Tursio and his swimming companions, with a few shakes of their strong tails, were soon far away from shore. This is not to be wondered at, for dolphins are known to be very swift. Very soon Pinocchio saw nothing but sea and sky. Always holding on tightly to Tursio’s fin, he looked to the right and to the left; but nothing could he see of his dear father.
“Hold fast, Pinocchio,” suddenly cried Tursio.
“All right, Mr. Tursio,” replied Pinocchio, but he could say no more. For suddenly, with a great jump, the dolphin was under water.
What a moment for our poor wooden hero!
“Now I understand it all,” he thought. “This dolphin wants to get me into the sea that he may eat me at his leisure. Oh, poor me! I shall never again see the light of day.”
But marvel of marvels! He suddenly awoke to the fact that, instead of drowning, he was breathing easily. Not only that, but he could actually talk!
“This is strange,” said he. “I have always thought that people would drown in the water.”
“And it is true,” answered the dolphin, “that men usually drown in the sea. But I have given you the power to live under water. You see, then, you have become a real amphibian.”
“A real what? What am I now?”
“An amphibian. That is, you have the power to live both in the air and in the water.”