Seeing that the door did not open, the driver gave it a violent kick. It fell and he entered the room saying in his usual oily way, "Good boys! You bray very well. I recognize your voices and here I am to take you away."

At these words the two little donkeys became quiet. They lowered their heads and ears and put their tails between their legs.

At first the driver patted them and smoothed their hair. After that he pulled out some leather straps and bridled them both. When he had curried them so that they looked like two looking-glasses, he took them to the square in the hope of selling them and making a good trade.

The purchasers soon made their appearance. Lamp Wick was bought by a farmer whose donkey had died the day before from overwork. Pinocchio was bought by the director of a company of clowns and circus men, so that he could be taught to do tricks and capers.

And now, my little readers, do you understand what the trade of the driver was? That monster, who had a face of milk and honey, went from time to time through the world with a carriage and collected, by promises, all the naughty boys that were tired of books and school. After he had filled his carriage he took them to the Country of Playthings, where they passed all the time in playing and having fun. When these poor deluded boys had played for a certain time they turned into donkeys, which he led away and sold in the town. By this means he had become very rich, — in fact a millionaire.

What happened finally to Lamp Wick I do not know. I know, however, that Pinocchio led a very hard and weary life. When he was taken to a stall his new master emptied some straw into the manger; but Pinocchio, after he had eaten a mouthful, spat it out. Then the master, scolding, gave him some hay; but that did not please him.

"Ah! You do not like hay?" cried the master, in anger. "I will teach you better manners."

He then took a whip and gave the donkey a crack on the legs. Pinocchio, in great pain, gave a long bray, as if to say, "Y-a, y-a, I cannot digest straw."

"Then eat hay," replied the master, who understood the donkey dialect very well.

"Y-a, y-a. Hay gives me a headache."

"You mean that a donkey like you wants to eat chicken and capon?" added the master; and he gave him another lash with the whip.

At the second rebuke Pinocchio, for prudence' sake, kept quiet and said nothing. Meanwhile the stall was closed and Pinocchio remained alone; and because he had not eaten anything for hours he grew very hungry. He opened his mouth and was surprised to find that it was so large.

He finally looked around, and not finding anything in the manger but hay, took a little. After having chewed it well he winked his eye and said: "This hay is not bad at all. But how much better off I should have been if I had not run away! Now I should be eating something nice instead of this dry stuff. Oh me! oh me! oh me!"

When he awoke the next morning he looked into his manger, but he had eaten all the hay. Then he took a mouthful of straw and tried that. It did not taste so good as rice alla Milanese or macaroni alla Napolitana; but he managed to eat it. "Oh me!" he said, while he ate; "oh, if I could only warn other boys of my misfortune, how happy I should be! Oh me! oh me!"

"Oh me!" repeated the master, entering the stall at that moment. "Do you think, donkey, that I have bought you just to watch you eat and drink? Oh no! I bought you so that you could earn some money for me. Come with me and I will teach you how to jump and bow; and then you must dance the waltz and the polka and stand up on your hind legs."

Poor Pinocchio! He had a hard struggle. It took him three months to learn these things and he received many a blow from his teacher.

The day finally came when the master could announce to the public a most extraordinary spectacle. Posters of all colors were pasted everywhere and they read thus:

GRAND ENTERTAINMENT WILL TAKE PLACE TO-NIGHT There will be the usual wonderful jumps and most surprising exercises Executed by all the Artists And by all the horses in this remarkable Company AND MORE!! There will be presented for the first time The Famous Donkey PINOCCHIO Called THE DANCING STAR   The Theater will be as bright as day

That night, as you can easily imagine, there was not a seat to be had in the house, and all the standing room was taken an hour before the show began. The whole theater swarmed with little children and babies of all ages, who were wild to see the famous donkey Pinocchio dance.

When the first part of the performance was over the master, in an evening coat, with white trousers and little black boots, presented himself to the public and, after making a profound bow, shouted:

 Respected public, ladies and gentlemen, — The humble manager of this performance, passing through this great metropolis, has told me to say that it is his wish to present to this intelligent and honorable audience a celebrated donkey that has already had the honor of dancing before His Majesty the Emperor at all the principal courts of Europe.

