“A fine time for a king to rise!” he thought. “Am I or am I not emperor? If I am emperor, I should sleep as long as I wish, eat what I please, and do anything I like. It seems to me that I am the slave of my people rather than their ruler. Wait, my dear subjects; I will soon prove to you what stuff I am made of.”
The people waited. The ministers explained to the emperor that he was to ride on the bull.
“My dear subjects, have you lost your senses?” thought the marionette. “I certainly will not ride on a bull. How long have bulls been used as horses? This beast will hurl me into the first ditch we come to. A fine regard you have for your emperor! I almost begin to believe that you want to get rid of me and have another king.”
However, there was no way of escape, and he decided to do as he was told. He leaped squarely upon the bull, and calmly sat there. The bull, fortunately, did not move.
“Good beast!” said Pinocchio, somewhat encouraged, as he gave the signal to depart.
The sun was already up when they reached the river where the hunt was to take place.
Hippopotamus hunting is a very dangerous sport, but it was one that the people dearly loved.
Scouts were sent on ahead while the hunters crawled like snakes through the high, thick grass. As they neared the river, they became very careful. With their eyes fixed, their ears wide open, their spears firmly grasped, they were ready to attack at any moment.
Pinocchio pretended that he was suffering with a pain in the left foot, and slowly dropped behind the others. He had never had any great liking for the hunt. He felt annoyed that he should always have to do things that he did not enjoy. He would have stayed where he was, but the prime minister came along in search of him.
Tired of the insolence of this man, the marionette thrust back his hat with a bold sweep of his hand, as if to say, “Now I shall show you who I am, and who I was.” Pinocchio then hastened toward the river, reaching the bank at the very moment when the hunters had started a large hippopotamus out of the weeds.