Chapter 16

The Lovely Maiden¹ with Azure² Hair sends for the poor Marionette³,puts him to bed, and calls three Doctors to tell her if Pinocchiois dead or aliveIf the poor Marionette had dangled⁴ there much longer,all hope would have been lost. Luckily for him, theLovely Maiden with Azure Hair once again looked out ofher window. Filled with pity at the sight of the poor littlefellow being knocked helplessly about by the wind, sheclapped her hands sharply together three times.

　　At the signal, a loud whirr of wings in quick flight washeard and a large Falcon⁵ came and settled itself on thewindow ledge⁶.

　　"What do you command, my charming Fairy?" asked the Falcon,bending his beak⁷ in deep reverence⁸ (for it mustbe known that, after all, the Lovely Maiden with AzureHair was none other than a very kind Fairy who had lived,for more than a thousand years, in the vicinity of the forest).

　　"Do you see that Marionette hanging from the limbof that giant oak tree?""I see him.""Very well. Fly immediately to him. With yourstrong beak, break the knot which holds him tied, take him down, and lay him softly on the grassat the foot of the oak."The Falcon flew away and after two minutes returned,saying, "I have done what you have commanded.""How did you find him? Alive or dead?""At first glance, I thought he was dead. But I foundI was wrong, for as soon as I loosened the knot aroundhis neck, he gave a long sigh and mumbled⁹ with a faintvoice, `Now I feel better!'"The Fairy clapped her hands twice. A magnificentPoodle appeared, walking on his hind¹⁰ legs just like aman. He was dressed in court livery. A tricorn trimmedwith gold lace was set at a rakish angle over a wig¹¹ of whitecurls that dropped down to his waist. He wore a jauntycoat of chocolate-colored velvet¹², with diamond buttons,and with two huge pockets which were always filled withbones, dropped there at dinner by his loving mistress.

　　Breeches of crimson¹³ velvet, silk stockings, and low,silver-buckled slippers¹⁴ completed his costume. His tailwas encased in a blue silk covering, which was to protectit from the rain.

　　"Come, Medoro," said the Fairy to him. "Get mybest coach ready and set out toward the forest. Onreaching the oak tree, you will find a poor, half-deadMarionette stretched out on the grass. Lift him uptenderly, place him on the silken cushions of the coach,and bring him here to me."The Poodle, to show that he understood, wagged his silk-covered tail two or three times and set off at a quick pace.

　　In a few minutes, a lovely little coach, made of glass,with lining¹⁵ as soft as whipped cream and chocolate pudding,and stuffed with canary feathers, pulled out of thestable. It was drawn¹⁶ by one hundred pairs of white mice,and the Poodle sat on the coachman's seat and snappedhis whip gayly in the air, as if he were a real coachmanin a hurry to get to his destination.

　　In a quarter of an hour the coach was back. TheFairy, who was waiting at the door of the house, liftedthe poor little Marionette in her arms, took him to adainty room with mother-of-pearl walls, put him to bed,and sent immediately for the most famous doctors of theneighborhood to come to her.

　　One after another the doctors came, a Crow, and Owl¹⁷,and a Talking Cricket.

　　"I should like to know, signori," said the Fairy, turningto the three doctors gathered about Pinocchio's bed,"I should like to know if this poor Marionette is dead or alive."At this invitation, the Crow stepped out and feltPinocchio's pulse, his nose, his little toe.

　　Then he solemnly pronounced the following words:

　　"To my mind this Marionette is dead and gone; but if,by any evil chance, he were not, then that would be asure sign that he is still alive!""I am sorry," said the Owl, "to have to contradict the Crow, my famous friend and colleague. To my mindthis Marionette is alive; but if, by any evil chance, hewere not, then that would be a sure sign that he is wholly dead!""And do you hold any opinion?" the Fairy asked the Talking Cricket.

　　"I say that a wise doctor, when he does not know what heis talking about, should know enough to keep his mouth shut.

　　However, that Marionette is not a stranger to me.

　　I have known him a long time!"Pinocchio, who until then had been very quiet,shuddered so hard that the bed shook.

　　"That Marionette," continued the Talking Cricket,"is a rascal¹⁸ of the worst kind."Pinocchio opened his eyes and closed them again.

　　"He is rude, lazy, a runaway¹⁹."Pinocchio hid his face under the sheets.

