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可怜的皮诺乔睡眼惺忪，还没发现自己的脚被烧掉了。一听到爸爸的声音，就急忙从椅子上跳下来跑去开门，可是，磕磕绊绊走了两三步，就直挺挺地倒在了地板上。
皮诺乔摔倒时发出巨大的响声，就像一袋木勺从五楼上扔下来一样。
“开门！”杰佩托在街上大喊。
“亲爱的爸爸，我没法开门。”木偶回答道，一边哭一边在地上打滚。
“为什么没法开？”
“因为我的脚被吃掉了。”
“谁把你的脚吃了？”
“猫。”皮诺乔说道，他正好看到一只猫在开心地用前爪玩刨花。
“开门，我警告你！”杰佩托又说了一遍，“如果不开门，我进去非教训你一顿不可！”
“我站不起来，我说的是真的。噢，我好可怜！我好可怜！我一辈子都要用膝盖走路啦！”
杰佩托听到里面又哭又喊，以为木偶还在耍鬼把戏，就想办法揭穿他。于是杰佩托爬上墙，从窗户爬进屋子。
杰佩托本来非常生气，一开始只顾责骂皮诺乔，可是看到皮诺乔躺在地上，真的没了双脚，杰佩托心就软了。他抱起木偶，又是亲吻，又是抚摸，不停地说着安慰的话，大颗的泪珠顺着脸颊往下流，哽咽着说：
“我的小皮诺乔！你怎么把自己的脚烧掉了？”
“不知道，爸爸，这真是一个可怕的夜晚，我一辈子都忘不了。又是打雷又是闪电，我当时很饿，会说话的蟋蟀对我说：‘你真是活该，一个坏孩子，你活该。’我对他说：‘小心点儿，蟋蟀！’他说：‘你是个木偶，有个木头脑袋。’我就把锤柄朝他扔过去，他死了，可那是他的错，因为我没想杀死他，证据是我把一个瓦盘放在炽热的火盆上，可是一只小鸡飞了出来，说‘回见，向您的家人送上问候’；我越来越饿，戴着睡帽的小老头打开窗户，对我说：‘到下面来，拿好帽子接住。’就往我头上浇了一盆水，要一小块面包并不丢人，对吧？我立刻回到家，因为我一直很饿，把脚放在火盆上烤干，接着您回来了，我发现脚烧掉了，我饿得要命，可是我没脚了！哎哟！哎哟！哎哟！哎哟！”可怜的皮诺乔开始放声痛哭，五英里以外都能听到他的哭喊声。
杰佩托从皮诺乔颠三倒四的叙述中只弄明白了一件事，那就是木偶饿得要死，于是他从自己的衣袋里掏出三个梨，递给皮诺乔，说：
“这三个梨本来是我的早餐，不过我很乐意给你。吃吧，希望吃了梨你就不饿了。”
“如果想让我吃这些梨，请把皮削掉吧。”
“削皮？”杰佩托惊讶地说。“孩子，我从来没想过你这么讲究，如此挑剔。这可不好！在这个世界上，我们从小就应该习惯什么都喜欢，什么都吃，因为我们不知道以后会遇到什么。有太多意想不到的事情！”
“您肯定是对的，”皮诺乔插嘴道，“可是我永远不会吃不削皮的水果，我受不了果皮。”
好心的杰佩托削了三个梨子的皮，把果皮放在桌子角上。
两口吃掉了第一个梨子后，皮诺乔正要把梨核扔掉，杰佩托抓住了他的胳膊，对他说：
“别扔，在这个世界上，什么东西都可能有用。”
“可是我肯定不会吃梨核的。”木偶喊道，像蛇一样扭来扭去。
“谁知道呢！有太多意想不到的事情！”杰佩托又说了一遍，没有发脾气。
就这样，三个梨核没有被扔到窗外，而是和果皮一起放在了桌角。
吃完三个梨，更确切地说是吞完三个梨，皮诺乔打了一个大大的哈欠，不耐烦地说：
“我还是那么饿！”
“可是，孩子，我再没别的东西可以给你吃了！”
“没有，真的没有？”
“只有果皮和三个梨核。”
“人必须要忍耐！”皮诺乔说，“如果没别的，我就吃一片梨皮。”
皮诺乔开始嚼梨皮。一开始，他还龇牙咧嘴，可是接下来，一片接一片，飞快地吃完了果皮；不但吃完了果皮，还吃了梨核。吃完所有的东西，皮诺乔心满意足地拍了拍自己的肚子，高兴地说：
“啊哈！现在感觉舒服了。”
“你看，”杰佩托说道，“我说对了吧，我告诉你吃东西的时候别太挑剔，别太讲究。宝贝儿，我们永远不会知道会遇到什么，有太多意想不到的事情！”
No sooner had the puppet satisfied his hunger than he began to cry and to grumble [1] because he wanted a pair of new feet.
