CHAPTER ONE

A Piece of Wood
Mr Cherry is a carpenter in a village. He’s a friendly man with a round
face. People call him Mr Cherry because his nose is red like a cherry. He
makes all kinds of furniture for the people of the village. One day he
wants to make a leg for a table.

‘I need a good piece of wood to make a table leg,’ he says. He looks

around his shop and sees a big piece of wood.

‘This piece of wood is perfect,’ he says. ‘It’s nice and strong. I’m
going to make a beautiful table leg.’

He takes the piece of wood and goes to his work table. He takes a
chisel and starts to cut the piece of wood.

Suddenly a voice says, ‘Don’t hit me!’

Mr Cherry’s surprised because he’s alone in the shop. He looks

around and doesn’t see anyone.

‘How strange!’ he says. ‘Someone’s speaking.’ He continues to work

on the piece of wood.

‘Stop!’ cries the voice. ‘Don’t hit me!’

‘Who’s there?’ asks Mr Cherry. There’s no answer.

‘A piece of wood can’t talk!’ says Mr Cherry. He puts the piece of

wood near his ear and listens, but he can’t hear anything.

Just then an old man called Gepetto knocks at the door. He’s Mr
Cherry’s friend and he’s very poor. He’s thin and has got white hair.
 ‘Hello, Mr Cherry,’ says Gepetto. ‘Do you have a good piece of wood?
I want to make a puppet.’

‘A puppet?’ asks Mr Cherry.

‘Yes, a beautiful puppet,’ answers Gepetto. ‘I want to take it around

and show it to people. A puppet can dance, sing and jump.’

Mr Cherry looks at Gepetto and thinks, ‘I can give him this strange
piece of wood. I don’t want it.’

‘Here,’ says Mr Cherry. ‘Take this big piece of wood for your puppet.’

Gepetto is happy and says, ‘What a beautiful piece of wood! Thank

you, my friend.’

‘You’re welcome,’ says Mr Cherry. ‘Goodbye, Gepetto.’

Gepetto walks home and carries the piece of wood.

‘I’m going to make a beautiful puppet,’ thinks Gepetto. ‘And I’m going
to call him... Pinocchio! It’s a good name for him. Today’s my lucky day.’

When Gepetto gets home he starts to make the puppet. First he

makes the puppet’s head and then he makes two eyes. Next he makes
the puppet’s nose and mouth. Suddenly the puppet’s mouth laughs.

Gepetto is very surprised and asks, ‘Are you laughing, Pinocchio?’

There is no answer.

When Gepetto finishes the arms and legs, Pinocchio looks at them
and smiles.

‘Thank you!’ Pinocchio says happily.

Gepetto is very surprised because his puppet can talk.

‘Pinocchio,’ says Gepetto, ‘you can talk!’

 ‘Yes, I can talk,’ answers Pinocchio.

Then Pinocchio jumps up and runs to the door. He opens it and runs
out of the house. He runs quickly down the dark street and a policeman
sees him.

‘What’s going on here?’ asks the policeman. Then he sees Gepetto.

He’s running out of the house with his chisel in his hand. He looks
dangerous.

‘Come back, Pinocchio!’ cries Gepetto. But Pinocchio runs away and
doesn’t stop.

‘Please come back, Pinocchio,’ cries Gepetto angrily. ‘You must listen
to me!’

‘What are you doing to the poor puppet?’ asks the policeman. ‘You’re
a bad man. I’m taking you to prison!’

‘What!’ cries old Gepetto. ‘I don’t want to go to prison. I must find

Pinocchio!’

Poor Gepetto goes to prison and he’s very sad. Pinocchio runs back to
Gepetto’s house.

CHAPTER TWO

A Real Boy
When Pinocchio gets home he’s happy and sits near the fire.

‘How nice!’ he thinks. ‘I’m home alone and I can do what I want.’

‘You’re not alone, Pinocchio,’ says a cricket.

Pinocchio sees a big cricket on the wall and says, ‘Go away, cricket!’

‘I’m not going away,’ says the cricket. ‘I have some things to tell you.’
 ‘Tell me and then go away!’ says Pinocchio.

