“Yes,” said the marionette, proudly. “And I am able to teach you.”
“Teach me! That’s strange. How do you expect to teach me?”
“You will soon find out. You talk rather disrespectfully to me. I have been in all the schools of the kingdom. And you? You probably have never been on land for twenty-four hours.”
Marsovino looked at the marionette smilingly, but made no reply.
Pinocchio walked up and down with his hands in his pockets and his hat at an angle of forty-five degrees, ruffling his feathers at the brilliant remark he had made.
As soon as Tursio came near, Marsovino asked him if he were ready.
“Yes. Everything is finished,” was the reply. “Are you ready, Pinocchio?”
“Yes. I am ready. Let us start.”
“Start? How? Do you mean to say that you are coming under the sea with that suit?”
“Of course. It’s the only one I have.”