ladies and gentlemen! The cost is small and the pleasure is great. The show will last an hour, only one hour. Come forward! See the battle between the terrible lion Zumbo and his wife, the ferocious lioness Zumba. Behold the tiger that wrestles with the polar bear, and the elephant that lifts the whole weight of the tent with his powerful trunk. See the animals feed. Ladies and gentlemen, come forward! Only two francs!” At these words the men in the cages of the wild animals put horns, sea shells, and whistles to their mouths, and the next moment there came wild roarings and howls and shrieks. It was enough to make one shudder with fear. Again the director raised his voice: “Come forward, come forward, ladies and gentlemen! two francs; children only one franc.” The music started: Boom! Boom! Boom! Par-ap’-ap’-pa! Boom! Boom! Boom! Par-ap’ ap’ ap’ pa! parap’ ap’ ap’ pa! One surprise seemed to follow another. Pinocchio longed to enjoy the sights, but how was he to get out of the cage? At length, taking his courage in both hands, he said politely, “Excuse me, gentlemen, but if you have no commands to give me—” “Not a command!” roughly answered the bearded man who played the lion. “If you do not go away quickly, I will have you eaten up by that large ape behind you.” “But I should be hard to digest,” said the marionette. “Boy, be careful how you talk,” exclaimed the same voice. “I said that your ape would have indigestion if he ate me,” replied Pinocchio. “Do you think that I am joking? No, I am in earnest. He really would. I came in here by chance while returning from a walk, and if you will permit me, I will go home to my father who is waiting for me. As you have no orders to give me, many thanks, good-by, and good luck to you.” “Listen, boy,” said the large man who took the part of the elephant; “I am very thirsty, and I will give you a fine new penny if you will fill this bucket at the fountain and bring it to me.” “What!” replied Pinocchio, greatly offended; “I am no servant! However this time, merely to please you, I will go.” And crawling through the hole by which he had entered, he went out to the fountain and returned in a very short time with the bucket full of water. “Good boy, good marionette!” said the men as they passed the bucket from one to another. Pinocchio was happy. Never had he felt so happy as at that moment. “What good people!” he said to himself. “I would gladly stay with them.” In the meantime the bucket was emptied, and there were still some who had not had a drink. “I will go and refill it,” said the marionette promptly. And without waiting to be asked, he took the bucket and flew to the fountain. When he returned they flattered him so cleverly with praise and thanks that a strong friendship sprang up between Pinocchio and the wild beasts. Being a woodenhead he forgot about his father and did not go away as he had intended to do. In fact, he was curious to know something of the history of these people, who were forced to play at being wild animals. After a moment’s silence he turned to the one who had asked him to go for the water and said, “You are from Africa?” “Yes, I am an African, and all my companions are African.” “How interesting! but pardon me, is Africa a beautiful country?” “I should say so! A country, my dear boy, full of plenty, where everything is given away free! A country in which at any moment the strangest things may happen. A servant may become a master; a plain citizen may become a king. There are trees, taller than church steeples, with branches touching the ground, so that one may gather sweet fruit without the least trouble. My boy, Africa is a country full of enchanted forests, where the game allows itself to be killed, quartered, and hung; where riches—” No one knows how far this description would have gone, if at that moment the voice of the director had not been heard. The music had stopped, and the director was talking to the people, who did not seem very willing to part with their money. |
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