‘Remember, Pinocchio,’ says the cricket, ‘only good boys can

become real boys. You must always listen to Gepetto.’

Pinocchio doesn’t like the cricket and covers his ears. ‘Be quiet! Go
away!’ cries Pinocchio angrily.

And you must go to school,’ says the cricket.

‘School!’ cries Pinocchio. ‘Now I’m angry!’ He takes a piece of wood

and throws it at the wall. The piece of wood hits the cricket and it dies.

‘Oh no,’ says Pinocchio, ‘the cricket’s dead! I’m very sorry...’

Pinocchio’s cold and tired. He sits on a big chair near the fire and falls
asleep. His wooden feet are too close to the fire and they start to burn.
In a few minutes Pinocchio doesn’t have any feet!

Suddenly Gepetto knocks at the door of the house. ‘Open the door,
Pinocchio!’ says Gepetto.

‘I can’t walk,’ cries Pinocchio.

He jumps up and falls onto the floor. Gepetto climbs in through the
window and sees Pinocchio on the floor.

‘Oh, my poor boy—my poor puppet son!’ cries Gepetto. He loves his
puppet son and wants to help him.

‘Now I’m going to make you two new feet. And then we can have
some bread and milk for breakfast.’

Pinocchio looks at his new feet and is happy.

‘Gepetto,’ he says, ‘you’re a great dad and I want to be a good son.

I’m going to listen to you.’

Gepetto laughs and says, ‘Really?’

‘Yes!’ says Pinocchio. ‘I want to be a real boy.’

 ‘Good!’ says Gepetto. ‘You must go to school, because real boys
always go to school.’

‘School...’ says Pinocchio sadly. He doesn’t want to go to school.

‘Today I’m going to sell my only coat, and buy you a school book and
some clothes,’ says Gepetto happily.

Pinocchio smiles at Gepetto and says, ‘You’re very kind; thank you,
dad!’

The next morning Pinocchio puts on his new clothes. He takes his new
school book and goes to school for the first time.

‘Goodbye, Pinocchio,’ says Gepetto. ‘Be good at school!’

‘Goodbye, dad!’ says Pinocchio happily.

On the way to school Pinocchio sees a lot of people outside a big

theatre. He also hears some loud music and he likes it.

‘What’s going on?’ Pinocchio asks a young man.

‘Today there’s a puppet show,’ says the young man.

‘A puppet show?’ asks Pinocchio.

‘Yes, a big puppet show with music,’ says the young man. ‘The show
begins in ten minutes.’

‘How exciting!’ thinks Pinocchio. ‘I know I must go to school, but I

really want to see the puppet show. I can go to school tomorrow.’

He wants to buy a ticket to the show but he doesn’t have any money.
The man at the ticket office looks at Pinocchio and says, ‘Give me that
new school book and I can give you a free ticket to the puppet show.’

‘I need a school book to go to school,’ thinks Pinocchio. ‘But I really

want to see this puppet show.’
 ‘Alright,’ says Pinocchio, ‘take my school book and give me a free
ticket.’ He runs happily into the puppet theatre and stands in front of the
stage.

CHAPTER THREE

The Fox and the Cat

There are some famous puppets on the stage of the theatre. Their
names are Harlequin and Punchinello. They’re wearing colourful
costumes. They’re saying and doing funny things, and everyone’s
laughing. Pinocchio is having a lot of fun.

Suddenly the puppets see him and Harlequin says, ‘Look! It’s
Pinocchio, the puppet!’

‘Yes, it’s our brother Pinocchio,’ says Punchinello.

‘Come up and join us, Pinocchio!’ they say. ‘You’re our brother!’

Pinocchio is excited. He runs to the stage and all the other puppets
are happy. They talk to him and ask him questions. They forget about
the show and the people in the theatre are angry.

‘Get on with the show!’ they cry. ‘We want to see the show!’

But the puppets play with Pinocchio and make a lot of noise.

‘What a bad show!’ say the people in the theatre.

Suddenly a scary man comes on the stage and everyone is quiet. It’s
the puppet master. He’s a big man with black hair and a long black
beard. He’s very angry and takes the puppets away.

‘Who are you and what do you want?’ the puppet master says to
Pinocchio.

