“Good-bye, master; if you should be in want of a skin to make a drum, remember me.”

And he laughed and went on swimming, and after a while he turned again and shouted louder: 

“Good-bye, master; if you should be in want of a little well seasoned wood for lighting the fire, remember me.”

In the twinkling of an eye he had swum so far off that he was scarcely visible.  All that could be seen of him was a little black speck on the surface of the sea that from time to time lifted its legs out of the water and leaped and capered like a dolphin enjoying himself.

Whilst Pinocchio was swimming, he knew not whither, he saw in the midst of the sea a rock that seemed to be made of white marble, and on the summit there stood a beautiful little goat who bleated lovingly and made signs to him to approach.

But the most singular thing was this.  The little goat’s hair, instead of being white or black, or a mixture of two colors as is usual with other goats, was blue, and a very vivid blue, greatly resembling the hair of the beautiful Child.

I leave you to imagine how rapidly poor Pinocchio’s heart began to beat.  He swam with redoubled strength and energy towards the white rock; and he was already half-way there when he saw, rising up out of the water and coming to meet him, the horrible head of a sea-monster.  His wide-open, cavernous mouth and his three rows of enormous teeth would have been terrifying to look at even in a picture.

And do you know what this sea-monster was?

This sea-monster was neither more nor less than that gigantic Dog-Fish, who has been mentioned many times in this story, and who, for his slaughter and for his insatiable voracity, had been named the “Attila of Fish and Fishermen.”

Only to think of poor Pinocchio’s terror at the sight of the monster.  He tried to avoid it, to change his direction; he tried to escape, but that immense, wide-open mouth came towards him with the velocity of an arrow.

“Be quick, Pinocchio, for pity’s sake!” cried the beautiful little goat, bleating.

And Pinocchio swam desperately with his arms, his chest, his legs, and his feet.

“Quick, Pinocchio, the monster is close upon you!”

And Pinocchio swam quicker than ever, and flew on with the rapidity of a ball from a gun.  He had nearly reached the rock, and the little goat, leaning over towards the sea, had stretched out her fore-legs to help him out of the water!

But it was too late!  The monster had overtaken him and, drawing in his breath, he sucked in the poor puppet as he would have sucked a hen’s egg; and he swallowed him with such violence and avidity that Pinocchio, in falling into the Dog-Fish’s stomach, received such a blow that he remained unconscious for a quarter of an hour afterwards.