Buoyed up by the hope of arriving in time to save his father Pinocchio swam all night. And what a horrible night that was! The rain came down in torrents, the hail rattled on him, thunder crashed, and flashes of lightning made it bright as day. Toward morning he saw land not far off. It was an island in the middle of the sea. He tried to reach the sandy shore, but the attempt was in vain. The waves tossed him about like a straw. At last, as fortune would have it, there came a tremendous wave that hurled him far up the shore with such force that he nearly broke his bones, but he said bravely:
"I was lucky to escape at all."