But Geppetto, to punish him for his naughtiness, allowed him to cry and to despair [2] for half the day. He then said to him:
“Why should I make you new feet? To enable you, perhaps, to escape again from home? ”
“I promise you, ” said the puppet, sobbing, “that for the future I will be good.”
“All boys, ” replied Geppetto, “when they are bent [3] upon obtaining something, say the same thing.”
“I promise you that I will go to school and that I will study and bring home a good report.”
“All boys, when they are bent on obtaining something, repeat the same story.”
“But I am not like other boys! I am better than all of them and I always speak the truth. I promise you, papa, that I will learn a trade and that I will be the consolation [4] and the staf f [5] of your old age.”
Geppetto's eyes filled with tears and his heart was sad at seeing his poor Pinocchio in such a
pitiable
[6]
state. He did not say another word, but, taking his tools and two small pieces of
well-seasoned
wood, he set to work with great
diligence
[7]
.
In less than an hour the feet were finished: two little feet —
swift
[8]
,
well-knit
and
nervous
[9]
. They might have been modeled by an artist of genius.
Geppetto then said to the puppet:
“Shut your eyes and go to sleep! ”
And Pinocchio shut his eyes and pretended [10] to be asleep.
And whilst he pretended to sleep, Geppetto, with a little glue which he had melted in an egg-shell, fastened his feet in their place, and it was so well done that not even a trace [11] could be seen of where they were joined.
No sooner had the puppet discovered that he had feet than he jumped down from the table on which he was lying and began to spring and to
cut a thousand capers
about the room, as if he had gone mad with the greatness of his delight.
“To reward you for what you have done for me, ” said Pinocchio to his father,“I will go to school at once.”
“Good boy.”
“But to go to school I shall want some clothes.”
Geppetto, who was poor and who had not so much as a penny in his pocket, then made him a little dress of flowered paper, a pair of shoes from the bark of a tree, and a cap of the crumb [12] of bread.
Pinocchio ran immediately to look at himself in a crock [13] of water, and he was so pleased with his appearance that he said, strutting [14] about like a peacock:
“I look quite like a gentleman! ”
“Yes, indeed, ” answered Geppetto, “for bear in mind that it is not fine clothes that make the gentleman, but rather clean clothes.”
“
By the bye
, ” added the puppet, “to go to school I am still in want — indeed, I am without the best thing, and the most important.”
“And what is it? ”
“I have no spelling-book.”
“You are right: but what shall we do to get one? ”
“It is quite easy. We have only to go to the bookseller's and buy it.”
“And the money? ”
“I have got none.”
“Neither have I, ” added the good old man, very sadly.
And Pinocchio, although he was a very merry boy, became sad also, because poverty, when it is real poverty, is understood by everybody — even by boys.
“Well, patience! ” exclaimed Geppetto, all at once rising to his feet, and putting on his old corduroy [15] coat, all patched [16] and darned [17] , he ran out of the house.
He returned shortly, holding in his hand a spelling-book for Pinocchio, but the old coat was gone. The poor man was in his shirt-sleeves and out of doors it was snowing.
“And the coat, papa? ”
“I have sold it.”
“Why did you sell it? ”
“Because I found it too hot.”
Pinocchio understood this answer in an instant, and unable to restrain [18] the impulse [19] of his good heart he sprang up and, throwing his arms around Geppetto's neck, he began kissing him again and again.
