"Cherubini-PinocchioInAfrica" - читать интересную книгу автора (Cherubini)

James Nugen.
Translated by Angelo Patri
1. Preface
Collodi's "Pinocchio" tells the story of a wooden marionette and of his efforts
to become a real boy. Although he was kindly treated by the old woodcutter,
Geppetto, who had fashioned him out of a piece of kindling wood, he was
continually getting into trouble and disgrace. Even Fatina, the Fairy with the
Blue Hair, could not at once change an idle, selfish marionette into a studious
and reliable boy. His adventures, including his brief transformation into a
donkey, give the author an opportunity to teach a needed and wholesome lesson
without disagreeable moralizing.
Pinocchio immediately leaped into favor as the hero of Italian juvenile romance.
The wooden marionette became a popular subject for the artist's pencil and the
storyteller's invention. Brought across the seas, he was welcomed by American
children and now appears in a new volume which sets forth his travels in Africa.
The lessons underlying his fantastic experiences are clear to the youngest
readers but are never allowed to become obtrusive. The amusing illustrations of
the original are fully equaled in the present edition, while the whimsical
nonsense which delights Italian children has been reproduced as closely as a
translation permits.
2. Why Pinocchio Did Not Go To School
ONE morning Pinocchio slipped out of bed before daybreak. He got up with a great
desire to study, a feeling, it must be confessed, which did not often take hold
of him. He dipped his wooden head into the cool, refreshing water, puffed very
hard, dried himself, jumped up and down to stretch his legs, and in a few
moments was seated at his small worktable.
There was his home work for the day, twelve sums, four pages of penmanship, and
the fable of "The Dog and the Rabbit" to learn by heart. He began with the
fable, reciting it in a loud voice, like the hero in the play: "'A dog was
roaming about the fields, when from behind a little hill jumped a rabbit, which
had been nibbling the tender grass.'
"Roaming, nibbling.ЧThe teacher says this is beautiful language. Maybe it is; I
have nothing to say about that. Well, one more.
"'A dog was roaming about the fieldsЧwhen he sawЧrun outЧa rabbit whichЧwhichЧ'
I don't know it; let's begin again. 'A dog was running about eating, eatingЧ'
But eating what? Surely he did not eat grass!
"This fable is very hard; I cannot learn it. Well, I never did have much luck
with dogs and rabbits! Let me try the sums. Eight and seven, seventeen; and
three, nineteen; and six, twenty-three, put don two and carry three. Nine and
three, eleven; and four, fourteen; put down the whole numberЧone, four; total,
four hundred thirteen.
"Ah! good! very good! I do not wish to boast, but I have always had a great
liking for arithmetic. Now to prove the answer: eight and sever, sixteen; and
three, twenty-one; and six, twenty-four; put down fourЧwhy! it's wrong! Eight
and seven, fourteen; and three, nineteen; and sixЧwrong again!
"I know what the trouble is; the wind is not in the right quarter to-day for
sums. Perhaps it would be better to take a walk in the open."
No sooner said than done. Pinocchio went out into the street and filled his
lungs with the fresh morning air."Ah! here, at least, one can breathe. It is a
pity that I am beginning to feel hungry! Strange how things go wrong sometimes!