'Excuse me; but why, then, do you keep that cotton cap on your head which covers up your ears?'
'The doctor ordered me to wear it because I have hurt this knee. And you, dear puppet, why have you got on that cotton cap pulled down over your nose?'
'The doctor prescribed it because I have grazed my foot.'
'Oh, poor Pinocchio! . . .'
'Oh, poor Candlewick! . . .'
After these words a long silence followed, during which the two friends did nothing but look mockingly at each other.
At last the puppet said in a soft mellifluous voice to his companion:
'Satisfy my curiosity, my dear Candlewick: have you ever suffered from disease of the ears?'
'Never! . . . And you?'
'Never! Only since this morning one of my ears aches.'
'Mine is also paining me.'
'You also? . . . And which of your ears hurts you?'
'Both of them. And you?'
'Both of them. Can we have got the same illness?'
'I fear so.'
'Will you do me a kindness, Candlewick?'
'Willingly! With all my heart.'
'Will you let me see your ears?'
