The buyer, curious to hear the real story, untied the knots that bound the marionette, and Pinocchio, finding himself as free as a bird in air said; "Well then, I was once a wooden puppet, just as I am now, and on the turn of becoming a boy, just like the others. But I listened to the advice of a bad companion, and one morning I awoke and found myself turned into a donkey with big ears and a long tail. How ashamed I felt when I saw that tail. Then I was led to a market place where a man bought me and taught me to do tricks and dance. One night when I was performing, I fell and sprained my leg so badly that I could hardly stand on it. Then my master, who did not want a lame donkey, sold me to you."
"Only too true! I paid twenty-five cents for you. And now who will give my money back to me?"
"Yes, and why did you buy me? You planned to beat me by stretching my skin over a drum!"
"Very true, but where shall I find another skin?"
"That is not for me to say."