 This discourse was received with much laughter and applause; but the applause redoubled and became a species of hurricane at the sight of the donkey Pinocchio on the stage. He was dressed up beautifully. He had a new bridle of shining leather with buckles of polished brass; two white camellias tied to his ears; his mane divided in many curls, tied with red silk; a large band of gold and silver tied around his waist; and his tail interlaced with beautiful ribbons of all colors. In fact, he was the most gorgeous donkey that ever was seen.

The master then presented him to the public with these words:

 My respected auditors, — I will not take up much of your time, but I wish to tell you of the great difficulties I encountered in taming and teaching this animal. Observe, I pray you, how savagely violent are his eyes. It seemed almost impossible that I should be able to train him to behave like other domestic animals. All my gentleness was received with scorn and I was obliged to talk to him in the dialect of the whip. However, I noticed on his head this little lump. It is hard to see, but it can be felt very easily. According to the medical faculty of Paris this would indicate a passion for dancing, and I therefore began to teach him the art of using his feet. And now you may judge for yourselves whether or not I have succeeded.

 Here the master made another profound bow and, turning to Pinocchio, said, "Before going through your exercises salute this respected and intelligent audience."

Pinocchio, obeying, fell on his knees and stayed there until the master cracked his whip and cried, "Now walk." Then the donkey stood up on his four feet and began to walk around in a circle.

"Now trot." And Pinocchio began to trot.

"Gallop." And Pinocchio began to gallop.

"Now full speed." And Pinocchio ran as hard as he could. While he was running the master, raising a pistol, fired twice.

At that sound the donkey, pretending to be hit, fell flat on the floor as if he were dead.

Raising himself in the midst of a shower of applause which could be heard for miles, Pinocchio looked at the audience. As he looked he saw a beautiful lady wearing around her neck a large gold chain from which hung a medallion. On the medallion was engraved the picture of a marionette.

"That is my picture! That lady is the Fairy!" said Pinocchio to himself, recognizing her instantly. He tried to cry, "Oh, my Fairy! oh, my Fairy!" But instead of these words there came from his throat such a braying that everybody laughed, especially the boys.

Then the master, in order to teach him better manners than to bray at the audience, gave him a blow on the nose with the handle of the whip. The poor donkey licked his nose at least a dozen times because it pained him so. But what was his desperation when, turning around a second time and looking toward the Fairy, he found that she had disappeared.

He thought he should die. His eyes filled with tears and he began to cry. No one, however, saw it, not even the master, who, cracking his whip, cried, "Now show the people how well you can dance."

Pinocchio tried two or three times; but every time he came before the audience his feet slipped from under him. Finally, in a great effort, his hind foot slipped so badly that he fell to the floor in a heap. When he got up he was so lame that he could hardly walk and had to be taken to his stall.

"Bring out Pinocchio! We want the donkey! Bring him out!" cried the boys in the theater, who had seen the pitiful sight. But the donkey could not be seen any more that night. The next morning the veterinary, that is, the doctor of beasts, when he saw the poor donkey, declared that he would be lame all through life. Then the master said to the stable boy: "What can we do with a lame donkey? To keep him would be feeding one more mouth for nothing. Take him to the square and sell him."

When they arrived at the square they immediately found a buyer who asked the price.

"Four dollars," replied the stable boy.

"I will give you twenty-five cents for him. Do not think that I buy him for hauling. Oh, no; I want him to skin. I see that his skin is very hard, — just the thing for a drum or a tambourine."

Just imagine how Pinocchio felt when he heard that he was worth only twenty-five cents! Then, too, to be used as a drum to be beaten upon all the time!

The buyer had hardly paid for him when he led him to the top of a cliff on the shore of the sea, and, tying a heavy stone around his neck and binding his feet together with cords, threw him over the edge.

The donkey, with this heavy weight around his neck, sank to the bottom immediately. The buyer who had one end of the rope in his hands, sat down and waited awhile, so that the donkey would have time to drown.