“Marsovino! Wake up!” he called. “Just look! Yesterday we were swimming in a sea of silver. To-day we are floating in milk.”
It was really the truth. No sign of herrings was left. But as far as eye could reach one could see only a thick heavy liquid as white as milk.
“Oh, how splendid!” cried Pinocchio. “Now I can have as much milk as I want. It looks good.”
Marsovino had awakened, but he never said a word. He wanted to see what Pinocchio would do. The marionette, thinking himself right, bent over and took a long drink of milk, as he thought. But he had no sooner had a taste than he made a wry face.
“Why, it is salty.”
“Of course it is. Is this the first time you have heard of the sea being salt?”
“But this is not water. Look how white it is. It looks like milk.”
“Do you know why it is so? The water looks white because of the eggs left in it by the herrings of yesterday.”
“Eggs? But there must be thousands of them?”
“Yes, and millions.”