‘My name’s Pinocchio and...’. He’s afraid of the puppet master.

 ‘I’m going to burn you,’ says the puppet master. ‘You’re only a
wooden puppet.’

‘Oh, please don’t burn me,’ cries Pinocchio. ‘I don’t want to die! Think
of my dad! He’s a poor old man.’

The puppet master looks at him and sneezes. 'Ah..ah..ah-tishoo!'

The other puppets laugh and say, ‘A sneeze means that he likes you.’

‘Take these four gold coins back home to your dad,’ says the puppet
master. ‘And stay out of trouble!’

Pinocchio thanks the puppet master and puts the gold coins in his
pocket. He says goodbye to his puppet friends and walks home.

‘Now I’m rich,’ thinks Pinocchio, smiling. ‘I can buy my dad a lot of
nice things with the gold coins.’

On the road he meets a fox and a cat. The fox is lame and the cat
is blind, and they walk together.

‘Why are you smiling, little puppet?’ asks the fox.

‘I’m smiling because I’m rich,’ says Pinocchio.

‘Hmm... a rich puppet,’ says the cat.

‘What are you going to do with your money?’ asks the fox.

‘I’m going to buy a new coat for my dad,’ says Pinocchio. ‘And then
I’m going to buy a new school book and other things, too.’

When Pinocchio shows the gold coins to the fox and the cat, they
want to steal them. The fox and the cat are very clever and they have a
plan.

‘Listen to me,’ says the fox, looking at Pinocchio. ‘Go to the Land of
the Owls at night. Put your gold coins under the ground in the magic
field. Then the coins become a tree full of money!’
 ‘Yes,’ says the cat. ‘Listen to the fox. He’s very clever.’

‘Oh!’ says Pinocchio, ‘that’s wonderful! I can buy my dad a lot of nice
things with more coins.’

‘That’s right,’ say the fox and the cat. They look at each other and
smile.

‘Where’s the Land of the Owls?’ asks Pinocchio.

‘Follow us,’ say the fox and the cat. Pinocchio follows them to the
Land of the Owls. Then the fox and the cat go away, but Pinocchio stays
there and waits for the night.

‘When it’s dark I can go to the magic field and put my coins under the
ground,’ he thinks.

‘Foolish puppet!’ says a little voice.

‘Who’s there?’ asks Pinocchio, looking around.

‘I’m the ghost of the cricket,’ says the little voice.

‘Go away!’ says Pinocchio. ‘I don’t want to listen to you.’

‘Listen to me,’ says the little voice. ‘Take those gold coins home to
your dad.’

‘No!’ says Pinocchio. ‘Leave me alone! I’m going to make a lot of

money in the magic field.’

‘No, Pinocchio,’ says the ghost of the cricket. ‘The magic field is
dangerous because bad men and robbers go there. It’s a terrible place!’

‘I’m not afraid of them,’ says Pinocchio.

‘You’re young and you don’t understand,’ says the ghost of the
cricket. ‘Listen to me!’

‘I’m not listening to you,’ says Pinocchio. ‘I’m going to the magic
field.’
 Pinocchio turns around and goes to the magic field. The night is dark
but the moon in the sky helps him to see two robbers. Each robber is
wearing a long black sack. Pinocchio doesn’t know that the fox and the
cat are inside the black sacks.

‘Who are you?’ asks Pinocchio.

‘Don’t ask us any questions,’ says one robber. ‘We know you have
some gold coins.’

‘Give us your gold coins, puppet,’ says the other robber.

Pinocchio is afraid of the robbers. ‘No, the gold coins are mine,’ he
says angrily. ‘I’m not going to give them to you!’

He starts to run away but the robbers run after him. Suddenly the
robbers catch him.

‘Now give us the gold coins,’ they say.

‘Never!’ says Pinocchio. He kicks and fights and runs away into the
woods. The two robbers run after him but Pinocchio runs very fast. They
run through the dark woods and through the fields for a long time, but
the robbers can’t catch him. Pinocchio is free at last and he’s very
happy.

CHAPTER FOUR

The Blue Fairy

Pinocchio runs out of the woods and he’s very tired. He’s still afraid of
the robbers. He sees a house and knocks on the door.

