“Yes, I know; but you shall wait now. Since I have been with you I have eaten nothing but raw fish. Fish and mollusks, mollusks and fish, and I’m getting tired of it. To-day I am going to eat boiled eggs.”

“Boiled eggs! How, pray, and in what are you going to boil them?”

“Ha, ha! That’s my secret. That day in the ship I found an iron box with the word matches written on it. I kept it, but I never opened it. Here it is.” And Pinocchio showed the dolphin a small black box firmly closed.

“Now I’m going to use the matches. Do you want to see me build a fire and cook my eggs?”

“Very well, have your own way. But make haste, you disobedient boy.”

In no time Pinocchio had a good fire started.

“Now in what shall I put the water to boil?” he thought.

He looked around, and not very far away he saw a huge empty tortoise shell.

“Marsovino!” he called. “Come here! Will you please blow on this fire for me? I don’t want it to go out, and I want to get that tortoise shell and some water.”

“But I can’t move out of the water,” answered Marsovino.