“So much the worse,” again thought Master Pinocchio. “Still, I don’t see what kind of education there can be in seeing only sea and sky! Good Mr. Dolphin, do you think that, if I go with you, I shall ever find my father?”
“Perhaps. We may come upon him on some desert island. Who knows? In any case, it is your sacred duty to look for him. Will you come?”
“Yes!” answered Pinocchio, firmly. “I will go.”
“Are you afraid?”
“Afraid,” laughed Pinocchio, with scorn. “Why, I don’t know what fear is. Just listen. Once, while traveling, I came face to face with a lion. Instead of taking to my heels as many would have done, I took a large stone and threw it into his mouth. It lodged in his throat. The poor beast looked at me so sadly, that instead of dispatching him, I took the stone out of his throat, and he went quietly away.”
“Oh, if that is the case,” replied the dolphin, who could swallow the story almost as well as the lion had swallowed the stone, “if that is the case, I beg your pardon.”
“Very well. When shall we start?”
“To-night, just after sunset.”
“How can we travel in the dark?” asked Pinocchio. He and darkness had never been great friends.
“Do not be afraid. We are to travel by the light of the sun.”