‘Help!’ cries Pinocchio. ‘Please help me!’

No one opens the door and Pinocchio knocks again. Suddenly the
door opens.

‘Hello!’ says a friendly poodle. ‘Please come in.’

 Pinocchio enters the lovely house and looks around.

‘What a beautiful place!’ says Pinocchio.

‘This is the home of the Blue Fairy,’ says the poodle, looking at the
wooden puppet.

‘The Blue Fairy is sleeping now, but I can show you your room.’

‘Oh, thank you!’ says Pinocchio, smiling. He’s very happy because he
is safe with his gold coins in his pocket. He follows the poodle to his
room.

‘This is your room, Pinocchio,’ says the poodle. ‘You can have
breakfast with us at eight o’clock tomorrow morning. Sleep well and
good night.’

Pinocchio looks at the lovely room. There is a comfortable bed and

warm blankets.

‘How does the poodle know my name?’ thinks Pinocchio. But he’s too
tired and he can’t think. He falls asleep in the nice bed.

The next morning at breakfast Pinocchio meets the Blue Fairy. She is
young and beautiful, with blue hair and kind blue eyes. She has a
friendly voice.

‘Good morning, Pinocchio,’ says the lovely Blue Fairy. ‘How are you
this morning?’

‘I’m well, thank you,’ says Pinocchio.

‘Tell me about your adventures,’ says the Blue Fairy.

Pinocchio tells the Blue Fairy about the puppet master and the gold
coins. He also tells her about his adventures with the robbers in the
woods.

‘What a bad adventure!’ says the Blue Fairy. ‘Where are your gold
coins now? Can I see them?’
 ‘No!’ says Pinocchio quickly. ‘I... I don’t have them.’ Pinocchio’s nose
starts to grow.

‘I don’t understand,’ says the Blue Fairy.

‘I don’t know where they are,’ says Pinocchio and his nose grows a bit
more.

‘Perhaps your coins are in the woods,’ says the Blue Fairy smiling at
Pinocchio.

‘Yes... yes,’ says Pinocchio. ‘They’re in the woods.’ His nose grows
more and it’s very long. It touches the wall.

The Blue Fairy laughs and says, ‘You’re telling a big lie. Look at your
long nose! When you tell lies, your nose grows. You can never be a real
boy and tell lies. Real boys tell the truth.’

Pinocchio looks at his nose and he’s very sad. He wants to run away
but he can’t because his nose is too long. He starts to cry.

‘Please don’t cry, Pinocchio,’ says the kind fairy. She opens the
window and calls three woodpeckers. They come and cut Pinocchio’s
long nose with their beaks.

‘Now your nose is perfect,’ says the Blue Fairy. ‘Don’t tell any more
lies!’

‘Thank you,’ says Pinocchio, ‘you’re very kind. I want to be a good

boy and always tell the truth.’

‘I have good news for you,’ says the fairy happily.

‘Oh, please tell me the good news,’ says Pinocchio.

‘Your dad Gepetto is in the woods. He’s looking for you.’

Pinocchio cries, ‘My dad! I must go and find him.’

 ‘Yes, go and find him,’ says the fairy. ‘And remember to give him the
gold coins in your pocket.’

Pinocchio looks at his pocket and smiles at the Blue Fairy.

‘Yes, I’m going to give him the gold coins,’ says Pinocchio. ‘Goodbye,
Blue Fairy.’

‘Goodbye, Pinocchio,’ says the Blue Fairy.

Pinocchio runs out of the door and into the woods.

When Pinocchio gets to the Land of the Owls he meets the fox and
the cat.

‘Hello Pinocchio!’ says the fox happily. ‘How nice to see you, my
friend.’

‘Where are you going, little puppet?’ asks the cat.

‘I’m going to meet my dad,’ says Pinocchio. He tells them about his
adventure with the robbers.

‘What a terrible adventure!’ says the fox.

‘Yes,’ says Pinocchio, ‘and now I must go and find my dad. I want to
give him my four gold coins.’

‘Only four gold coins?’ says the fox, smiling at the cat. ‘Let’s go to the
magic field together and you can make a lot of money.’

‘Come with us!’ says the cat.

