Page 145 [145]
PINOCCHIO 127
In the meanwhile he was tormented by
hunger, for he had eaten nothing for twenty¬
four hours—not even vetch. What was he
to do?
There were only two ways by which he
could obtain food—either by asking for a little
work, or by begging for a halfpenny or for a
mouthful of bread.
He was ashamed to beg, for his father had
always preached to him that no one had a right
to beg except the aged and the infirm. The
really poor in this world, deserving of com¬
passion and assistance, are only those who from
age or sickness are no longer able to earn their
own bread with the labour of their hands. It
is the duty of every one else to work; and if
they will not work, so much the worse for them
if they suffer from hunger.
At that moment a man came down the road,
tired and panting for breath. He was drag¬
ging alone, with fatigue and difficulty, two
carts full of charcoal.
Pinocchio, judging by his face that he was
a kind man, approached him, and casting down
his eyes with shame he said in a low voice:
- Would you have the charity to give me e
halfpenny, for I am dying of hunger?”
“You shall have not only a halfpenny,”