Pinocchio was thunderstruck! It was he and not the donkey that had been sold.
“Dogs!” he cried, “farewell. I go from you forever.” And away he leaped as fast as the north wind. They did not even try to follow him. Who could have caught him.
CHAPTER XXII
THE BIRD IN THE FOREST
After two hours of hard running, Pinocchio, still angry at the treatment he had received, came to a forest. “It’s better to be a bird in the bushes than a bird in a cage!” he thought.
Although the walk in the forest was refreshing, he began, as usual, to be hungry. The place was very beautiful, but beauty could not satisfy a marionette’s appetite. He looked here and there in the hope that he might see trees loaded with the fruit about which the elephant man had spoken. He saw nothing but branches and leaves, leaves and branches. On he walked. Both the forest and his hunger seemed without end.
Fortunately Pinocchio was very strong. Being made of wood, he could endure a great many hardships. He was sure that his good Fairy would come to help him, so he kept on bravely. He had walked a long way before he saw a large tree, bearing fruit that resembled oranges.