‘No,’ says Pinocchio. ‘I must find my dad.’ He thinks about the Blue
Fairy and the ghost of the cricket. He remembers their words. But then
he turns around and thinks of the trees with the gold coins.

‘Wait for me, I’m coming with you,’ cries Pinocchio.

‘Good!’ say the cat and the fox. ‘Follow us!’

 When they get to the magic field the fox says, ‘Put your gold coins
under the ground. Then take a stone and go to the stream. Throw the
stone into the stream and wait twenty minutes.’

‘When you come back you’re going to find a tree full of gold coins,’
says the cat.

‘It’s wonderful! Thank you, my friends!’ says Pinocchio. He does

everything the fox and cat tell him.

‘Soon I can buy my dad beautiful things,’ he thinks. Then he runs

back to the magic field.

‘Where’s the tree full of gold coins?’ asks Pinocchio.

He looks around but the fox and the cat are not there. He goes to
look for his gold coins under the ground, but he doesn’t find them.

‘Foolish puppet!’ says a parrot on a tree. ‘Do you really believe the
fox and the cat? They tell everyone lies—big lies. And they’re robbers
too! They have your gold coins.’

Pinocchio listens to the parrot and is very sad. He starts to cry.

‘I’m a foolish puppet,’ he says, ‘and now I’m poor, too.’

CHAPTER FIVE

Where's Gepetto?
Pinocchio sits in the magic field for hours. He’s very sad because he
doesn’t have his gold coins anymore.

‘What can I do now?’ he thinks. ‘I want to be a good boy, but I’m not.
Where can I go? And where is my poor dad?’
 ‘Pinocchio!’ says a pigeon. ‘Listen to me.’

Pinocchio looks at the pigeon on the tree.

‘Gepetto is in great danger,’ says the pigeon.

‘Oh, no!’ cries Pinocchio. ‘Where is he?’

‘Jump onto my back and I can take you to Gepetto,’ says the pigeon.

Pinocchio jumps onto his back and they fly away into the sky. They fly
to the seaside. It’s a stormy day.

‘Look at the sea, Pinocchio,’ says the pigeon. ‘Do you see the small
boat in the middle of the sea? Gepetto is on that boat.’

‘Poor dad!’ cries Pinocchio. ‘He’s in danger! I want to help him.’

The pigeon takes Pinocchio to the seaside and he jumps off the
pigeon’s back. There are a lot of people on the beach. They are looking
at the small boat in the stormy sea.

‘That poor man!’ says a girl, looking at the boat. ‘He wants to find his
son.’

‘And he can’t even swim!’ says a man.

‘Oh no,’ says another man, ‘I can’t see the boat anymore!’

Pinocchio looks at the stormy sea and cries, ‘Poor dad! I’m a bad son
and now you’re in real danger. I’m coming to save you!’

He jumps into the sea and starts swimming in the cold water. He
swims for a long time but he can’t find Gepetto’s small boat. He’s tired
and slowly swims back to the beach.

‘And now, what can I do?’ thinks Pinocchio sadly.

Suddenly he sees the Blue Fairy on the beach. He’s happy because
he likes the Blue Fairy.
 ‘Why aren’t you in school, Pinocchio?’ she asks. ‘Good boys go to
school and study.’

Pinocchio tells the Blue Fairy about his adventures and about
Gepetto.

‘I want to find my dad,’ says Pinocchio. ‘And I want to become a real

boy.’

‘Go to school!’ says the Blue Fairy. ‘Remember Pinocchio, real boys
go to school.’

Pinocchio decides to go to school and study. He’s a good student and

he makes a lot of friends. But one of his friends is a bad boy. His name is
Lampwick. He’s very thin and has got red hair and dark eyes. He hates
school and teachers.

One morning Lampwick says, ‘Pinocchio, let’s go to Funland! It’s an

amusement park—a wonderful place! You can eat sweets, ice-cream and
cakes. And you can play all day long. It’s great fun!’

‘I can’t go with you because I must go to school,’ says Pinocchio. ‘I

want to listen to the kind Blue Fairy.’

‘All my friends are coming with me,’ says Lampwick. ‘Come for only
one day!’

