midnight
After this little sermon to himself , which came from the very depths of his heart , Pinocchio went into the doghouse and fell asleep . Pinocchio discovers the thieves and , as a reward for faithfulness , he regains his liberty . Even though a boy may be very unhappy , he very seldom loses sleep over his worries . The Marionette , being no exception to this rule , slept on peacefully for a few hours till well along toward midnight , when he was awakened by strange whisperings and stealthy sounds coming from the yard . He stuck his nose out of the doghouse and saw four slender , hairy animals . They were Weasels , small animals very fond of both eggs and chickens . One of them left her companions and , going to the door of the doghouse , said in a sweet voice : `` Good evening , Melampo . ''