[1] grumble [ˈgrʌmbl] v． 发牢骚
[2] despair [diˈspɛə] v． 失望
[3] bend [bend] v． 屈服于
[4] consolation [ˌkɔnsəˈleiʃən] n． 慰藉
[5] staff[stɑ:f] n． 支撑
[6] pitiable [ˈpitiəbl] a． 可怜的
[7] diligence [ˈdilidʒəns] n. 勤劳，努力
[8] swift [swift] a． 敏捷的
[9] nervous [ˈnə:vəs] a． 强健有力的
[10] pretend [priˈtend] v． 假装
[11] trace [treis] n． 痕迹
[12] crumb [krʌm] n． 面包屑
[13] crock [krɔk] n． 瓦罐
[14] strut [strʌt] v． 大摇大摆地走
[15] corduroy [ˈkɔ:dərɔi] n． 灯芯绒，条绒
[16] patched [pætʃt] a． 打补丁的
[17] darned [dɑ:nd] a． 织补的
[18] restrain [riˈstrein] v． 抑制
[19] impulse [ˈimpʌls] n． 一时兴奋
木偶刚吃饱，就开始又哭又喊，哼哼唧唧，因为他想要一双新脚。
可是杰佩托因为皮诺乔淘气，想惩罚他，就任由木偶绝望地哭喊了整整半天，最后才说：
“我凭什么要给你做新脚？是为了你再从家里溜出去？”
“我向您保证，”木偶抽泣着，“以后我要做个好孩子。”
“所有的孩子，”杰佩托答道，“想要东西的时候都这么说。”
“我向您保证，我会去上学，会好好读书，拿到好成绩。”
“所有的孩子想要东西的时候，都会来这一套。”
“可我和别的孩子不一样！我比他们都强，我总是说真话。爸爸，我向您保证，我要学门手艺，等您老了，我会成为您的慰藉和依靠。”
看到可怜的皮诺乔如此受罪，杰佩托的眼里满是泪水，心里很难过。他一句话也没再说，拿起工具和两小块晒干的木头，全神贯注地干起来。
不到一个小时，脚就做好了。两只小脚丫——轻巧、结实、灵活，简直是天才艺术家的作品。
接下来杰佩托对木偶说：
“闭上眼睛睡一觉吧！”
皮诺乔闭上眼睛，假装睡着了。
皮诺乔假睡的时候，杰佩托用在鸡蛋壳里调好的一点儿胶水把木偶的脚粘上了。杰佩托的工作太完美了，粘接的地方一点儿痕迹都看不出来。
一发现自己有脚了，躺在桌上的木偶立刻跳下来，在屋子里蹦跳了上千次，简直高兴疯了。
“为报答您为我所做的一切，”皮诺乔对自己的父亲说，“我马上去上学。”
“好孩子。”
“可是去上学，我得穿点儿衣服。”
杰佩托，这个穷得衣袋里一分钱都没有的人，用印花纸给木偶做了套小衣服，用树皮做了双鞋，还用面包心做了顶帽子。
皮诺乔迫不及待地跑到水罐旁看自己的倒影，对自己的模样非常满意，像一只骄傲的孔雀高兴地说：
“我看起来真像绅士！”
“没错，真的很像。”杰佩托答道，“要记住，使人成为绅士的不是华丽的衣服，而是干净的衣服。”
“另外，”木偶又说，“要上学我还缺点儿东西——实际上，我还缺一样最好、最重要的东西。”
“缺什么？”
“没有识字课本。”
“你说得对，可是怎么弄到一本呢？”
“太简单了，去书店买一本就行了。”
“钱呢？”
“我没钱。”
“我也没有。”善良的老人非常难过。
尽管皮诺乔是个非常快乐的孩子，此刻也很伤心，因为每个人都明白真正的贫穷意味着什么——孩子们也不例外。
“哦，稍等！”杰佩托大叫，猛地站起来，穿上满是补丁的灯芯绒旧外套，跑了出去。
杰佩托很快就回来了，手里拿着给皮诺乔的识字课本，可是旧外套却不见了。这个可怜的人穿着短袖衬衣，而门外正下着雪。
“外套呢，爸爸？”
“我把它卖了。”
“为什么要卖？”
“因为我觉得它太热了。”
皮诺乔瞬间明白了这个回答的意思，善良的他禁不住一阵激动，跳起来搂住杰佩托的脖子，在杰佩托脸上亲了又亲。