“What blockheads!” the marionette muttered to himself.  “I never smoke anything but the finest cigars!”

Still, he considered it wise to make no objections.  He puffed twice on the pipe stem, and then passed it to the king that sat at his right hand.

The king drew a mouthful and then passed the pipe to his next neighbor.  Thus the pipe moved along in regular order until it came back to Pinocchio.  Poor Pinocchio! he was already feeling a little queer after his first attempt, and did not enjoy the idea of smoking again; but he knew that he must live up to the reputation of a great emperor.  Accordingly he bravely took the pipe and puffed half a dozen times.

Alas!  It would have been better for him had he not tried it again!  He was wretchedly sick.  His head swam dizzily, and the sweat stood out on his forehead.  He tried to hide his feelings by talking, but what he said was sheer nonsense.

“When I was king in my own country, the Talking Cricket told me — because my feet burned — that the alphabet had been swallowed by the cat — that was hung to a tree by a dog — that was owned by the director of the circus.”

He gazed around him, frightened at his own words, but he saw the flushed faces of the people and heard them whisper:  “The sea talks — " “The sun is filled with stars — " “The tiger laughs — " “The summer is red — " and similar phrases equally sensible.

“What is the matter with everybody?” thought the marionette, as he looked about, and saw one of the kings asleep on the ground beside him.  Other forms were stretched out around them.  Even as he looked, Pinocchio the First, Emperor and King of all Africa, fell over on his wooden nose, and he too was soon fast asleep.

36.  Pinocchio Makes His First Address

The next day was a splendid one.  The sky was a clear blue, the earth was green and fresh.  Thousands upon thousands shouted with joy.  Pinocchio was to be crowned king and emperor.

He had carefully prepared the royal address, and came proudly forward mounted upon a large elephant, towering above his people.  The trumpets sounded, the drums beat, the children rolled on the ground.  At a signal from the master of ceremonies all was still.  Even the birds ceased to sing.  A troop of monkeys, leaping about in the trees, paused to listen.  The emperor spoke as follows: 

“Ministers of Africa, officers of the army, chiefs and underchiefs, servants and slaves, men, women, and children, all, beloved subjects, listen to the voice of your emperor!” — and Pinocchio looked around at the multitude.

“We, Pinocchio the First, speak to you, and bring to you the word of peace and of love.  A new day is about to open to you.  Rejoice, O people!  We have concluded to bring happiness to every heart and riches to every home.  We shall not reveal all the plans which, in time, we hope to see carried out.  We shall begin very modestly.  Our first gift to you, O people, is Time.  Time is very valuable.  We have a great deal of it in store.  Our kingdom is rich in Time; therefore we have decreed to give each of you as much Time as you want.  How can we be more generous!