PINOCCHIO

Geppetto was a carpenter who made wooden toys for the children of his village. One day, he made a wooden puppet. As soon as he had finished, the puppet came alive and began to dance and sing.

“Why, you are alive!” he said. “I said. I shall call you Pinocchio. You shall be the son I never had.”

The next day, Geppetto said, “You must go to school.” “No, I won’t’ go!” said Pinocchio very rudely. Geppetto boxed his ears.

A policeman passing by saw Geppetto boxing Pinocchio’s ears. He thought that Geppetto was going to hurt Pinocchio badly. So he marched him off to jail for the night.

When Geppetto returned home, he sent Pinocchio to school. On the way back home, Pinocchio wandered here and there. He stopped to see a puppet show. He began dancing with the puppets. The puppet master gave Pinocchio five gold coins and said, “Give these to your father.”

Then Pinocchio met a cunning cat and a shy fox. They told him if he planted the coins under a tree, he would get many more in the morning. So Pinocchio planted the coins and went to sleep under the tree.

The cat and fox tied Pinocchio to the tree, took the coins and ran away.

A kind fairy, dressed in blue, set Pinocchio free. Pinocchio began making up a story to tell the Blue fairy. Then a strange thing happened. Pinocchio’s nose began to grow longer and longer. The more he spoke, the longer it grew.

“Stop!” said Pinocchio.

“It won’t stop. Every time you tell a lie, your nose will grow longer,” said the Blue Fairy. “Please make it stop,” said Pinocchio. “I promise not to lie again.”

The next day, on his way to school, Pinocchio met a boy who said, “Come away with me to Funland.” “In Funland every day is a holiday!” the boy said. “There are toys and games and sweets. And best of all, no lessons to learn!”

So Pinocchio rushed off with the boy to Funland. He had lots of fun playing and eating.

Suddenly, Pinocchio and the other boys found their ears growing longer. They were turning into donkeys! The wizard of Funland had cast a spell on them.

As they wandered around, they came to a circus. The ringmaster made Pinocchio work for the circus. There, Pinocchio hurt his leg while doing tricks. The angry ringmaster threw him into the sea.

In the water, the spell was broken. Pinocchio became a puppet once more. A whale that was swimming by opened its huge mouth and swallowed Pinocchio.

In the Whale’s stomach, Pinocchio saw Geppetto in his boat. “I was looking for you when the whale swallowed me up. I am so glad to have found you!” he said. They hugged each other in delight. “I shall be a good boy from now on,” promised Pinocchio.When the whale was asleep, they crept out of its huge mouth and sailed home. When they reached home, Geppetto fell ill. Pinocchio fed him hot soup and looked after him. “I will go to school and work hard so that I can earn lots of money,” said Pinocchio. “You will never have to work again.”

So Pinocchio studied hard in the school. Then one day a wonderful thing happened. The Blue Fairy appeared and said, “Pinocchio, you are brave and have a kind heart. You deserve to become a real boy.”

So she turned him into a little boy. Geppetto and Pinocchio lived together happily.

Other Stories: Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, Sleeping Beauty