than he fell asleep at once and began to dream. And he dreamt that he was in the middle of a field, and the field was full of shrubs covered with clusters of gold sovereigns, and as they swung in the wind they went zin, zin, zin, almost as if they would say: 'Let who will, come and take us.' But when Pinocchio was at the most interesting moment, that is, just as he was stretching out his hand to pick handfuls of those beautiful gold pieces and to put them in his pocket, he was suddenly wakened by three violent blows on the door of his room.
It was the host who had come to tell him that midnight had struck.
'Are my companions ready?' asked the puppet.
'Ready! Why, they left two hours ago.'
'Why were they in such a hurry?'
'Because the Cat had received a message to say that her eldest kitten was ill with chilblains on his feet, and was in danger of death.'
'Did they pay for the supper?'
'What are you thinking of? They are much too well educated to dream of offering such an insult to a gentleman like you.'
'What a pity! It is an insult that would have given me so much pleasure!' said Pinocchio, scratching his head. He then asked:
