THE ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO

by C. Collodi

CHAPTER 1

A Piece of Wood That Cries

Long ago, there was—

"A king!" you might say.

No. Not a king.

There was a piece of wood.

It was not fancy wood.
It was just plain wood.
It was the kind you burn to make a fire.

One day, this wood came to a shop.
An old man worked there.
His name was Mastro Antonio.
People called him Mastro Cherry.
His nose was round and red.
It looked like a cherry!

Mastro Cherry saw the wood.
He was very happy.
He said, "I will make a table leg."

He picked up his tool.
He got ready to cut the wood.
But then he heard a tiny voice.

"Please be careful!" said the voice.
"Do not hit me hard!"

Mastro Cherry was very surprised.
He looked around the room.
No one was there!
He looked under the table.
No one!
He looked by the door.
No one!

"I must be hearing things," he said.
He picked up his tool again.

He hit the wood.

"Ow! That hurt!" said the voice.

Mastro Cherry could not move.
His eyes went wide.
His mouth fell open.

"Where did that voice come from?" he said.
"No one is here!
Could someone be hiding in this wood?
I will find out!"

He grabbed the wood.
He shook it hard.
He banged it on the floor.

He waited.
Nothing happened.

"I was just hearing things," he said.
He tried to feel brave.

He picked up another tool.
He started to smooth the wood.

Then he heard the voice again.
It was laughing!

"Stop! Stop!" it said.
"That tickles!"

Mastro Cherry fell down.
He was very scared.
His nose turned purple!

CHAPTER 2

Geppetto Wants a Marionette

Someone knocked on the door.
"Come in," said Mastro Cherry.
He was too scared to stand up.

A little old man walked in.
His name was Geppetto.
He wore a yellow wig.
Kids called him Corn Head.
This made him very angry!

"Hello, Mastro Antonio," said Geppetto.
"Why are you on the floor?"

"I'm teaching the ants to read," joked Mastro Cherry.

"What do you need?" asked Mastro Cherry.

"I have an idea," said Geppetto.
"I want to make a wooden puppet.
A marionette!
It will dance.
It will do tricks!
I will travel the world with it.
I will earn money and food."

"Bravo, Corn Head!" said the tiny voice.

Geppetto turned red with anger.
"Did you call me Corn Head?" he asked Mastro Cherry.

"I did not!" said Mastro Cherry.

"Yes, you did!"

"No, I did not!"

They argued back and forth.
Then they started to fight!
They pulled each other's wigs off.

At last, they stopped.
They put their wigs back on.
They shook hands.
They promised to be friends again.

"So," said Mastro Cherry.
"What do you need from me?"

"I need wood," said Geppetto.
"Wood to make my puppet."

Mastro Cherry got the strange piece of wood.
He gave it to Geppetto.
But the wood slipped!
It hit Geppetto's leg.

"Ouch!" cried Geppetto.
"Why did you hit me?"

"I did not do it!" said Mastro Cherry.
"It was the wood!"

They argued again.
They called each other names.
They fought again!

At last, they made up again.
They shook hands.
They promised to be friends forever.

Geppetto took the wood.
He said thank you.
He walked home.

CHAPTER 3

Geppetto Makes Pinocchio

Geppetto's house was small.
But it was cozy.
It had a chair, a bed, and a table.
On the wall, there was a painting.
It showed a fire and a pot of soup.

Geppetto took his tools.
He began to carve the wood.

"What should I name him?" he thought.
"I will call him Pinocchio.
That is a lucky name."

He made the hair.
He made the forehead.
He made the eyes.

The eyes moved!
They looked right at him!

"Silly eyes," said Geppetto.
"Why do you stare at me?"

The eyes did not answer.

Next, he made the nose.
But the nose grew and grew!
It would not stop growing.

Geppetto cut it shorter.
But it just grew again!
At last, he gave up.

Next, he made the mouth.
It started to laugh at him!

"Stop laughing!" said Geppetto.

The mouth stopped.
But it stuck out its tongue!

Geppetto kept working.
He made the chin.
He made the neck.
He made the arms and hands.

Just as he finished the fingers—
Pinocchio grabbed Geppetto's wig!
He put it on his own head!

"Give that back!" said Geppetto.
"You are not even finished yet!
And already you are naughty!"

Geppetto felt very sad.

He made the legs and feet.
As soon as they were done—
Pinocchio kicked him!

"I should have known," said Geppetto.
"It is too late now."

Geppetto stood Pinocchio on the floor.
He taught him how to walk.

At first, Pinocchio's legs were stiff.
Geppetto held his hands.
He helped him take small steps.

Soon, Pinocchio could walk alone!
He ran around the room.
He ran right out the door!
He ran away down the street!

"Catch him! Catch him!" yelled Geppetto.

People saw the wooden puppet running.
They laughed and laughed!

A policeman heard the noise.
He stood in the street.
He caught Pinocchio by the nose!

He gave Pinocchio back to Geppetto.

Geppetto wanted to pull his ears.
But Pinocchio had no ears!
Geppetto had forgotten to make them.

So Geppetto grabbed him by the neck instead.
He took him home.