PINOCCHIO DID HIS BEST TO GET ON HIS FEET, BUT COULDN'T SUCCEED
Notwithstanding the laughter of the captain, Pinocchio's anger evaporated in a second. His eyes were fixed on the scraps of his trousers that still hung on the teeth of the trap and his hands were rubbing the frozen surface left uncovered. He longed to cry, and felt so ridiculous that he was almost on the point of flinging himself again down the snowy slope.
"Come on, come on! There's no time to lose. There is a long road to go and the clouds are hanging lower. There's no sense in your staying there like a macaw, weeping for the seat of your breeches. When we arrive up there I'll have the company's tailor mend them for you. You've got to march, and no more nonsense. Forward, march!"
"Captain, it's impossible."
"Heavens alive! How impossible?"
"I am not presentable."
"Why?"
"If we find the enemy and the Austrians see me with my trousers in such a state, they will say that the Italian army ..."