‘Yes, Pinocchio,’ cry his friends, ‘Funland is exciting!’

‘I don’t want to have fun,’ says Pinocchio. ‘I want to study and

become a real boy.’

Lampwick and his friends laugh at Pinocchio. ‘We’re going to ride the
big rollercoaster, the ferris wheel and the merry-go-round!’ says
Lampwick. ‘You can play with all kinds of toys in Funland. There are no
schools and no books in Funland. And there are no teachers or
policemen. You can do what you want every day! And everything is
free... you don’t need any money. Come with us!’
 ‘Don’t go, Pinocchio!’ cries the ghost of the cricket. ‘It’s a terrible
place for boys... please don’t go!’

Pinocchio doesn’t listen to the ghost’s voice. He thinks about the big
rollercoaster and the merry-go-round.

‘I want to have some fun today,’ says Pinocchio. ‘I can study

tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. I’m coming with you, Lampwick!’

‘Hurrah! Hurrah!’ Lampwick and his friends cheer. They get on a big
carriage with a lot of other boys. Everyone is making a lot of noise. Six
donkeys pull the big carriage and an old man is the driver. Soon all the
boys fall asleep, but Pinocchio can hear the little voice of the ghost of
the cricket: ‘Be careful, Pinocchio! You’re in danger.’ But he doesn’t
listen to it. The next morning the boys wake up in Funland.

CHAPTER SIX

pull the Funland

When the carriage gets to Funland all the boys get off. They look at all
the wonderful things: the big rollercoaster, the tall ferris wheel, the
merry-go-round and other games. There are a lot of boys in Funland and
they’re all playing and eating sweets and ice-cream. Everyone is happy
and laughing.

‘What an exciting place!’ cries Pinocchio. ‘I can play all day long and
eat everything I like.’

‘Are you happy, Pinocchio?’ asks Lampwick, smiling at his friend. ‘Or
do you want to go back to school?’

‘Oh, no,’ answers Pinocchio, ‘I want to stay here. Thank you,

Lampwick. You’re a true friend.’

‘I always have a lot of fun ideas,’ says Lampwick, laughing.

 Pinocchio and his friends like the rollercoaster because it goes very
fast. They ride it ten times a day.

‘Let’s go on the ferris wheel,’ says Pinocchio to his friends. ‘When I’m
on the ferris wheel I can almost touch the sky.’

‘Yes!’ say his friends.

‘And then we can go on the merry-go-round.’

‘And ride the wooden horses.’

‘And hear the music.’

‘Good idea!’ says Pinocchio.

‘Today I’m going to have ice-cream, chocolate cake and pink candy
for lunch. And I’m going to have lots of sweets and cakes for dinner,’
says Lampwick, laughing.

Pinocchio forgets about his dad, the Blue Fairy and school. The ghost
of the cricket often talks to Pinocchio but he doesn’t listen to the little
voice.

A few months pass and one morning something strange happens.

Pinocchio wakes up and looks in a mirror and sees... two donkey ears on
his head! He’s very surprised and starts to cry.

‘What’s happening to me?’ he cries. ‘I have two big donkey ears! I’m
going to ask my friend Lampwick.’

When Pinocchio sees Lampwick he’s really surprised, because

Lampwick has donkey ears too. And he has a long donkey tail!

‘What’s happening to us, Lampwick?’ asks Pinocchio. ‘We’re not

donkeys!’

‘I don’t know,’ answers Lampwick, ‘but you have a long tail too. We’re
becoming... donkeys!’

‘But why?’ asks Pinocchio.

 ‘I don’t know,’ says Lampwick, looking at his long tail.

Suddenly they see the driver of the carriage. He’s coming to talk to
Pinocchio and Lampwick.

‘Ha, ha, ha’ he laughs. ‘Now you two donkeys can carriage and do
other hard work!’

‘What?’ cry Pinocchio and Lampwick. ‘We’re boys, we’re not

donkeys!’

‘You boys hate school and you love to have fun all day long,’ says the
driver, laughing. ‘You’re not good boys, you’re just stupid donkeys.

Bad boys turn into donkeys. Now you work for me. You can pull the
heavy carriage.’

He takes a long rope and puts it around Lampwick’s neck.

