CHAPTER XIV
The boys traveled two weeks longer, and at last Marsovino thought himself near his destination. So he dived into the water to a great depth.
After a while, as he sank deeper and deeper into the sea, Pinocchio became frightened. They were down so far that no light from the sun could reach them.
“Where are you carrying me to, my dear?” he asked. “If we go any farther, we cannot possibly live. How could we, with this immense amount of water over us?”
“We’ll be all right, my boy, never fear. If little fish like that can live here, why, so can we.”
Marsovino was pointing to many horrible dark objects which were swimming around him. They had a round head, great black bodies, no eyes, and from their heads a long thread moved about in the water. At the end of the threads were small lights.
“What ugly things!” said Pinocchio. “What are they, and why do they have those small lights on their heads?”
“If you look closely, you will see that those little beings have no eyes. So they depend on these lights for their food. Other animals are drawn to the lights. When they are near enough these animals feel them. Then they are seized and eaten.”
“The sea is wonderful,” nodded Pinocchio, drowsily, “but don’t you think that we might take some sleep? I am very tired.”