ard. He fell so awkwardly that
his head stuck in the mud, and there he stood with his legs straight up
in the air.

At the sight of the Marionette kicking and squirming like a young
whirlwind, the Serpent laughed so heartily and so long that at last he
burst an artery and died on the spot.

Pinocchio freed himself from his awkward position and once more began
to run in order to reach the Fairy's house before dark. As he went, the
pangs of hunger grew so strong that, unable to withstand them, he jumped
into a field to pick a few grapes that tempted him. Woe to him!

No sooner had he reached the grapevine than--crack! went his legs.

The poor Marionette was caught in a trap set there by a Farmer for some
Weasels which came every night to steal his chickens.

CHAPTER 21

Pinocchio is caught by a Farmer, who uses him as a watchdog for his
chicken coop.

Pinocchio, as you may well imagine, began to scream and weep and beg;
but all was of no use, for no houses were to be seen and not a soul
passed by on the road.

Night came on.

A little because of the sharp pain in his legs, a little because of
fright at finding himself alone in the darkness of the field, the
Marionette was about to faint, when he saw a tiny Glowworm flickering
by. He called to her and said:

"Dear little Glowworm, will you set me free?"

"Poor little fellow!" replied the Glowworm, stopping to look at him with
pity. "How came you to be caught in this trap?"

"I stepped into this lonely field to take a few grapes and--"

"Are the grapes yours?"

"No."

"Who has taught you to take things that do not belong to you?"

"I was hungry."

"Hunger, my boy, is no reason for taking something which belongs to
another."

"It's true, it's true!" cried Pinocchio in tears. "I won't do it again."

Just then, the conversation was interrupted by approaching footsteps.
It was the owner of the field, who was coming on tiptoes to see if, by
chance, he had caught the Weasels which had been eating his chickens.

Great was his surprise when, on holding up his lantern, he saw that,
instead of a Weasel, he had caught a boy!

"Ah, you little thief!" said the Farmer in an angry voice. "So you are
the one who steals my chickens!"

"Not I! No, no!" cried Pinocchio, sobbing bitterly. "I came here only to
take a very few grapes."

"He who steals grapes may very easily steal chickens also. Take my word
for it, I'll give you a lesson that you'll remember