　　"That Marionette is a disobedient son who is breakinghis father's heart!"Long shuddering²⁰ sobs²¹ were heard, cries, and deep sighs.

　　Think how surprised everyone was when, on raising the sheets,they discovered Pinocchio half melted in tears!

　　"When the dead weep, they are beginning to recover,"said the Crow solemnly.

　　"I am sorry to contradict my famous friend and colleague," said the Owl, "but as far as I'm concerned, I think thatwhen the dead weep, it means they do not want to die."

　　正当可怜的皮诺乔给两个杀人强盗吊在大橡树枝头上，觉得这会儿死多活少的时候，天蓝色头发的美丽小女孩重新在窗口出现了，她看见木偶给套着脖子吊着，让北风吹得摇来摇去，太不幸了，不由得很可怜他，于是轻轻拍了三下手掌。
　　这三下手掌一拍，就听到很响的拍翅膀声，一只大老鹰风驰电掣地飞来，停在窗台上，
　　“有什么吩咐啊，我仁慈的仙女？”老鹰说着，垂下鸟嘴致敬（因为要知道，这天蓝色头发的小女孩不是别人，正是最善良的仙女，她在这树林附近已住了一千多年了）。
　　“你看见那木偶吗，给吊在大橡树树枝上的？”
　　“看见了。”
　　“那好。马上飞到那里，用你那有力的尖嘴解开那个吊着他的绳套，把他轻轻放在橡树下的草地。”
　　老鹰飞走了，两分钟就回来了，说：
　　“吩咐我做的都给做好了。”
　　“你觉得他怎么样？活着还是死了？”
　　“我看他好像死了，可还没全死，因为我一松开套在他喉咙的绳套，他叹了一口气，嘟囔了一声：‘这会儿我觉得好多了！’”
　　仙女于是又轻轻拍了两下手掌，来了一只很漂亮的卷毛狗。它像人那样用后腿直立走道。
　　这只卷毛狗身穿车夫的礼服，头戴金边小三角帽，白色假卷发垂到脖子上。巧克力色的上衣上钉着宝石钮扣，两边有两个大口袋，放主人吃饭时赏它的肉骨头。下身穿一条大红天鹅绒裤子、一双丝袜、一双开口软鞋。后面还有一样东西，很像雨伞稍，蓝绸子做的。下雨的时候用来藏它的尾巴。
　　“做件好事，梅多罗！”仙女对卷毛狗说，“马上到我的厩房里，赶一辆最好的车子上树林子去。你到了大橡树底下，就会找到已经半死的可怜木偶直挺挺地躺在草地上。你把他抱起来，很小心很小心地放在车子坐垫上，把他送到这儿来。明白了吗，”
　　卷毛狗把后面那个蓝绸子尾巴套摇了三四次，表示它明白了，然后像闪电似地跑掉了。
　　一转眼工夫，只见厩房里出来了一辆天蓝色的漂亮小轿车，外面装饰着金丝雀羽毛，里面裱糊得象掼奶油和奶油蛋糕那样。车子用一百对白老鼠来拉，卷毛狗坐在驾车台上，左右地抽着鞭子，车夫赶路的时候都是这样的。
　　一刻钟不到，这辆小轿车就回来了。等在门口的仙女抱起可怜的木偶，把他抱进一间墙上镶嵌着珍珠的小卧室，马上请来附近最有名的大夫。
　　三位大夫马上接连来了，一位是乌鸦，一位是猫头鹰，一位是会说话的蟋蟀。
　　“我想请诸位先生看看，”仙女对围在皮诺乔床边的三位大夫说，“我想请诸位先生看看，这不幸的木偶是死了还是活着……”
　　听了仙女的请求，乌鸦第一位给皮诺乔摸脉，接着摸鼻子，接着摸小脚趾。等到都摸过了，它极其严肃地说了这一番话：
　　“我认为木偶完全死了，但万一他没有死，那就有可靠的迹像表明，他完全活着！”
　　“我很抱歉，”猫头鹰说，“我必须表示，我的看法跟我这位有名的朋友和同行乌鸦大夫正好相反。我认为，木偶完全活着，但万一他不幸没有活着，那就有可靠的迹像表明，他的确死了！”
　　“您说哩，”仙女问会说话的蟋蟀。
　　“我要说的是，一位小心谨慎的大夫在不知道他所要说的事情时，最好是不开口。再说，这位木偶对我来说不是陌生面孔，我认识他有好些日子了！……”
　　皮诺乔本来一直躺着不动，像段真正的木头，可这会儿一下子猛烈颤抖，弄得整张床都摇动起来。
　　“这个木偶，”会说话的蟋蟀往下说，“是个大坏蛋……”
　　皮诺乔张开眼睛看看，马上又闭上。
　　“是个无赖，是个二流子，是个流氓……”
　　皮诺乔把脸缩到被单底下。
　　“这木偶是个不听话的坏孩子，他要把他可怜的爸爸气死！……”
　　它说到这里，只听见屋子里有压抑着的哭声和哽咽声。诸位想象一下大伙儿有多么惊奇吧，因为他们把被单掀起一点，就看到是皮诺乔在哭，在哽咽。
　　“死人会哭，就表明他正在好起来，”乌鸦严肃地说。
　　“我只好表示我的看法跟我这位有名的朋友和同行正好相反，”猫头鹰跟着说，“依我看，死人会哭，就表明他不想死。”

