PINOCCHIO

CHAPTER I

THE PIECE OF WOOD THAT LAUGHED AND CRIED LIKE A CHILD


There was once upon a time a piece of wood in the shop of an old
carpenter named Master Antonio. Everybody, however, called him Master
Cherry, on account of the end of his nose, which was always as red and
polished as a ripe cherry.

No sooner had Master Cherry set eyes on the piece of wood than his face
beamed with delight, and, rubbing his hands together with satisfaction,
he said softly to himself:

"This wood has come at the right moment; it will just do to make the leg
of a little table."

He immediately took a sharp axe with which to remove the bark and the
rough surface, but just as he was going to give the first stroke he
heard a very small voice say imploringly, "Do not strike me so hard!"

He turned his terrified eyes all around the room to try and discover
where the little voice could possibly have come from, but he saw nobody!
He looked under the bench--nobody; he looked into a cupboard that was
always shut--nobody; he looked into a basket of shavings and
sawdust--nobody; he even opened the door of the shop and gave a glance
into the street--and still nobody. Who, then, could it be?