The monster moved restlessly about, stretching and twisting its arms. In one of them it held Pinocchio’s boot. Every minute its huge body changed color. At first it was white, then gray, then brown, then spotted with purple. Pinocchio hardly knew what to think of it.
“You are certainly very ugly, my dear bottle of ink,” he thought.
“Well, why am I standing here? I might as well try to kill him. Hurrah! Here comes the brave marionette!”
Very slowly Pinocchio walked up to the octopus, but not near enough to be in reach of those arms. Then with a quick move he threw the mattress over the struggling mass. Pressing it down tightly, he held it there.
For a long time the arms twitched nervously about, but at last they stopped moving. The boy waited a few minutes longer, and then, thinking the creature dead, he stood up.
The mattress, however, he left on top of the poulpe. Not only that, but running back, he took another and put it on top of the first. He wanted to be sure the octopus would not move. At last he breathed easily and set to work to get the boxes.
Yes, think of it! That lazy marionette really set to work. He dragged the boxes one after the other into the large room, and then he called Marsovino.
“Here is the treasure, Marsovino. Now how am I to carry these heavy boxes upstairs?”
Marsovino then lowered a stout rope which he had carried with him. Pinocchio tied the boxes to it, one after the other, and the dolphin pulled them up.