After he had slept two hours he was awakened at midnight by a whispering which sounded like pist! pist! It appeared to come from the barnyard. He put his nose out of the hole in the dog house and saw four little beasts that looked somewhat like cats. But they were not cats; they were Weasels, — carnivorous animals who eat young chickens. One of the Weasels, leaving his companions, went to the hole in the dog house and said in a low voice, "Good evening, Bruno."

"I am not called Bruno."

"Oh, then, who are you?"

"I am Pinocchio."

"What are you doing here?"

"I am playing watchdog."

"Oh, where is Bruno? Where is the old dog that lived in this house?"

"He died this morning."

"Dead? Poor beast! He was so good! But judging from your face you are also a nice dog."

"Excuse me, I am not a dog."

"What are you?"

"I am a marionette."

"And you play watchdog?"

"Yes, it is true; I do so for a punishment."

" Well, I propose to you the same agreement that I had with the dead Bruno. Are you willing?"

"What are the conditions?"

"We will come here once a week, as we have done in the past, to pay a nocturnal visit to this chicken house; and we will carry away eight chickens. Of these we will eat seven and give you one, on condition — understand well — that you will pretend to sleep and not come out and bark and thus awaken the farmer."

"And Bruno did that?" asked Pinocchio.

"Oh, yes, and we got along very nicely. You sleep quietly and you may be sure that before we go away we will leave a nice fat chicken for your breakfast tomorrow morning. Do you understand?"

"Very well," replied Pinocchio. But he shook his head as if he would have said, "In a little while we will talk about this again."

When the four Weasels felt that they were free from harm they walked toward the chicken coop, which was very near the dog house. They opened the door with their teeth and nails and filed in one by one. But they were hardly inside when they heard the door close with a bang.

Who was it that had closed the door? Why, it was Pinocchio, who, not contented with the latch that held the door, placed a big stone there besides. And then he began to bark, and he barked just like a watchdog — bu! bu! bu! bu!

At that sound the farmer jumped out of bed, took his gun, and, coming to the window, said, "What is the matter?"

"The robbers are here," cried Pinocchio.

"Where are they?"

"In the chicken coop."

"I will come down right away."

Before any one could say "Boo!" the farmer came down. After he had caught the four Weasels and put them into a sack, he looked at the sack with genuine satisfaction and said: "You, then, are the ones who have been stealing my chickens! I ought to punish you, but you are beneath my notice. I will content myself instead with carrying you to the town near by, where they will take you off my hands. It is an honor you do not deserve, but generous men do not mind taking this little trouble."

Then, approaching Pinocchio, he caressed him, and among other things asked him: "How did you ever catch these four robbers? And to think that Bruno, my good and faithful Bruno, could not do it!"

The marionette then would have told all he knew about the shameful contract between the dog and the Weasels; but remembering that the dog was dead, he said to himself: "Why should I accuse the dead? The dead are dead and the best thing to do is to leave them in peace."

"Were you asleep when the Weasels came into the yard?" asked the farmer.

"I was asleep," replied Pinocchio, "but they awoke me with their chattering, and one came to my house and said: 'If you promise not to bark and not to wake up the farmer, we will give you a nice fat chicken for a present. 'You understand? How could they have the face to say that to me? I am only a marionette and have all the faults of marionettes, but I never enter into a contract with thieves."

"Brave boy!" cried the farmer, patting him on the shoulder. "These sentiments do you honor, and to prove to you my great satisfaction I leave you free to return to your house."

And he took off the dog's collar.