The nose got shorter.
The nose got shorter still.
“Then someone put me in this cage,” he said.
The nose was back to normal. “Good job, Pinocchio!” said the Cricket.
“Well done,” said the Blue Fairy. “Now I will get you out of here.”
With a wave of her wand, Pinocchio was out of the cage.
“Here are your books.” And Pinocchio was holding the same new schoolbooks in his hands again.
“Know this,” said the Blue Fairy, “you are on your own from now on. Make sure you do the right thing next time.” And she was gone.
The Coachman
Pinocchio was back on the road to school. A Coachman drove up. “Hey kid, how about a ride?”
“No, thank you,” said Pinocchio. “I am going to school.”
“You will ride faster with me,” said the Coachman to Pinocchio. He said to himself, “He will ride faster all right, but not to where he thinks he is going!”
“Alright,” said Pinocchio. “I want to get to school right away!”
When Pinocchio was inside the coach, the Coachman said, “Say kid, why do you think boys like you go to school?”
“To learn things,” said Pinocchio. “And to grow up, I guess. So we can do what we want.”
“Well,” said the Coachman, “what if I told you that could do what you wanted, right now?”
“Right now?”
“Yep! Think of it. Skip the books. Skip the school. Right now, how would you like to have all the candy you can eat!”
“All the candy?”
“Yep. Ice cream, too. Of every flavor. Ever want to smoke a cigar or play pool? All this and more, at Pleasure Island.”
“Pleasure Island?”
“Best place in the world for boys like you!”
“Don’t listen to him, Pinocchio!” shouted the Cricket.
Best place in the world for boys like you!”
“Why wait?” said the Coachman. “I know just where Pleasure Island is. This is your lucky day, kid. So what do you say?”
“Let’s go there!” said Pinocchio. “I’m going to Pleasure Island!”
“Augh!” said the Cricket, waving his arms in the air.
Pleasure Island
After a while, the coach stopped. “You got a boy with you in that coach?” said a dark stranger to the Coachman.
“Yep.” The Coachman grabbed Pinocchio and threw him down onto the ground. “He’s all yours. Now pay up.”
The Coachman reached out for something (was it money?) from the dark stranger. Then the Coachman drove off.
What could it all mean? But as Pinocchio looked around, he no longer cared. For everything the Coachman had told him was true! Heaps of candy all about. Tubs of ice cream in every flavor. Boys like him could eat and eat, and play all day. None of them had to work or clean up. There were even cigars if you wanted one, and pool tables to play.
But after a few days, something was odd. “Where did all the boys go?” he asked the Cricket.
For everything the Coachmen had told him was true!
“All I see now are donkeys,” said Pinocchio.
“I must say, there used to be more boys around here,” said the Cricket.
Just then, one of his ears popped into a donkey ear. Then his other ear popped into a donkey ear, too.
“Oh!” cried the Cricket. “What is happening to you?”
“I don’t know – HONK!” said Pinocchio.
Pinocchio and the Cricket saw a line of donkeys led by a dark stranger onto a truck. “Oh, no!” said the Cricket. “Now I get it! Boys get turned into donkeys here. Then the donkeys are sold! Pinocchio, we have to get you out of here, fast – while we still can!”
“Let’s go – HONK!” said Pinocchio. His two feet had popped into four.
“Run, quick!” said the Cricket. One good thing about Pinocchio’s new four legs is he could run very fast! Quick, quick, they ran out of Pleasure Island. Soon they were at a dock by the ocean.
“Please sir!” Pinocchio called out to a man by the dock. “I am looking for an old man named Geppetto. Do you know him? – HONK!”
“Sounds like you are getting a bad cold,” said the man. “Hmm, Geppetto. That’s the old man whose son left one morning and did not come back. He went out on a boat to look for him. No one has seen the poor fellow since.”
“Oh no! This is all my fault – HONK!” said Pinocchio. “I must look for my father!” Pinocchio jumped off of the dock into the ocean. The Cricket jumped in too, close behind.
The Whale
Most of Pinocchio was still made of wood, so he could float on the ocean. “Father!” he called out, paddling the water with his arms. “Father!” but there was no answer.
All Pinocchio could see around him was blue water, everywhere. Until – what was that, far away? Something was rushing up. Something big, and very fast!
In a moment, a giant whale was upon them. It opened its giant jaws and with one gulp, swallowed Pinocchio! Rushing inside with all the sea water tumbled Pinocchio and the Cricket. When they came to a stop, they saw that they were in the dark belly of the whale.
“Are you okay?” said Pinocchio to the Cricket.
“I am fine,” said a voice of an old man.
“Wait a minute,” said Pinocchio. “Father, is that you?”
There was Geppetto!
“Father, Father, it’s me!” said Pinocchio.
“My son!” said Geppetto. “I thought I was dreaming!”
They hugged in joy.
“Father, Father, it’s me!” said Pinocchio.
“Look!” said Geppetto as three fish swam by. “There goes our dinner!”
“Father, I have an idea! Let’s make a fire.”
“Grilled fish tonight!” said Geppetto.
“No, I mean for us to get out!” said Pinocchio. He gathered driftwood and got a flame going. “This is how we can make the whale sneeze!” he said. Pinocchio waved his arms over the flame to make a lot of smoke. Soon, clouds of black smoke were rising up.
The whale gave a cough. “Hang on!” said Pinocchio. And then… WHAM!! In one big sneeze, Pinocchio, Geppetto and the Cricket flew out of the whale’s mouth. Rolling over and over in the sea water, at last they rolled up onto the shore.
“Pinocchio?” Geppetto rose to his feet. The Cricket was there beside him. But where was Pinocchio?
“Hang on!” said Pinocchio.
And then they found him! Pinocchio was face down, his head in a puddle.
“Pinocchio!”
They were too late. Geppetto and the Cricket wept over Pinocchio, the boy puppet, who lay still in the water.
Then in a flash, who was there but the Blue Fairy!
“Pinocchio,” she said. “You saved your father. You proved that you are both brave and true.” She tapped his head with her wand. “And now you will be a real boy.”
Pinocchio woke up. He looked at his soft arms and soft legs.
“Father!” he cried out. “Look! I am a real boy!”
“That you are!” cried Geppetto.
The Blue Fairy turned to the Cricket. “Come,” she said. In a flash, the two of them were gone.
And Pinocchio and Geppetto lived many long and happy years together.
Source : Stories To Grow By