superior airs: don't come here to crow over us! . . . for if you are not afraid of us, we are not afraid of you. Remember that you are one against seven of us.'
'Seven, like the seven deadly sins,' said Pinocchio with a shout of laughter.
'Listen to him! He has insulted us all! He called us the seven deadly sins! . . .'
'Pinocchio! beg pardon . . . or it will be the worse for you! . . .'
'Cuckoo!' sang the puppet, putting his forefinger to the end of his nose scoffingly.
'Pinocchio! it will end badly! . . .'
'Cuckoo!'
'You will get as many blows as a donkey! . . .'
'Cuckoo!'
'You will return home with a broken nose! . . .'
'Cuckoo!'
'Ah, you shall have the cuckoo from me!' said the most courageous of the boys. 'Take that to begin with, and keep it for your supper to-night.'
And so saying he gave him a blow on the head with his fist.
But it was give and take; for the puppet, as was to be expected, immediately returned the blow, and the fight in a moment became general and desperate.
Pinocchio, although he was one alone, defended himself like a hero. He used