1 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

2 azure   

adj.天蓝色的，蔚蓝色的

参考例句：

• His eyes are azure.他的眼睛是天蓝色的。
• The sun shone out of a clear azure sky.清朗蔚蓝的天空中阳光明媚。

3 marionette   

n.木偶

参考例句：

• With this marionette I wish to travel through the world.我希望带着这个木偶周游世界。
• The development of marionette had a great influence on the future development of opera.木偶戏的发展对以后的戏曲有十分重要的影响。

4 dangled   

悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口

参考例句：

• Gold charms dangled from her bracelet. 她的手镯上挂着许多金饰物。
• It's the biggest financial incentive ever dangled before British footballers. 这是历来对英国足球运动员的最大经济诱惑。

5 falcon   

n.隼，猎鹰

参考例句：

• The falcon was twice his size with pouted feathers.鹰张开羽毛比两只鹰还大。
• The boys went hunting with their falcon.男孩子们带着猎鹰出去打猎了。

6 ledge   

n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁

参考例句：

• They paid out the line to lower him to the ledge.他们放出绳子使他降到那块岩石的突出部分。
• Suddenly he struck his toe on a rocky ledge and fell.突然他的脚趾绊在一块突出的岩石上，摔倒了。

7 beak   

n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻

参考例句：

• The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
• This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。

8 reverence   

n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我们尊重传统，但不被传统所束缚。

9 mumbled   

含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He mumbled something to me which I did not quite catch. 他对我叽咕了几句话，可我没太听清楚。
• George mumbled incoherently to himself. 乔治语无伦次地喃喃自语。

10 hind   

adj.后面的，后部的

参考例句：

• The animal is able to stand up on its hind limbs.这种动物能够用后肢站立。
• Don't hind her in her studies.不要在学业上扯她后腿。

11 wig   

n.假发

参考例句：

• The actress wore a black wig over her blond hair.那个女演员戴一顶黑色假发罩住自己的金黄色头发。
• He disguised himself with a wig and false beard.他用假发和假胡须来乔装。

12 velvet   

n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的

参考例句：

• This material feels like velvet.这料子摸起来像丝绒。
• The new settlers wore the finest silk and velvet clothing.新来的移民穿着最华丽的丝绸和天鹅绒衣服。

13 crimson   

n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色

参考例句：

• She went crimson with embarrassment.她羞得满脸通红。
• Maple leaves have turned crimson.枫叶已经红了。

14 slippers   

n. 拖鞋

参考例句：

• a pair of slippers 一双拖鞋
• He kicked his slippers off and dropped on to the bed. 他踢掉了拖鞋，倒在床上。

15 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

16 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

17 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

18 rascal   

n.流氓；不诚实的人

参考例句：

• If he had done otherwise,I should have thought him a rascal.如果他不这样做，我就认为他是个恶棍。
• The rascal was frightened into holding his tongue.这坏蛋吓得不敢往下说了。

19 runaway   

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

• The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
• He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

20 shuddering   

v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动

参考例句：

• 'I am afraid of it,'she answered, shuddering. “我害怕，”她发着抖，说。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• She drew a deep shuddering breath. 她不由得打了个寒噤，深深吸了口气。 来自飘（部分）

21 sobs   

啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She was struggling to suppress her sobs. 她拼命不让自己哭出来。
• She burst into a convulsive sobs. 她突然抽泣起来。