‘No, wait!’ cries Lampwick angrily. ‘What are you doing? I’m not your
donkey!’

‘Of course you’re my donkey!’ says the driver of the carriage. ‘Now
come with me and you too, Pinocchio.’

Pinocchio is afraid and doesn’t know what to do.

Then he hears a little voice, ‘Run, Pinocchio! Run away! Fast!’

This time Pinocchio listens to the voice of the ghost of the cricket. He
runs away from Funland. He runs through the dark woods and the green
fields. Then he gets to the sea.

He jumps into the water and swims away. He swims for a long time to
the middle of the sea.

‘The old driver of the carriage can’t catch me in the middle of the
sea,’ thinks Pinocchio.
 When Pinocchio leaves Funland his donkey ears and tail disappear.

CHAPTER SEVEN

The Whale
A giant whale lives in the middle of the sea. The whale sees Pinocchio in
the water and it opens its big mouth. Pinocchio swims right into the
whale’s mouth.

At first Pinocchio is afraid. ‘Help! Help!’ he cries. ‘Can someone help

me?’

Of course, no one can help him. He’s alone inside the giant whale.

‘It’s dark in here,’ thinks Pinocchio. ‘And my feet and legs are wet.
What a place!’

He looks around and sees a yellow light.

‘What’s that yellow light?’ he thinks. ‘I must follow it.’

Pinocchio is scared and very worried. He follows the yellow light and
suddenly sees... Gepetto! The old man is sitting at a small table with a
candle inside a bottle. He’s ready to eat some fish.

Pinocchio is amazed. He wants to cry, sing and jump because he is

very happy.

‘Dad!’ he cries. ‘Is it really you? My wonderful dad!’ He runs to

Gepetto and hugs him.

‘My son, Pinocchio!’ cries Gepetto happily. ‘But why are you here,
inside this giant whale?’

‘I have a lot of things to tell you, dad!’ says Pinocchio. ‘Some things
are good and some things are bad.’
 ‘Come and sit down,’ says Gepetto. ‘Tell me everything!’

Pinocchio sits down at the small table near his dad and tells him
about his adventures. His dad listens to him and is very surprised.

‘What amazing adventures: the puppet show, the puppet master, the
fox and the cat, the Land of the Owls, the Blue Fairy, the magic field,
Lampwick, Funland, the old driver of the carriage...’ says Gepetto,
smiling at his puppet son.

‘Let’s get out of here,’ says Pinocchio. ‘Everything’s wet and dark. It’s
a terrible place.’

‘Yes, I want to get out,’ says Gepetto, ‘but I can’t swim!’

‘Follow me, dad,’ says Pinocchio. ‘I can help you.’

‘How can you help me?’ asks Gepetto. ‘You’re just a little puppet and
I’m a big man.’

‘I’m a good swimmer,’ says Pinocchio, smiling at his dad.

‘Are you sure, Pinocchio?’ asks Gepetto.

‘Of course I’m sure,’ says Pinocchio.

He takes Gepetto’s hand. With the other hand he holds the bottle
with the candle. It’s dark inside the whale and they walk slowly
and carefully. Together they walk to the mouth of the giant whale. They
wait until the whale opens its big mouth and they jump out and into the
sea.

‘Don’t worry, dad,’ cries Pinocchio. ‘Come onto my back and I can
carry you.’

‘You’re just a wooden puppet but you’re very brave, Pinocchio,’ says
Gepetto. ‘Thank you, my son!’
 Pinocchio swims and carries Gepetto all the way to the beach. They
rest on the beach for a long time because they’re cold and tired. Then
they walk home.

That night Pinocchio has a wonderful dream. He dreams of the Blue

Fairy.

‘Pinocchio, you’re a brave puppet and a good son,’ says the Blue
Fairy in the dream. ‘And you have a kind heart.’

The next morning Pinocchio wakes up and... he is a real boy! He looks

at his hands and his feet—they aren’t wooden anymore!

‘Hurrah! I’m a real boy!’ he cries happily. ‘Dad, come and look at me!’

Gepetto hears his son and runs into his room.

‘My son is a real boy at last!’ cries Gepetto happily. He hugs his son
and together they dance around the house.