Chapter 12 In Search of the Terrible Shark Pinocchio reached the shore before any of his friends.
When he got there, however, he saw no sign of the shark.
Finally, his friends arrived.
Hey, where's that shark?
Pinocchio asked.
Maybe he's at breakfast or taking a nap, one boy said, winking.
Pinocchio realized that the boys had played a trick on him, lying to get him to skip school.
We had to, they exclaimed.
You're a goody-goody.
You make us look bad.
And don't think of kicking us again, one of the boys warned.
You may have dangerous wooden feet, but there are seven of us and only one of you.
One of me is still better than all of you, Pinocchio replied.
Oh, really, the boldest boy said, reaching out and hitting Pinocchio in the head.
Pinocchio hit him back, and within a few minutes, a furious battle was raging.
Although he was one against seven, Pinocchio's wooden feet held their own and caused plenty of howls.
Backing off, the boys decided to try another approach.
Instead of throwing punches at Pinocchio, they began to throw books.
Pinocchio ducked first to the left and then to the right.
The books flew right over his head and into the sea, where the fish tried to eat them, then spat them out.
After a few minutes, only one of Pinocchio's books was left.
It was his favorite, a big, heavy math book.
The boys surrounded Pinocchio until they stood in a circle around him.
Then the boy holding the math book threw it at Pinocchio with all of his strength.
But instead of hitting Pinocchio, the book hit one of the other boys in the head.
The injured boy turned pale as a ghost and fainted.
Uh-oh.
All the boys cried.
Thinking they had committed murder, they turned and ran.
Only Pinocchio stayed behind.
Running to the sea, he took his handkerchief, soaked it in the cool water and bathed the injured boy's head.
"'Please wake up, Eugene,' he cried.
"'Please don't die.
Oh, why did I skip school?
What will become of me now?'
Suddenly, Pinocchio heard heavy steps approaching.
Looking up, he saw two police officers standing near him.
"'What's your name?' one of them asked.
"'Pinocchio?'
Did you hurt this boy?
No, stammered the puppet.
Well, then, who did?
Pinocchio wouldn't say.
He was no tattletale.
One of the officers picked up the math book and then looked at Eugene's bruise.
This is the book that injured him, he concluded.
Whose book is this? the other officer asked.
Mine, Pinocchio admitted.
That was all the officers needed to hear.
They arranged for some fishermen to take care of Eugene, then grabbed a hold of Pinocchio and began walking him to jail.
Halfway there, a sudden gust of wind picked up Pinocchio's cap and blew it down the street.
Please, he begged the officers, can I go get my hat?
If I'm to sit in some drafty prison, I'm going to need my hat.
All right, the officer said, but hurry up and get it and then come right back.
And hurry Pinocchio did.
When he had retrieved his hat, he continued to hurry as fast as he could in the other direction, away from the officers and back to the sea.
After all, he had a father to find.
Pinocchio thought he was home free until, that is, he heard a terrible panting behind him.
The police officers had set their police dog after him.
Alidoro, for that was the dog's name, was very fast and fierce.
He came so close at times that Pinocchio could feel his hot breath behind him.
Lucky for Pinocchio, he was near the ocean.
A few more steps and Pinocchio leaped up and into the water.
Running too fast to stop, Alidoro fell into the water too.
Unfortunately for him, he could not swim.
Alidoro tried and tried to do the doggy paddle, but it was of no use.
He was sinking like a stone.
Help, he gurgled.
Pinocchio hesitated.
After all, the dog had been trying to hurt him.
Seconds later, however, the poor dog's cries broke Pinocchio's heart.
"'If I help you,' he said, "'will you promise to stop chasing me?'
"'I promise!
Hurry!'
Pinocchio swam out to Alidoro, grabbed a hold of his tail, and pulled him to shore.
"'Thank you, puppet,' Alidoro cried when he got his breath back.
If I can ever return the favor, I will.
Wishing Alidoro good luck, but still not trusting him completely, Pinocchio swam back out a bit.
He swam along the shoreline until he spotted a small cave, out of which rose a spiral of smoke.
Someone's got a fire going in there, he thought.
Wonderful, I can dry my wet clothes and get warm.
Before he could reach the cave however, he was caught and lifted up in a giant net along with a big crowd of fish of all kinds and sizes.
They were all fighting and struggling desperately to get free.
Looking up, Pinocchio saw that the net was being held by a fisherman.
Yum! the fisherman cried, looking at his catch.
Fish for dinner!
I'm glad I'm not a fish, Pinocchio thought to himself.
The fisherman took him along with all of the other fish to a dark place in the cave.
A giant pan of oil was sizzling over an open fire.
Let's see, the fisherman mused.
What shall I have for dinner tonight?
Shall I have a bass, a flounder, a white fish, or an anchovy?
As he spoke, he reached into the net and pulled these fish out one by one.
And then he grabbed a hold of Pinocchio.
What kind of fish is this? he asked.
For your information, Pinocchio replied, insulted, I happen to be a puppet, not a fish.
The fisherman said, a puppet fish?
I've never tasted one of those.
Pinocchio trembled.
Didn't you hear me say that I am not a fish?
Could you be having this conversation with a fish?
Well, obviously you are a very smart fish, the fisherman replied.
I will admit that you deserve some respect, so I will let you choose the way in which you are to be cooked.
Do you wish to be fried in a pan or stewed in tomato sauce with garlic and capers?
Some choice, Pinocchio thought, starting to cry.
No preference, the fisherman asked.
Okay then, he said, and dipped Pinocchio in egg and flour.
Frying it is.
